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TREES, SHRUBS, AND WOODY VINES
Acacia, Catclaw
Acacia greggii

Common Names:
Devil Claws, Texas Mimosa, Paradise Flower, Gregg Acacia, Long-Flowered Acacia, Huajilla, Chaparral, Gatuña, and Uña de Gato.
Identification:
Thorny, usually found in thickets but individual trees can be up to 30 ft and are very dense.
Location:
found on hillsides at altitudes of 1,000-5,000 ft in Trans-Pecos and a concentration in Big Bend.
Fruit:
persistent from July through the winter
Culinary use:
Legumes were pounded into a coarse meal known as “pinole” and either eaten raw or baked into cakes. Flowers are an important source for honey.

Acacia, Mescat
Acacia constricta

Common Names:

White-thorn Acacia, All-thorn Acacia, Huisache, Gigantillo, Vara Prieta, Chaparro Prieto, and Largancillo.
Identification:
Spiny shrub up to 18 ft with slender spines in pairs at the nodes
Location:
dry, sandy soil at altitudes of 1,500-6,500 ft in High Plains and along the Rio Grande in far south Texas.
Fruit:
July-September
Culinary use:
Legumes were pounded into a coarse meal known as “pinole” and either eaten raw or baked into cakes. Flowers are an important source for honey.

Acacia, Sweet
Acacia farnesiana

Identification:
 Found either as a shrub with many stems at the base or as a tree up to 30 ft. Tends to have a flat top in when found near the coast, but typically has a round top with hanging branches.
Common Names:
Huisache, Honey-ball, Opopanax, Popinach, Hinsach, Binorama, Vinorama, Guisache, Aroma, Zubin, Espinillo.
Location:
found in south, east, and west Texas south of Travis Co. and possibly north to Mc Lennan Co., also cultivated as a honey bee nectar source.
Flowers: February-March
Fruit: May-July
Medical use:
Bark is good for diarrhea. Leaves are dried and pulverized then used in dressing wounds. An ointment made from the flowers is used for headache, an infusion for dyspepsia. Green fruit is very astringent, a decoction is for dysentery, inflammation of the skin, and mucous membranes. In San Luis Potos' a decoction of the roots is a remedy for tuberculosis.
Culinary use:
Good winter forage plant, ripe seeds pressed for cooking oil
Other:
Bark and fruit are used for tanning, dying, ink. Flowers are insecticidal. Glue from young pods mends pottery.



Alder, Hazel
Alnus serrulata

Identification:
Small tree up to 90 ft tall with smooth or a bit scaly bark, related to the birch family. Elliptic or egg shaped leaves being widest at the tip.
Location:
wet soil and wetlands along streams in East Texas
Medical use:
Bark yields tannic acid and is astringent for intermittent fever


Anacahuita
Cordia boissieri

Location:
dry soil of the lower Rio Grande valley in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, and Willacy counties.
Medical use:
The fruit in the form of jelly is a remedy for coughs and colds. Leaves are a remedy for rheumatism and bronchial disturbances.


Anisacanth, Wright
Anisacanthus wrightii

Location:
rich soil in thickets in southern and western Texas, Bexar, Uvalde, and Kinney Co.
Medical use:
used by the Mexican Indians as a remedy for colic


Apache Plume
Fallugia paradoxa

Identification:

Dense bush up to about 8 ft tall with bladed leaves 1/4 - 1 inch long in 3-7 fingerlike lobes
Location: 
along dry arroyos of deserts, or on rocky or gravely slopes in Central, west, and northwest Texas. Usually at elevations of 3,000-8,000 feet. Abundant in the foot hills of Chisos Mountains in Brewster County.
Medical use:
The Hopi of Arizona used an infusion of the leaves to stimulate hair growth


Ape's Earring, Ebony
Pithecellobium flexicaule

Identification:
A shrub or tree up to 40 ft tall with paired spines often with zigzagging branches. Flowers resemble a bottle brush and are a pale yellow to creamy white in color.
Location:
found from the shores of Matagorda Bay to the lower Rio Grande Area. Esp. Cameron Co. Planted in Brownsville and elsewhere as a landscaping plant..
Fruit:
Seeds are in large pods from 4-8 inches long.
Culinary use:
Seeds can be eaten boiled when green, and roasted when ripe. Pod shells are used as coffee substitute.


Arizona Cockroach Plant
Haplophyton crooksii

Location:
Found in Hudspeth and Brewster Counties
Medical use:
Applied in the form of a lotion to kill parasites
Other use:
A decoction is mixed with molasses or cornmeal for a cockroach poison Applied in the form of a lotion to repel mosquitoes and fleas


Arrow Weed Pluchea
Pluchea sericea

Location:
usually below an altitude of 3,000 feet in sandy or saline soil of Trans Pecos Texas
Medical use:
An infusion of the leaves were used as an eyewash for sore eyes by the Pima Indians


Ash, Berlandier
Fraxinus berlandieriana

Identification:
A small round topped tree rarely over 30 ft tall with slender leafelets paired oppisately in groups of 3-5. Serrated and somewhat thick 3-4 inches long.
Common Names:
Plumero, Fresno, and Mexican Ash. Often mistakenly called Arizona Ash
Location:
moist canyons and stream banks in Central and Trans-Pecos Texas and southward, rarely found east of the Colorado River
Medical use:
Bark is used as a tonic and febrifuge. Leaves in a decoction treats yellow fever, malaria, gout, and rheumatism.


Aspen, Quaking
Populus tremuloides

Location:
from sea level to 10000 in the Trans-Pecos
Medical use:
bark is used for fevers, antiscorbutic. Populin and salicin is extracted from the buds is used externally for muscular rheumatism and internally as an expectorant in subacute or chronic bronchitis, usually combined with other drugs.


Azalea, Piedmont
Rhododendron canescens

Identification:
A small shrub 3-9 feet tall with simple leaves 1.5 - 4.25 inches long either alternate or clustered at the end of branch tips
Location: 
in sandy, acid soil along bogs, seeps and streams in the pinelands of east Texas
Culinary use:
A large, gall like, green, translucent structure on the twigs is edible and was used by early settlers for pickling



Baccharis, Seepwillow
Baccharis glutinosa

Location:
along streams in west Texas from almost sea level to almost 5,000 feet
Medical use:
An eyewash was prepared from the leaves



Baccharis, Yerba de Pasmo
Baccharis pteronioides

Location:
in dry soil of hills in open sun at altitudes of 3,000-5,000 feet in the Chisos Mountains, Brewster County; in Limpana Canyon, Jeff Davis County; in upper McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains, Culberson County.
Medical use:
dried powdered leaves are used for treating sores. infusion of the leaves are used as a chill tonic. Yerba de Pasmo means "chill weed"



Bay, Red
Persea borbonia

Identification:
An aromatic shrub or small tree 10-52 feet in height. Evergreen with elliptic or lanceolate shiny leaves 2-8 inches in length.
Location:
rich sandy soil of river-bottoms or swamps. usually near coasts. though isolated colonies have been found in Travis County.
Culinary use:
dried leaves are used to flavor soups and meats



Bayberry
Morella cerifera

Common Names:
Wax Myrtle
Identification:
A fragrant tree or shrub up to 22 ft tall with evergreen simple leaves 1-5 inches in length with a bayberry aroma.
Location:
east Texas and along the Gulf Coast near streams, lakes and wetlands
Fruit:
in fall and are hard round fruits about 1/8 inch in diameter coated with white wax.
Medical use:
Treats mucous accumulation of the alimentary canal, bronchpulmonnic diseases, scarlet fever, dysentery, catarrhal diarrhea, cholera, goiter, scrofula, gastritis, and typhoid.
Bark should be gathered in fall, cleaned thoroughly and separated from the outer bark. Dry completely and keep in a dry place in dark glass or sealed pottery container.
Uterine hemorrhage and heavy mensturation can be limited by packing with cotton soaked with tea. Also good for hemmorages of the bowels and stomach.
Infusion of berries remedies itch and is a good vermifuge.
(Dose is 1 tsp. bark to 1 c boiling water,or tincture of bark  1/2 - 1 fluid dram.)
In cases of chills and the flu a compound will encourage circulation and perspiration:
(Bayberry bark 1 oz. + Wild Ginger 1/4 oz +Cayenne 1/2 oz) One teaspoon of the compound to 1 pint of water taken in mouthfulls throughout the day. Stay indoors and away from drafts.
For a blocked nose or inflammation, sniffing the berries will help.
Culinary use:
Leaves can substitute for hops when making beer. Fruits may be used with strongly flavored dishes like wild game, a good substitute for bay.
Other use:
Wax from around seeds can be used to sent candles (melting point 116-120 F



Beech
Fagus grandifolia

Identification:
A large tree up to 132 feet in height with smooth grey bar. Leaves are simple alternate blades usually eggshaped and 3-6 inches in length with toothed edges.
Location:
found in east Texas Pineywoods in forests usually near streams.
Fruits:
September-October Triangular thinshelled nuts 1/2 inches long inside of a prickly hull.
Medical use:
Leaves are astringent, soothing to the stomach, and improve appetite. Bark and Leaves are used to treat stomach ulcers, liver, kidney, bladder, and inflammation associated with dysentery.
Tea of the leaves is good for cleansing cooling, and healing sores, bathe often with fresh tea or can be made into an ointment by boiling leaves in oil .
Titration of nuts treat epilepsy, headache, hydrophobia, and vertigo. Creosote from wood is used for chronic bronchitis and upper respiratory infections.
A creosote is distilled from beech tar and used as a antiseptic and disinfectant.
(Dose: 1 tsp. of leaves or 1/4 tsp. of granulated bark to 1 c of water. 3-4 c daily)
Culinary use:
Fruit may be roasted for coffee substitute, seeds can be pressed for a great oil or substituted for butter. The seeds can also be ground into a flour.



