Edwards Plateau

Nearly 24 million acres dominated by Ashe juniper, oaks and honey mesquite comprise the beautifully rugged, semi arid region of the Edwards Plateau in central Texas. Much of the region overlays the immense underground reservoir of the Edwards Aquifer which feeds many crystal clear streams. Avearge annual rainfall ranges from a meager 15 inches in the west to more than 33 inches in the east. Droughts can be frequent, prolonged and unpredictable though.

More than 100 of Texas 400 endemic plants, including Texas snowbells, Bracted twist-flower, Texabama croton and Texas wildrice occur within the Edwards Plateau ecoregion. In protected valleys one might find disjunct populations of Texas madrone, Texas smoke tree, witch hazel and big-tooth maples. The moist river corridors are lined with bald cypress, pecan, hackberry and sycamores. This region is also host to some of the most spectacular wildflower displays featuring bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, gaillardia and golden-wave among others.

Among the terrestrial vertebrates, the white-tailed deer shares his domain with such varied fauna as armadillo, black-tailed jackrabbit, opossum and the Texas earless lizard. The waters host an array of wildlife including Clear Creek gambusia, San Marcos gambusia, fountain darter and San Marcos salamander. Guadalupe bass and Cagle’s Map Turtle are at home in the rivers and the thousands of caves harbor shrimp, blind salamanders and bats.

This region is a meeting ground for birds typical of eastern and western North America. Green Kingfisher, Cave Swallow, Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler are among the many nesting birds of the region.

Plants for the Edwards Plateau

  • Trees
    • Pecan
    • Sugarberry
    • Black walnut
    • Plateau black cherry
    • Chinkapin oak
    • Texas red oak
    • Texas persimmon
    • Yaupon
    • Red mulberry
    • Texas pistache
    • Carolina buckthorn
    • Big-toothed maple
    • Texas redbud
    • Mexican plum
  • Conifers
    • Ashe juniper
    • Remote pinyon pine
    • Bald cypress
  • Shrubs
    • American beauty-berry
    • Elbowbush
    • Lantana
    • Spicebush
    • Fragrant sumac
    • Autumn sage
  • Succulents
    • Red yucca
    • Twist-leaf yucca
  • Vines
    • Trumpet-creeper
    • Coral honeysuckle
    • Virginia creeper
    • Yellow passionvine
    • Mountain grape
  • Grasses
    • Silver bluestem
    • Canada wildye
    • Big muhly
    • Little bluestem
    • Indian grass
  • Wildflowers
    • Columbine
    • Butterfly weed
    • Englemann daisy
    • Shrubby boneset
    • Turk’s cap
    • Cedar sage
    • Standing cypress
    • Brown-eyed susan
    • Greenthread