Birch
Betula nigra

Identification:
A small to large tree up to 90 feet in height with grey bark that tends to peel off in strips. Triangular or diamond shaped leaves 1-4 inches long with white bottoms and toothed margins.
Location:
found in East Texas Pineywoods along streams and riverbottoms, uncommon
Medical use:
Treats diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, alimentary tract aliments, cleansing the blood, rheumatism, dropsy, gout, kidney and bladder stones, and expelling wounds. Leaf tea treats boils and skin ailments. Tea is good for boils or skin eruptions, and oral sores. Oil of wintergreen distilled from the inner bark and twigs is used to treat eczema and skin irritations.  Birch buds, gathered in early spring and preserved in vodka treats colds, pain, rheumatic conditions, stomach ulcers, vitality, avitaminosis. Birch charcoal is used as an absorbent for poisoning, gas bloating, and indigestion. Sap is prepared as tea and is a good source of vitamins, for anemia, gout, scurvy, rheumatism
Dose:
1 tsp. of leaves or bark in 1 c of water for 15 min., 3-5 c daily, mixes well with other herbs.
Culinary use:
The inner bark can be pounded into a flour and used for baking in emergency situations. Sap can be used for syrup or as a beverage, the most sap can be gathered from late March-April. Young twigs can be steeped in water to make tea.



Bitter-sweet, American
Celastrus scandens

Location:
many types of soil, thickets, woods, fence rows and along streams in central Texas
Medical use:
Root bark is used in the treatment of chronic affections of the liver and in secondary syphilis, also said to have emetic, diaphoretic, and alterative properties.



Bouvardia, Scarlet
Bouvardia ternifolia

Location:
southwestern and western Texas. Abundant in some of the canyons of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park.
Medical use:
roots are used as a remedy for dysentery, hydrophobia, heat exaustion, and as a preventative for excessive bleeding.



Buckeye, Ohio
Aesculus glabra


Identification:
Usually a shrub but can grow to a height of 35 feet. Leaves are found in palmates of 7-9 leaflets are a very narrow ellipse or even lanceolate 2 1/2 - 5 inches in length.
Location:
in moist, rich soil of woodlands or riverbanks in northeastern Texas
Fruit:
May -June, covered in prickles or more uncommonly smooth.
Medical use:
Bark contains a glycoside, aesculin, which when used in a 4% solution in an ointment can protect the skin from UV rays
Other use:
Crushed fruit was used for fish poison and the roots can be used for washing clothes.
WARNING: ALL PLANT PARTS AND SEEDS ARE POISONOUS



Buckeye, Red
Aesculus pavia

Common Names:
Scarlet Buckeye, Woolly Buckeye, Firecracker plant, Fish-Poison Bush
Identification:
A shrub that rarely attains a height over 28 feet. Leaves are palmate with 5 leafelets but rarely 3-7, oval in shape with serrated edges and 3-6 inches in length.
Location:
found along streams on the coastal plains of East and Central Texas
Fruits: May - June
Medical use:
powdered bark is used for toothaches and skin ulcers
Other use:
Crushed fruit was used for fish poison and the roots can be used for washing clothes.
WARNING: ALL PLANT PARTS AND SEEDS ARE POISONOUS



Bumelia, Saffron Plum
Bumelia angustifolia

Location: in southern and western Texas often on shell mounds near the Gulf of Mexico with other chaparral growth from Matagorda County to Cameron County
Fruit: April-June
Culinary use: Fruit is edible



Bumelia, Woolybucket
Bumelia lanuginosa

Location:
found in east Texas and as another variety in Central and West Texas
Fruits: September - October
Culinary use:
fruit is edible but in large doses causes stomach disturbances and dizziness.



Bush Pepper
Capsicum frutescens

Location: statewide
Medical use:
Capsicum is a good stimulant for atony of the stomach or intestines. Also used in the treatment of relaxed uvula and similar conditions. Also used in the treatment of chilblains. Used to treat colds by steeping in water and adding sugar
Culinary use
:
Berries are rubbed on sun drying meat to keep away flies, made into a seasoning by soaking in vinegar.



Bush Rock-spirea
Holodiscus dumosus

Location:
Dry, well drained, sunny sites of canyons and mountainsides at altitudes of 3,000-10,500 feet. In the Trans-Pecos region in the Chisos and Guadalupe Mountains.
Culinary use:
The fruit is eaten by the Tewa Indians of New Mexico



Butterfly Bush, Escobilla
Buddleia scordioides

Location:
on dry sunny open sites in southwestern Texas
Medical use:
Tea from the leaves is a remedy for indigestion



Butterfly, Woolly
Buddleia marrubiifolia

Location:
well drained sunny sites in western and southern Texas along the Rio Grande
Medical use:
An infusion of the flowers are used as a bath for rheumatic disorders and as a aperitive and diuretic.
Culinary use:
An infusion of the flowers is used to give butter a yellow color



Camphor tree
Cinnamomum camphoria

Location: often cultivated in Houston, but sometimes escapes.
Medical use: good for lineaments. Preparation for camphor is to steam and distill wood chips 30 lb = 1 lb camphor
WARNING: CAMPHOR IS CARCINOGENIC IF TAKEN INTERNALLY, ALSO EXCESS CONSUMPTION CAUSES VOMITING, PALPITATIONS AND DEATH.



Cane, Giant
Arundinaria gigantea

Location: low grounds or in water of ponds, rivers, and swamps, primarily east Texas
Culinary use: young shoots are cooked like bamboo shoots, large seeds can be gathered and ground into a flour.
WARNING: BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ERGOT Claviceps spp., A HIGHLY POISIONOUS FUNGUS, USUALLY PINK OR PURPLISH IN COLOR AND ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS THE SEEDS IF NOT A BIT LARGER. IF IT IS PRESENT, COLLECT IN ANOTHER AREA.



Castela, Allthorn
Castela texana

Location: Central, southwestern and western Texas on rocky banks of the Rio Grande near Alamo, Hildago County; shores of the Gulf near Riviera, Kleberg County; also in the vicinity of Austin and San Antonio.
Medical use: Extracts of the bark are used as a remedy for intestinal disturbances, skin diseases, fever, yellow jaundice, and dysentery, also as a tonic. In the treatment of amebic dysentery it has been found that a fluidacetextract in the proportion of on part in a million is sufficient to render Entamoeba histolytica immobile.



Ceanothus, Desert
Ceanothus greggii

Location: on gravely slopes or in rocky canyons at altitudes of 2,000-5,600 feet in the Trans-Pecos region
Medical use: treats syphilis and is said to possess purgative properties
Other use: Flowers are used in Mexico to give a cleansing lather for clothes washing Roots are used for red dye



Ceanothus, Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus

Location: Praries, woodlands, and barrens
Culinary use: tea can be made from the dried leaves, brew like an oriental tea
Medical use: The root is astringent and contains ceanothic acid and has the property of increasing blood coagulation, especially in the prevention of hemorrhage during surgery.
Dose: of tincture 4 fluidrachm 16 cc. at intervals of 30 minutes more or less, as may be required




Cedar, Eastern Red
Juniperus virginiana

Location: found in East Texas, reaching westward toward Wichita Falls
Medical use: Leaves are used for a diuretic, makes a good epispastic in the form of a cerate Young twigs gathered in May are used to make a tincture The berries in decoction are a diaphoretic and emmenagogue. Oil is used as an application for arthritis, rheumatic, rheumatoid, traumatic affections. 1 bushel of chips = 1/2 pint of oil
Culinary use: Berries are edible and are dried for winter use, dried and ground into flour, mixed with water, and kneaded into a hard mass then dried in the sun. Also pounded into a meal, ground into a paste, dried, then eaten.
Other use: wood is an insect repellent.
WARNING: OIL IS POISONOUS AND CAUSES VENOUS CONGESTION.



Chaste-tree, Lilac
Vitex agnus-castus

Location: usually cultivated, found in dry sunny locations
Fruits:
Medical use: seeds are used as a sedative
Culinary use: Leaves are used to spice food and as an aromatic



Chaste-tree, Negundo
Vitex negundo

Location: Found cultivated on the coast, but does escape
Medical use: A pillow of leaves treats headaches, and a decoction treats headache and catarrh Roots and leaves are used as a tonic and febrifuge



Cherry, Black
Prunus serotina

Location: East Texas, Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos areas
Fruits: June- October
Medical use: Bark is used as a cough remedy young bark is the best, also used for children's diarrhea, indigestion, and bronchitis, will also dissolve bladder and kidney stones when administered over time and in combination with other drugs
Dose: 15 drops of tincture in water
Culinary use: throughly dried stones can be pounded into flour, fruit makes exelent jams and jellies, though pectin must be added. Sweeter fruits after pitting can be used in pancakes, muffins and other baked goods.
WARNING: FOLIAGE AND FRESH PITS ARE POISONOUS



Cherry, Common Choke
Prunus virginiana

Location: found in East Texas, Panhandle, and Trans-Pecos areas.
Fruits: July-September
Medical use: Bark is used as a cough remedy young bark is the best, also used for children's diarrhea, indigestion, and bronchitis, scrofula, heart palpitation should not be used in dry cough, dyspepsia, hectic fever, debility of protracted and enfeebled cases of congestion in the chest and throat. Solution of concentrated resinous extract is good for anorexia, dyspepsia, heart weakness of, hypertrophy of, irritable, pyrosis.
Dose: 15 drops of tincture in water will also dissolve bladder and kidney stones when administered over time, if taken too fast the stones will be expelled without being softened.
Culinary use: Dried berries can be used to flavor soups, also a part of pemmican throughly dried stones can be pounded into flour, be sure to roast first Fruit. makes good jellies and jams
WARNING: FOLIAGE IS POISONOUS



China Berry
Melia azedarach

Found: Cultivated but commonly escapes cultivation in east and central Texas
Fruits: September-October
Medical use: Good insect repellent and vermifuge, anti-parasitic, and has anti-fungal properties.
WARNING: INTERNAL USE BY PROFESSIONAL PRACTITIONERS ONLY



Chinese Tallow Tree

Sapium sebiferum

Location:: cultivated, but escapes cultivation. Especially plentiful in Houston and Beaumont
Fruits: Fall
Other use: Wax covered seeds are used for candle wax



Chinquapin, Allegheny
Castanea pumila

Location:  East Texas as far south as Houston, all but eliminated by the chestnut blight
Fruits: Fall
Medical use: Nut capsule stops flux, 1 scruple for a man, 10 grains for a child Green or dried leaves can be used for whooping cough, nagging distressing cough, controlling the paroxysm, frequent hiccups, irritable or excitable respiratory problems. When combined with Lobelia Lobelia inflata and Blue Cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides. Tincture of leaves gathered in summer treats diarrhea and whooping cough.
Dose: 1 oz to 1 pt boiling water infused for 15 min. A wineglass full three times per day, children get half that amount. Fluid extract is 10 drops 3 times pre day and half for children.
Culinary use: roast the nuts and then crack them out of the shells, the nuts can be eaten as is, made into flour, or dipped into sugar syrup to make candied nuts.
THIS TREE IS INCREASINGLY UNCOMMON, DO NOT USE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

WARNING:
DO NOT CONFUSE WITH THE HORSE CHESTNUT AESCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM WHICH HAS BITTER AND MILDLY POISONOUS FRUIT



Climbing Spiderling
Commicarpus scandens

Location: dry soil on fence rows, waste grounds, edges of ravines, gravely valleys, chaparral thickets to altitudes of 4,500 ft in southwest and west Texas.
Medical use: decoction of leaves treats venereal disease



Condalia, Bluewood
Condalia hookeri

Location: in dry soil in central, southern, and western Texas. On the coast from Matagorda County to Cameron County, frequent along the lower Rio Grande River. In central region the greatest concentration is in the limestone plateau area and west to the Pecos River, Less common west of the Pecos and north into the Panhandle.
Fruits: intervals during the summer
Culinary use: makes good jellies
Other use: wood makes a blue dye



Condalia, Lote-bush
Condalia obtusifolia

Location: south Texas plains, Edwards plateau, and Trans-Pecos area
Fruits: June
Medical use: treats sores and wounds
Culinary use: fruit is edible
Other use: Roots are used as a soap substitute



Condalia, Southwestern
Candalia lycioides

Location: on dry hills and desert flats ascending to an altitude of 5,000 feet in extreme west Texas
Medical use: an eye treatment was made from the roots
Culinary use: The fruit is edible
Other use: Bark of the root is substituted for soap in Mexico



Coral Bean, Cockspur
Erythrina crista-galli

Location: Usually cultivated but escapes in coastal Texas
Medical use: The beans cause a curare-like paralyzing action when administered intravenously. Should be studied further for clinical use.



Coyotillo, Humboldt
Karwinkia humboldtiana

Location: dry plains and prairies in south Texas and southern Edwards plateau
Medical use: a decoction of leaves and roots are used to treat fevers
WARNING: SEEDS ARE POISONOUS AND ARE REPORTED TO CAUSE PARALYSIS IN THE LIMBS OF HUMANS AND DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK



Crabb-apple, Prairie
Pyrus ioensis

Location: central, and eastern half of Texas
Fruits: September-October
Culinary use: Can be eaten raw but is very sour, used for astringents and vinegar. Pectin for making jams and jellies can be extracted by using under ripe fruit, barely cover with water and simmer until soft then strain.



Creeper, Virginia
Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Location: widespread in Texas
Medical use: bark is used for a tonic, expectorant, and remedy for dropsy.
WARNING: BERRIES CAN BE FATAL WHEN EATEN IN QUANTITYS



Creeping, Skyflower
Duranta repens

Location: escapes from cultivation in the lower Rio Grande valley
Fruits:
Medical use: remedy for fevers



Creosote Bush, Coville Larrea tridentata

Location: south Texas plains, Trans-Pecos, and southern Edwards plateau in desert and dry soil.
Medical use: Tea of leaves are used to reduce cancers, skin conditions, arthritis, backache, hair growth, eyesight, bowel elimination but not a laxative , kidney infections, prostate trouble, sinus, stomach cancer, throat, bronchial problems, weight loss problems. Boiled leaves are used externally to treat bruises rheumatism and pain. Heated and sharpened sticks are inserted into tooth cavities for pain.
Dose: 1 tbs. of leaves and small twigs to 1 pt of boiling water in a screw top jar, let stand overnight, drink 1/4 of the liquid 1/2 hour before bedtime
Culinary use: the buds are pickled and eaten by Mexican Indians



Croton, Cortes Croton cortesianus

Location: Southern and western Texas in Cameron and Hildago Counties
Medical use: Plant is known in Mexico as "Palillo" is used as a caustic in the treatment of skin diseases



Croton, Fragrant Croton suaveolens

Location: Ledges and clefts of rock on dry slopes of hills. In Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County, and in Val Verde County. Medical use: Known in Mexico as "Encinillo" and used for baths during convalescence from fevers


Croton, Leather Weed Croton corymbulosus

Location: usually on sandy mesas or dry rocky slopes at altitudes of 2,000-6,000 feet in the Trans-Pecos
Culinary use: Tea can be made from the foliage



Croton, New Mexican Croton neomexicanus

Location: in western Texas on low rocky hills and plains at altitudes of 4,000-5,800 feet.
Medical use: Root bark is used in Mexico as a purgative



Croton, Mexican Croton ciliato-glandulosus

Location: the Mexican desert plateau area at altitudes of 3,000-4,500 feet 3 1/2 miles southwest of Roma in Starr County. Medical use: the leaves are used in Mexico as a purgative and febrifuge



Currant, Rothrock Ribes wolfii

Location: in damp woods in the aspen and conifer belts of 6,000-12,000 feet in Trans-Pecos
Fruit: August
Culinary use: fruit can be made into jams, jellies, and meat sauces



Cypress, bald Taxodium distichum

Location: found in eastern and southern parts of the state both wild and cultivated. Usually near a good water source lake, river, swamp
Fruit: October-December
Medical use: cone resin is an analgesic for wounds



Cypress, Bald Montezuma Taxodium mucronatum

Location: Lower Rio Grande river, uncommon
Medical use: Resin is for wounds, ulcers, cutaneous diseases, toothache and gout Bark is an emmenagogue and diuretic Leaves are resolutive and treats itch Pitch is used for bronchitis and chest affections, derived by putting fresh chips into a pit, covering with earth and then fired.



Cyrilla, American Cyrilla racemiflora

Location: in swamps on the Gulf coastal plain in eastern Texas
Medical use: the spongy lower bark is used as a styptic



Dogwood, Flowering Cornus florida

Location: statewide and also cultivated
Medical use: dried bark of the root is used as a powder or fluid extract for intermittent fever
Other use: dye is made from the roots



Dogwood, Rough Leaf Cornus drummondii

Location: edges of streams, thickets, and fence rows in central, southern, and east Texas
Medical use: bark is used to wash mangy dogs


Elder, American Sambucus canadensis

Location: rich moist soils along streams and in low areas. East and northeast Texas
Flowers: May-July
Medical use: leaves are used as a poultice for sores and tumors. Flowers are used as a diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge, and as an alternative for rheumatism and syphilis. Fruit is used as a laxative.
Culinary use: flowers are used as a flavoring in drinks by soaking in water. also improve the flavor of plain flours. fruit is made into pies, wines, and jellies
Other use: dried leaves are used as an insecticide, bark is used as a black dye.



Elder, Mexican Sambucus mexicana

Location: along low places, ditches, and streams at altitudes of 1,000-4,000 feet in the desert or desert grassland.
Flowers: April-June also after rains
Medical use: flowers are a gentle excitant and sudorific, Fruit is a diaphoretic and an alternative for rheumatism and syphilis. Inner bark is a hydragogue cathartic and in large doses a emetic. Also used for dropsy and epilepsy.
Fruit: makes excellent wines and pies and is often dried for further use by Indians.
Other use: Stems make a dark dye



Elm, Slippery Ulmus rubra

Location: Northeast, north central, and central Texas
Medical use: Inner bark is chewed as a thirst quencher and throat soother. also dried, powdered and made into a drink for digestive problems, urinary, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and gastritis. Tincture of fresh bark treats constipation, deafness, hemorrhoids, herpes, pain, and syphilis. Also added as a soothing element to cough mixtures. Inner bark is harvested in spring, dried and powdered for internal use
Culinary Use: The inner bark can make a good tea when steeped in hot water for approx. 15 minutes. It alson can be dried and ground into a flour.



Ephedra, Erect Ephedra antisyphilitica

Location: Dry soils and gravely plains, rocky hillsides, old fields and pastures and calcareous slopes of Central and Western Texas.
Medical use: Used to treat syphilis.



Eupatorium, Blue Eupatorium azureum

Location: in caliche soil in southwest Texas
Medical use: used for astringent poultices



Eupatorium, Christmas Bush Eupatorium conyzoides

Location: in rocky or clay soils in Texas along the Rio Grande River in Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Hildago, and Cameron Counties.
Medical use: leaves are used for an emmenagogue



Euphorbia, Wax Euphorbia antisyphilitica

Location: Gravely limestone hills of the Texas Big Bend area.
Medical use: Known as Candelilla in Mexico it is used as a purgative and treating venereal disease
Other use: Stems are boiled to obtain a wax



Fiddlewood, Berlandier Citharexylum berlandieri

Location: Confined to the valley of the lower Rio Grande Valley in Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties. One mile from Boca Chica Beach below Brownsville, Texas
Medical use: used as a cold remedy in Mexico



Fig, Common Ficus carica

Location: Cultivated but escapes in frost free area along road sides
Medical use: Ripe figs are nutritious, laxitive and demulcent. Unripe can be an irritant. Latex of tree is anthelmintic against internal parasites


Four-wing Saltbush Atriplex canescens

Location: many soil types in western Texas
Fruit: august-September
Culinary use: SW indians grind seeds to use for baking powder in bread making


Fremont Screw-bean Prosopis pubescens

Location: In west Texas on the alluvial bottom lands of the upper Rio Grande River and its tributaries from Uvalde County wets to El Paso County.
Medical use: the powdered root bark was used by the Pima to treat wounds Culinary use: The beans were ground into pinole meal and made into bread, or was steeped for a cooling drink. Crude syrup can be made by boiling down the beans.



Gooseberry, Georgia Ribes curvatum

Location: in dry rocky soil, but rare in Texas
Fruit: July
Culinary use: fruit can be made into jams, jellies, and meat sauces



Grape, Canyon Vitis arizonica

Location: ravines and gulches at altitudes of 2,000-7,500 feet in western Texas
Fruit: July-August
Culinary use: Pueblo indians, formerly cultivated the vine and ate the fruit fresh or dried



Grape, Long's Vitis longii

Location: along sandy banks and bluffs, nearly always in ravines and gulches tributary to larger streams along the Red, Canadian, Cimarron, and Arkansas rivers, and through the Panhandle
Fruit: July-August
Culinary use: The fruit is sometimes made into pies in the Panhandle area. The underripe fruit is an exelent source for pectin. Young leavesbest in spring and before the summer heat starts can be boiled for 10-15 minutes and served with butter, or they can be lightly boiled and then used to wrap meats when baking in an oven or on coals be sure to use several layers if using coals



Grape, Mustang Vitis candicans

Location: of the greatest size in the bottomlands of limy Cretaceous hills of southwestern Texas, also on central, northern, and eastern Texas.
Fruit: June-August
Culinary use: The grapes are somewhat sour but are edible, may cause skin irritations in some. The skin is rather sour, but i've found squeezing the pulp out of the center is a rather nice snack in the summer. When cooking with the fruit be sure to add sugar. The underripe fruit is an exelent source for pectin. Young leaves best in spring and before the summer heat starts can be boiled for 10-15 minutes and served with butter, or they can be lightly boiled and then used to wrap meats when baking in an oven or on coals be sure to use several layers if using coals



Grape, Summer Vitis aestivalis

Location: warm sandy soil, dry woods, thickets, and along roadsides
Fruit: September-October
Culinary use: The fruit makes excellent preserves, jellies, and wines



Greenbrier, Lanceleaf Smilax lanceolata

Location: rich ground, thickets, fields, edges of ditches or streams in East Texas
Culinary use: tubers were beaten to a pulp and then strained and further ground to make a meal for dough or for a cooling drink. Young shoots can be used as cooked greens or in a salad *besure to remove the thorns first. Roots can be used to substitute for gelatin, wash throughly then pound to seperate starches from the fibers, the reddish powder left over makes a mild jelly when combined with warm water. The powder can also be used to thicken gravies when combined with another flour or starch.


Greenbrier, Laurel Smilax laurifolia

Location: sandy, acid swamps or wet woods in East Texas
Culinary use: tubers were beaten to a pulp and then strained and further ground to make a meal for dough or for a cooling drink. Young shoots can be used as cooked greens or in a salad *besure to remove the thorns first. Roots can be used to substitute for gelatin, wash throughly then pound to seperate starches from the fibers, the reddish powder left over makes a mild jelly when combined with warm water. The powder can also be used to thicken gravies when combined with another flour or starch.



Hackberry, Common Celtis occidentalis

Location: primarily in east Texas
Fruits: September
Medical use: Bark is a cathartic and a anthelmintic Tincture is prepared from inner bark gathered when the tree is in full foliage, pounded to a pulp then weighed. The pulp is then mixed with alcohol and let stand for eight days. The is separated by decanting, pressing, and mass filtration.
Culinary use: fruit is edible and quite sweet



Hardy Yellow Trumpet Tecoma stans

Location: well drained dry soil in full sun in western and southern Texas
Medical use: decoction of the plant is used for stomach cramps and diabetes. Roots are used as a diuretic, tonic, anti syphilitic, and anthelmintic.
Culinary use: Beer is prepared form the root



Hawthorn, May Crataegus opaca

Location: wet soil of east Texas
Fruits: May
Cuilinary use: The fruit is a bit bitter raw, but can be made into good jams and jellies, no need to add pectin. A tea cab be made by steeping the fruit in hot water along with some mint


Heimia, Willow-Leaf Heimia salicifolia
Location: usually along streams or resacas in southwest Texas
Medical use: plant is used as an emetic, anti syphilitic, hemostatic, febrifuge, diuretic, laxative, vulnerary, sudorific, tonic, and astringent. If the juice or a decoction is taken internally it is said to produce a mild and pleasant intoxication during which all objects appear to be yellow


Hickory, Black Carya texana

Location: east Texas Pineywoods and post oak savanna in sandy soil
Fruit: September-October
Culinary use: Milk can be made by pounding then boiling the nuts Black salt can be made by boiling ashes down to a powder. Use nuts  as a substitute for walnuts in recipies.  The sap can be made into syrup.


Honeysuckle, Western White Lonicera albiflora

Location: in central and western Texas northward into Oklahoma
Fruit: October-November
Medical use: Fruit is used as an emetic and cathartic.


Hop Tree Ptelea trifoliata

Location: statewide, but mostly in east and central Texas in dry environs
fruit: August-September
Medical use: Bark is used to treat dyspepsia, asthma, phthisis, syphilis, diarrhea, rheumatism, epilepsy, fever, a bitter stomic, and as a mild tonic. The bark is gathered after the fruit is ripe but before the leaves start to turn, a tincture can be prepared then separated by pressure and filtration.
Culinary use: fruit can substitute for hops in beer making.


Jerusalem-thorn Parkinsonia aculeata

Location: moist sandy soils in the south Texas Plains and southern Edwards plateau, also cultivated as an ornament
Medical use: Leaves are made into tea to treat diabetes, epilepsy, as a sudorific and abortificant, also as a febrifuge.
Culinary use: seeds can be pounded into a flour to make bread


Jessamine, Carolina Gelsemium sempervirens

Location: sandy moist soil of eastern and southern Texas
Medical use: dried rhizome administered as a tincture treats facial neuralgia, rheumatism, and gonorrhea.
WARNING: SHOULD BE USED BY PROFESSIONAL PHYSICIANS ONLY,
OVERDOSE HAS RESULTED IN VERTIGO, AND DEATH.



Juniper, Alligator Juniperus deppeana

Location: High mountains of Trans-Pecos at an altitude of 4,000-8,000 feet in the Chisos, Davis, Eagle, and Limpia Mountains of West Texas
Medical use: Leaves are a local remedy for rheumatism and neuralgia in nearby Chihuahua, Mexico.


Juniper, One-Seed Juniperus monosperma

Location: Lower hills approaching taller mountains at altitudes of 3,000-7,000 feet
Fruit: September
Culinary use: The seeds can be ground into flour


Juniper, rocky Mountain Juniperus scopulorum

Location: in rocky soil in the panhandle and Guadalupe mountains at altitudes up to 6,000 ft.
Medical use: Tea from small twigs in large amounts is a diuretic
Culinary use: Berries are used to flavor gin, roasted as a coffee substitute, made into meal or mush cakes, flavoring sauerkraut, beer making berries + barley and as a substitute for pepper. Tea can be made from the twigs.  Crushed berries are good for seasoning lamb.


Kentucky Coffee-tree Gymnocladus dioica

Location: in low rich soil in the northern gulf coast plain
Culinary use: seeds are poisonous but when roasted make a coffee substitute sorry, it's decaf
WARNING: THE SEEDS ARE POISONOUS IN THE RAW STATE



Krameria, Gray's Krameria grayi

Location: dry soil of barren hillsides and desert areas at altitudes of 1,000-4,000 feet in the Trans-Pecos
Medical use: Root infusion is used by the Pima as a remedy for sores
 Other use: Mexicans use root bark for a yellow or reddish brown dye


Krameria, Little-leaf Krameria parvifolia

Location: In western Texas on dry rocky slopes and plains at altitudes of 500-5,000 feet
Medical use: A decoction of the plant was used as an eyewash and a remedy for sores
Other use: Makes a brown or red dye


Lantana, Texas
Lantana horrida

Location: grows mostly in sandy soil abundant in coastal areas and scattered across central Texas to the Rio Grande and north to Cook and Archer Counties
Medical use: A decoction of the leaves is used for a stomach tonic. Also used for snake bites, a strong decoction is taken internally and a poultice of leaves is applied to the bite


Lime Prickly-ash
 Zanthoxylum fagara

Location: along the gulf coast from Harris co. to the Rio Grande valley
Medical use: Extracts of the bark and leaves are used as a nerve tonic and sudorific
Culinary use: powdered bark and leaves are a condiment
Other use: powdered bark is a yellow dye


Locust, Common Honey
Gleditsia triacanthos

Location: in Pineywoods, upper post oak Savannah and Blackland prairies in moist soil
Fruits: September-October
Culinary use: young pods are edible and very sweet but become bitter with age
WARNING: BE SURE NOT TO CONFUSE THE PODS WITH THOSE OF THE KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE WHICH ARE POISIONOUS


Locust, New Mexico
Robinia neomexicana

Location: moist soil along streams in the sun at altitudes of 4,000-8,500 feet in the conifer belt in Trans-Pecos region. Also known as U-a de Gato.
Medical use: Used as a remedy for rheumatism by the Hopi


Long Stalk Green Thread
Thelesperma longipes

Location: dry hills and mesas, slopes, and canyons at altitudes of 5,000-6,000 feet in western Texas in the Guadalupe Mountains and perhaps elsewhere.
Culinary use: used for tea in Mexico


Madrone, Texas
Arbutus texana

Location: central Texas and isolated patches in the Trans-Pecos on limestone or igneous hills
Fruits
Medical use: used medicinally as an astringent in Mexico
Culinary use: Fruit is edible


Magnolia, Sweet-bay
Magnolia virginiana

Location: low, wet, acid, sandy soil of Texas and is occasionally cultivated
Culinary use: leaves are used for flavoring meats Other use: flowers are used for their fragrance


Mahonia, Laredo
Mahonia trifoilata

Location: dry hillsides over most of central, south, and west Texas
Fruits: ripens in June
Culinary use: seeds when roasted make a coffee substitute
Other use: yellow dye is made from wood and roots


Malpighia, Barbados Cherry
Malpighia glabra

Location: southern Texas in Cameron and Hildago Counties, also cultivated
Medical use: used as an astringent and febrifuge, high in tannin
Culinary use: fruit is edible and made into preserves


Manzanita, Point Leaf
Arctostaphylos pungens

Location: rocky mesas and dry slopes at altitudes of 3,000-8,000 feet in west Texas
Fruit: July-April
Culinary use: fruit is often making into jelly


Maple, Box-elder
Acer negundo

Location: found near streams in east, north central, and central Texas
Culinary use: can be tapped for sugar, though it is inferior to sugar maple


Maple, Sugar
Acer saccharum

Location: east Texas
Culinary use: sap can be used for syrup, fermented, and vinegar seeds are edible after removing wings, soaking, boiling, and roasting Inner bark cam be pounded into flour


Maple, Big Tooth
Acer grandidentatum

Location: valleys, canyons, banks of mountain streams at altitudes of 4,000-6,000 feet in the Guadalupe, Davis, and Chisos Mountains of the Trans-Pecos region
Culinary use: sap is used for sugar making


Maple, Florida Sugar
Acer barbatum

Location: in moist rich soil in Texas
Culinary use: Seasons are not distinct enough in the south for proper sap flow, but sugar can be produced from the sap, about 1 lb for every 15 quarts


Mayten, Guttapercha
Maytenus phyllanthoides

Location: on sandy bluffs on tidal beaches on the coasts of Texas
Medical use: leaves are used as a remedy for scurvy and toothaches. Gum is substituted for guttapercha and used to bind splints for broken limbs.


Mesquite, Honey
Prosopis glandulosa

Location: found in dry areas, overtaking grasslands quickly, grown statewide except in the far east Pineywoods
Fruits: August-September
Culinary use: Legumes can be eaten contain almost 30% sugar or pounded into pinole meal and baked or fermented into alcohol and were an important of the southwestern indians diet. Gum is made into candy
Other use: beans are used to make black dye, mend pottery and to make gun arabic


Milkberry, David
Chiococca alba

Location: southwestern Texas in lower Rio Grande valley area
Medical use: used to treat dropsy, venereal disease, and rheumatism. Cahinca extracted from the bark is an emeto-cathartic capable of producing serious gastro-intestinal disturbances, diuretic, and purgative, and is used by the natives of Brazil as a remedy for snakebite, rheumatism, and dropsy.
Dose: 20 grains-1 drachm of powdered bark


Mulberry
Morus var.

Location: Red Morus rubra found in rich moist soil Black Morus nigra old gardens, roadsides, thickets and waste grounds, also cultivated White Morus alba escapes cultivation Texas Morus microphylla West of the Colorado River on dry limestone hills
Fruits: May-August
Culinary use: the fruit is edible, makes good jellies and jams pectin must be added, dried berries can be used in muffins and cakes becareful, they tend to spoil easily in the presence of moisture young leading shoots can be eaten but must be boiled for at least 20 minutes
Other use: inner bark is made into cloth and heavy paper
WARNING: UNRIPE FRUIT AND RAW SHOOTS CONTAIN HALLUCINOGENS


Mulberry, Common Paper
Broussonetia papyrifera

Location: statewide but escapes cultivation
Other use: cloth or thick paper can be made by pounding bark with a wooden mallet


Naked Seed Weed
Selloa glutinosa

Location: rocky soils of dry hillsides and arid grasslands at altitudes of 2,000-6,000 feet in western Texas.
Medical use: a decoction of the plant is used as a remedy for diarrhea and a solution of the gum is used externally as a remedy for rheumatism and ulcers.


Nightshade, Mullein
Solanum verbascifolium

Location: in the lower Rio Grande Valley and around old resacas at Olmito in Cameron County
Medical use: leaves were heated and applied to the forehead for headaches. Also applied as a poultice to ulcers and boils.
WARNING: THE BERRIES ARE VERY POISIONOUS


Oak
Quercus var.
Location: statewide in various species
Fruit: August-October
Medical use: Bark collected in early spring is used as an internal astringent, diarrhea, mucous discharge, and hemorrhage. Tea is used to strengthen outer blood vessels White Oak bark Quercus alba treats goiter, nasal drip and improves digestion A solution of acorns, bark and milk helped to treat ulcerated bladder
Dose: 1 oz bark to 1 qt water and boiled down to 1 pt, taken by the glassful
Culinary use: acorns are edible after leaching 15-30 min. in boiling water to get rid of tannin Acorns can be deep fried, ground into a flour and then either used on its own or added to other flour to add protein, or dried till bitter for use as a coffee substitute White oak acorns are the best and sweetest
Other use: the bark can be used for tannin in tanning hides


Ocotillo
Fouquieria splendens

Location: dry, rocky, hillsides, or desert flats in western and southern Texas
Medical use: Cough medicine is made from the flowers, powdered root is for dressing wounds and swellings of the Apache indians
Culinary use: Flowers and seed pods are eaten by the Cahuilla Indians as well as a beverage from the flowers
Other use: Bark contains gum, resin, wax and was used for waxing leather


Paloverde, Blue
Cercidium floridum

Location: Trans-Pecos
Culinary use: the pods and seeds are ground into a meal


Pawpaw, Common
Asimina triloba

Location: rich soil of the east Texas bottomlands
Fruit: autumn
Medical use: a tonic and stimulant
Dose: coarsely powered fresh ripe seeds are covered with five parts by weight of alcohol and allowed to stand for eight days in a well stoppered dark bottle, then the tincture is filtered off.
Culinary use: the fruit is used for deserts or eaten raw with cream, high in carbohydrates.
WARNING: HANDLING THE FRUIT MAY CAUSE SKIN IRRITATIONS


Pear, Common
Pyrus communis

Location: often cultivated in Texas and commonly escapes
Fruit: July-October
Culinary use: fruit is edible in many raw or cooked forms


Pecan
Carya illinoensis

Location: in riverbottoms, concentrated in east and south central Texas, also grown as an ornamental
Fruit: September-October
Medical use: Leaves and bark are used as an astringent
Culinary use: nuts are edible


Pepper tree, California
Schinus molle

Location: found in dry sandy soil occasionally in west Texas
Medical use: Powdered bark or its decoction is used to treat swollen feet, as a astringent, and balsamic. Gum is chewed and has purgative and vulneary properties. In Mexico it is applied as an emulsion to the eyes to hinder the development of cataracts, and to treat genito-urinary and venereal diseases. Leaves are chewed to harden the gums and heal ulcers of the mouth Fruit is used as a substitute for cubeb in the treatment of gonorrhea, and a syrup is prepared for bronchitis.
Culinary use: Seeds are sometimes used to adulterate pepper. Fruit is ground and mixed with atole or other substances to form beverages. An intoxication liquor "copalote" can be made by fermenting the fruit pulp for one or two days,


Persimmon, Common
Diospyros virginiana

Location: south Texas plains and Edwards plateau in many soil types, west to the valley of the Colorado river.
Fruit: August-February but vary variable
Medical use: bark is used as an astringent
Culinary use: fruit is edible and is very high in carbohydrates and acidic, the native americans would mix the pulp with crushed corn to make into a kind of bread


Persimmon, Texas
Diospyros texasn

Location: central and west Texas on rocky hillsides, abundant in Edwards plateau. When near the coast usually on soils with lime composition because of the marine shells. Reaching its easternmost limit in Harris County near the coast.
Fruit: August-February but variable as to when
Culinary use: smaller than the common persimmon but is still edible
Other use: juice is used for dying skins black


Pine, Pinyon
Pinus edulis

Location: in Culberson and Hudspeth Co. at altitudes of 4,000-7,000 ft
Fruit: August-September
Culinary use: Seeds are edible and can be used for cooking. The inner bark of pines can be dried and made into flour, though I would reccomend using it only in emergency situations. Tea made from the needles are high in vitamin A and C, young needles have the best flavor.


Pine, var.
Pinus var.

Location: Statewide and represented by several species
Culinary use: The inner bark of pines can be dried and made into flour, though I would reccomend using it only in emergency situations. Tea made from the needles are high in vitamin A and C, young needles have the best flavor.


Plum, American
Prunus americana

Location: Found statewide in several varieties
Fruit: June-October
Culinary use: fruit makes good jellies, preserves, and eaten raw or cooked. Also can be used for wine making.


Plum, Creek
Prunus rivularis

Location: along streams in sunny sits. River valleys of Texas along the Colorado, Guadalupe, and Leona rivers.
Fruit: June
Culinary use: fruit is edible


Plum, Flatwoods
Prunus umbellata
Location: sandy soils of Texas
Fruit: June - August
Culinary use: fruit is used for jams and jellies


Plum, Oklahoma
Prunus gracilis

Location: found on dry sandy soils in the sun of north Texas
Fruits: June-August
Culinary use: the fruit is edible, but rather sour


Plum, Reverchon Hog
Prunus reverchonii

Location: well drained moist limestone soils in the sun, central and northern Texas
Fruit: July-September
Culinary use: fruit is edible, but of poor quality. Drought resistant


Plumbago, Climbing
Plumbago scandens

Location: southwest Texas
Medical use: a decoction of the plant is used as an emetic
WARNING: PLANT CAN PRODUCE BLISTERS ON THE SKIN


Poreleaf, Shrubby
Porophyllum scoparium

Location: rocky banks and plains of southwestern Texas
Medical use: used by the natives as a remedy for fevers, rheumatism, and affections of the stomach and intestines.


Porliera, Texas
Porliera angustifolia

Location: in south Texas plains, southern Edwards plateau, and Trans-Pecos areas
Medical use: Extracts of the root are used for rheumatism, venereal disease, and as a sudorific
Other use: bark of roots is used as a soap for woolens


Prickly Ash, Hercules-club
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis

Location: eastern third of Texas in woodlands, uncommon also cultivated
fruits: august-September
Medical use: bark is chewed to numb oral tissues and increase salivation Powdered bark is made into a rheumatic liniment Fruits are antispasmodic, stimulant, carminative, and acts on the mucous tissues Tincture treats hepatic and pancreatic sluggishness, chronic muscular rheumatism, lumbago, scrofula, temporary paralysis, female troubles, typhus, typhoid pneumonia, and syphilis.
Dose: 1 tsp. bark to 1 c boiling water, one mouthful throughout the day. Tincture: 5-20 drops in water. Rheumatic liniment: 1 oz powdered bark in 4 oz of oil Rheumatic: decoction of 1 oz in 1 qt of water, 1 pt per day Tympanitis: 1/2 - 1 drachm of tincture in sweetened water hourly


Prickly Ash, Lime
Zanthoxylum fagara

Location: Southwestern and coastal Texas to Harris and Galveston Counties, abundant in lower Rio Grande valley
Medical use: Extracts of the bark and leaves are taken as a sudorific and nerve tonic.
Culinary use: Powdered bark and leaves are used as a condiment
Other use: Bark and leaves make a yellow dye


Privet Lippia
Lippia ligustrina

Location: rocky limestone soil at altitudes of 1,000-4,000 feet in southern, central, and west Texas
Flower: Intermittently March-November especially after rains
Medical use: Leaves and flowers are used to treat diseases of the urinary tract


Randia, Texas
Randia aculeata

Location: in south Texas along the Rio Grande valley in sandy or clay loams
Fruit: September-October
Medical use: the fruit is a remedy for dysentery
Other use: the fruit is also a blue dye


Redbud, Eastern
Cercis canadensis

Location: east, central Texas and southern Trans-Pecos area in rich soil along streams and in bottomlands
Medical use: bark is astringent and used to treat dysentery
Culinary use: leaves are edible raw, pickled, or fried, young pods can be sauted and served with butter. The flowers can be added to salads


Rubber Plant
Jatropha dioica

Location: two varieties are found on dry slopes, mesas, and rocky limestone bluffs. Sessile flower is the most common in the southwest, while Grass leaf is confined to the Trans-Pecos region
Medical use: Juice has astringent properties and hardens the gums, for skin eruptions, sores, dysentery, hemorrhoids, and venereal diseases, to prepare a gargle for sore throat, as a wash to restore and give luster to hair, and to remove stains from teeth Roots are chewed for toothaches
Other use: plant yields a dark red dye, but may damage the cloth


Sage Brush, Big
Artemisia tridentata

Location: dry and stony soils usually in deep soil pockets. Widely distributed in the west.
Medical use: plant is a diaphoretic, antiperiodic or laxative.
Culinary use: Cahuilla Indians of California ground the seeds into meal which was then made into some sort of pinole.


Sage Brush, Fringed
Artemisia frigida

Location: on dry, stony soil to an altitude of 7,000 feet in western Texas
Medical use: used as a diuretic and mild cathartic. Leaves contain an essential oil that is antiseptic.
Culinary use: Roast the leaves with sweet corn to flavor it.


Sage Brush, Sand
Artemisia filifolia

Location: in sandy soils to an altitude of 6,000 feet in the lower panhandle.
Medical use: A decoction of the leaves is used for intestinal worms and affections of the stomach.


Saltwort, Maritime
Batis maritima

Location: Sandy beaches, mud flats and saline marshes near the sea. From Galveston Island, Texas through Matagorda Island, to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Medical use: Treats ulcers and diuretic
Culinary use: Leaves have a salty flavor in salads
Other use: ashes are used for making soap and glass


Sassafras
Sassafras albidum

Location: in east Texas Pineywoods in sandy woods and disturbed ground
Medical use: Roots and bark are made into tea and used to treat rheumatism, varicose ulcers, menstrual cramps, skin diseases, and as an alcohol soberant. An oil can be prepared from the root and bark and is used to relieve toothaches and is used in the preparation of liniments for bruises and swelling
Culinary use: Leaves are use as spice for cooking and can be rubbed into a fine powder for filet. Tea can be made from the roots by washing them and then leaving the roots to saok in water like you would make sun tea untill the water turns reddish brown, then sweeten to taste.
WARNING: SASSAFRAS HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE POTENTIALLY CARCINOGENIC AND CAUTION IS ADVISED
WARNING: SASSAFRAS SHOULD NOT BE USED BY THIN BLOODED PERSONS



Service-berry, Big Bend
Amelanchier denticulata

Location: Chisos Mountains of Brewster County and south into Mexico
Fruit: May-June
Culinary use: fruit was eaten by the native indians
Other use: The flexible stems were made into canes by the Mexicans and known as "varitas de apizaco"


Service-berry, Shadblow
Amelanchier arborea

Location: northeast Texas and occasionally cultivated
Fruit: June-July
Culinary use: the berries can be eaten raw or cooked into pies


Service-berry, Utah
Amelanchier utahensis

Location: in dry canyons, rock slopes, and mountainsides at altitudes of 4,000-8,000 feet in the Guadalupe Mountians
Fruit: May-June
Culinary use: Fruit can be eaten raw or made into bread. Often made into a paste and combined with jerked dry meat as an ingredient in pemmican. Settlers made fruit into puddings and pies. Watch out because birds and ground squirrels tend to get most of the fruit before it is ripe.


Silverleaf, Texas
Leucophyllum frutescens

Location: in central, western, and southwestern Texas, also planted along highways and culverts.
Medical use: used my Mexican indians for chills and fevers


Snakeweed, Broom
Gutierrezia sarothrae

Location: arid rocky plains at altitudes of 2,800-7,000 feet in western Texas
Medical use: decoction of the plant is used for a emmenagogue and for gastric disturbances


Soapberry, Western
Sapindus saponaria

Location: in moist soils along streams statewide except the Pineywoods, high plains, and upper south Texas plains
Fruit: September-October
Medical use: Fruit is used to treat renal disorders, rheumatism, and fevers
Other use: The fruit is used in Mexico as a laundry soap



Sophora, Mescal Bean
Sophora secundiflora

Location: in limestone soils of the Edwards plateau, south Texas, and parts of the Trans Pecos
Fruit: September
Medical use: The beans are used as a narcotic my native americans. Very small amounts of powdered seeds was added to a beverage to produce intoxication, delirium, excitement, and finally a long sleep.
WARNING: FOR USE BY PROFESSIONAL HERBALISTS ONLY,
USE IN VERY SMALL AMOUNTS AND UNDER CLOSE SUPERVISION.
LARGER AMOUNTS ARE DANGEROUS AND POISONOUS




Sophora, Necklace-Pod
Sophora tomentosa

Location: in coastal dunes along the Texas seashore
Medical use: Plant is diuretic, sudorific, and have purgative properties and is used to treat venereal disease. Roots and leaves are used to treat cholera

WARNING: SEEDS ARE POISONOUS AND SHOULD NOT BE USED



Spice Bush
Lindera benzoin

Location: found in low woods and swamps
Fruit: August-September
Medical use: A decoction of the bark, leaves, and berries is used to treat diaphoresis, act as a febrifuge, tonic, stimulant, antiperiodic, and anthelmintic. Bark is aromatic and made into tonics, astringent, stimulants, and chewed Oil of the berries was used as an embrocation in neuralgic and rheumatic pains. Tincture preparation: fresh young twigs are gathered before the buds have burst in the spring and are chopped and pounded to a pulp and weighed. Then two parts by weight of alcohol are taken, and one sixth of the alcohol are mixed with the pulp and then the rest of the alcohol is added. After stirring well it is placed in a well stoppered dark glass vial and allowed to stand for eight days. The tincture is then filtered.
Culinary use: Plant parts are made into tea Powdered fruit can substitute for allspice




Sotol, Wheeler
Dasyliriun wheeleri

Location: rocky and gravely hillsides or slopes at altitudes of 3,000-,000 feet in Texas near El Paso
Culinary use: Sotol can be made into an alcoholic drink by roasting the heads in a pit for 24 hours, then distilling the expressed juice.



St. Andrew's Cross
Ascyrum hypericoides

Location: usually in sandy soil
Medical use: Extract of the leaves is used as an astringent and resolutive Seeds have purgative properties




Sumac, Evergreen
Rhus sempervirens

Location: dry rocky soil on the Edwards plateau and Trans-Pecos area at altitudes of 2,000-7,500 feet
Fruit: September
Medical use: Dried leaves are boiled for asthma relief
Culinary use: Berries are steeped for a cooling drink
Other use: Called Tamaichia by the Comanche, dried leaves are used to combine with tobacco




Sumac, Flame-leaf and Prairie
Rhus copallina var. lanceolata
Location: moist soil in shade or sun in Trans-Pecos, central, and north central Texas west of Dallas and Austin and in Palo Duro canyon
Culinary use: fruit is crushed and mixed with water to make a cooling drink
Other use: The fruit makes a black dye




Sumac, Skunk-bush
Rhus aromatica

Location: on limestone outcrops in central, northern, western, and southwestern Texas
Fruit: August-September
Culinary use: Fruit can be eaten or made into a cooling drink by steeping in water




Sumac, Smooth
Rhus glabra

Location: rich moist soils in east and north central Texas
Fruit: September-October
Medical use: Dried leaves are boiled for asthma relief, malaria, fevers, canker sores, and sore throats An injection of bark infusion or tea when drunk will give relief from leukorrhea, rectal conditions, chronic diarrhea, and rectal hemorrhage. Berries and leaves are made into a poultice for skin diseases. Juice of berries is good for dysentery and urinary problems Tincture treats debility, diarrhea, dysentery, epistaxis, hemorrhages, headache, and mouth ulcers. Tincture preparation: fresh bark and root is gathered, pounded and weighed. Two parts by weight of alcohol is added and allowed to stand for eight days then separated by filtration
Dose: 1 tsp. steeped for 1/2 hr in 1 c of water. 2-4 cupfuls per day. In tincture form 10-20 drops
Culinary use: Berries can be dried for winter use and make a good cooling drink. The juice can substitute for vinegar when making jellies and other recipes.
Other use: Infusion of berries is used is a black dye for wool




Sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua

Location: low bottomlands of east Texas, also planted as an ornamental
Medical use: Sap/gum treats catarrhs of genitourinary system, pulmonary afflictions, consumption, dysentery, and children's bowel complaints. Sap can also be melted with equal parts of olive oil to treat inflammations, injuries, and afflictions of the epidermis. Dose: 1 tsp. of bark to 1 c of boiling water, 1-2 cupfuls per day
Culinary use: the extruded sap from wounds can be chewed like gum.




Tar Bush, American
Flourensia cernua

Location: in dry soil of valleys, mesas, and flats to an altitude of 5,000 feet in western Texas
Medical use: a decoction of the leaves and flower heads are a remedy for indigestion and female ailments.




Tree of Heaven
Ailanthus altissima

Location: cultivated but often escapes. Found in waste places, trash heaps, vacant lots, and other out of the way places in light moist soils.
Medical use: Bark is used for tapeworm and is a remedy for dysentery




Tree Tobacco
Nicotiana glauca

Location: Ditches, stream banks, roadsides, waste places through Texas
Medical use: Leaves are applied as a poultice to relieve pain, especially headaches.
Other use: good for killing aphids

WARNING: POISONOUS IF TAKEN INTERNALLY



Treebine, Waterwithe
Cissus sicyoides

Location: southwest Texas
Medical use: Leaves are applied to sores and a decoction treats rheumatism
Other use: Macerated leaves are used for washing clothes and fruit is a blue dye




Viburnum, Blackhaw
Viburnum prunifolium

Location: east Texas, but very uncommon
Fruit: August-September
Medical use: powdered bark of the root or stems used for uterine colic and as a general antispasmodic, also relaxes the uterine muscle.
Culinary use: the fruit is edible and sweet, high in vitamin C.




Walnut, Eastern Black
Juglans nigra
Location: eastern half of Texas along streams, also cultivated for nuts
Fruit: September-October Medical use: Tincture of leaves or green fruit rind treats acne, anus burning of, auxiliary glands suppuration of, chancre, ecthyma, eyes pain over, favus, flatulence, headache, herpes, herpes progenitalis, levitation sensation of, menorrhagia, puroura, ringworm, scurvy, spleen pain in, syphilis. Tea treats scrofula, ulcers, wounds, gargle, and rickets. Externally it is used for cleansing wounds and ulcers, also skin diseases and tuberculosis. Rind of green fruit removes ringworm and tetters, and treats diphtheria. Distilled fresh walnuts in alcohol calms hysteria, cerebral, and pregnant vomiting.
Dose: Of tincture 1-2 tsp every 20-30 minutes till relieved. Of tea 1 tsp of inner bark, leaves, or rinds cut small or granulated, to 1 c of boiling water. Drink 1-4 c a day often, a large mouthful at a time.
Culinary use: The fruit when powdered makes a rich flour Oil can substitute for oil or butter when cooking




Wax-Mallow, Drummond
Malvaviscus drummondii

Location: sandy, low grounds along streams on the coastal plains.
Fruit: August-September
Medical use: Leaves are used as an emollient, flowers are used in Mexico in a decoction for digestive tract inflammation and as an emmenagogue
Culinary use: fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, and has a mealy taste




Wax Myrtle
Myrica pensylvanica

Location: Sandy, boggy soils in East Texas but rare. Specimens have been collected in Angelina Co. State Park, Boykin Springs and from the banks of the San Jacinto River near Humble, Texas
Medical use: contains myricine acid Bark stimulate and astringent, large doses are emetic also treats diarrhea, jaundice, and scrofula bark should be gathered in the fall, cleanse and separate with a hammer, dry completely and keep in a dark cool dry place in a sealed container. Treats mucous accumulation in the alimentary canal. which is a good breeding ground for Externally the powdered bark is used to stimulate indolent ulcers, and as a decoction for gargle. An injection for chronic inflammation of the throat and leukorrhea.
Culinary use: Berries substitute for bay leaves




White Fringe-tree

Location: east Texas Pineywoods in moist soil and woodlands
Medical use: bark is said to have diuretic properties and used as a fever remedy in infusion form
Preparation: fresh bark is gathered and pounded to a pulp. then two parts by weight of alcohol is taken and on sixth of it is mixed and then the rest is added. Let sit for eight days and then filtered by pressure.




White Popinac, Lead-tree
Leucaena leucocephala

Location: found in lower Rio Grande valley and Cameron Co. escaping from cultivation
Medical use: Seeds are reported to have emmenagogic and abortive properties
Culinary use: seeds are cooked and eaten with rice




Willow, Desert
Chilopsis linearis

Location: in desert washes in Trans-Pecos and western Edwards plateau
Flowers: June-September
Medical use: decoction of flowers is used for coughs and bronchial disturbances




Willow, Gulf Black
Salix nigra

Location: statewide in wet soil, except in the high plains region. Concentrated on the Brazos, San Bernard and Colorado rivers.
Medical use: Tincture of bark treated diarrhea, emissions, fever, gonorrhea, and impotence Poultice simmered powdered bark good for gangrene and external ulcers
Dose: about 3 grains




Willow, Yew Leaf
Salix taxifolia

Location: found on rivers in the Trans-Pecos at altitudes of 3,000-6,000 ft.
Medical use: bark is a remedy for malaria




Wisteria, Kentucky
Wisteria macrostachya

Location: in low wet woods or on the edges of swamps
Culinary use: Pioneers used the fresh flowers in salads and mixed them with batter to make fritters.




Witch Hazel, Common
Hamamelis virginiana

Location: southeast Texas and a small concentration in southwest central Texas
Medical use: Solution of bark and leaves is used to treat internal bleeding, excessive menstruation, inflammation, hemorrhoids, and congestion. A solution can be used as an enema or douche for diarrhea, dysentery, and simple vaginitis, also as a mouthwash for bleeding gums and inflamed oral tissues.
Dose: simmer 10 min., 1 oz of leaves or bark in 1 pt of water. 1 wineglass 3-4 times daily. Of the tincture 5-20 drops, adjust for age. Enema 1/2 oz after bloody discharge.




Xylosma, Mexican
Xylossma blepharodes

Location: lower Rio Grande valley near Combes, Cameron Co. Texas but found mostly in Nuevo Le-n, Veracruz and Chiapas, Mexico.
Medical use: used as a remedy for tuberculosis




Yaupon, Desert
Schaefferia cuneifolia

Location: western and southwestern Texas. Along the Rio Grande at La Joya, Hildago County; at Langtry, Val Verde County; and in Big Bend National Park, Brewster County.
Medical use: Known in Mexico as Capul, the roots are used as a remedy for venereal disease




Yaupon, Holly
Ilex vomitoria

Location: found in low moist woods mostly in southern east Texas and near the coast. Occasionally cultivated as an ornamental.
Medical use: Raw leaves act as a purgative in cerimonies by the Texas indians.
Culinary use: A smoky flavored caffinated tea can be made by roasting green leaves in a skillet untill they turn brown and stop popping and then steeped like an oriental tea. Good flavor and has one heck of a kick.

WARNING: DO NOT USE LEAVES IN THEIR GREEN STATE OR EAT THE BERRIES AS THEY WILL CAUSE VOMITING AND DIARRHEA



Yucca, Carneros Giant
Yucca carnerosana

Location: limestone foothills approaching higher Mountians in Texas, though it is confined to Brewster County at altitudes of 2,700-6,300 feet. Also planted as a decoration along highways in the Trans-Pecos areas
Culinary use: interior of trunks can be eaten . Immature flowers and fruit can be boiled or roasted.




Yucca, Datil
Yucca baccata

Location: dry plains and mesas at altitudes of 2,000-8,000 feet in Trans-Pecos region
Culinary use: fruit can be eaten raw, dried, or roasted




Yucca, Var.
Yucca var.

Location: several species are found in well drained areas statewide growing wild or cultivated as an ornament
Flower: December-April
Fruit: mature year round though most plentiful in late summer-fall
Medical use: Leaves are used to jab snake bites to induce bleeding Seeds have purgative properties
Culinary use: Flowers can be eaten raw, boiled, or pickled. Raw petals have a crisp lettuce like taste. Fruit and sap is fermented into an alcoholic drink, baked in ashes, or eaten raw. Heart of young flowering stalk can be eaten boiled or roasted though this will kill the young plant. Seeds can be roasted or ground into meal.
Other use: Roots can be used for soap, for body and clothes.