|
|
Welcome to the Trans-Pecos Vascular Plant Gallery!
(Version 8.04)
The "Trans-Pecos
Mountains and Basins" region includes the westernmost parts of Texas.
The polar opposite of the Pineywoods, the Trans-Pecos consists of dramatic, rugged
terrain with desert valleys and wooded mountain slopes and summits. Mean annual
precipitation ranges from less than 10 inches (25cm) in portions of the
desert lowlands to as much as 20 inches (51cm) on the higher mountains.
Elevation ranges from 2,500 feet (762m) to 8,749 feet (2,6667m) at the summit of Guadalupe Peak,
Texas' highest mountain. The lowlands provide the largest extent of the Chihuahuan Desert in the United States
(Correll & Johnston, 1979). The dramatic variation in topography,
elevation and climate in the Trans-Pecos results in an equally varied array
of plant communities ranging from conifer forests at the highest elevations
to juniper-pinyon woodlands at mid-elevations to desert shrublands at low elevations.
This small gallery,
representing some of the more commonly-encountered west Texas desert and
mountain plants and wildflowers, is a product of several vacations at Guadalupe Mountain
National Park and Big Bend National Park. Watch for the collection to grow
if they ever give me more time off! Most
images were obtained at 1704x2272-pixel resolution. Botanical Nomenclature follows Kartesz
(1999).
-
Currently one may browse by
botanical family names within each of the major groups of plants. Click
here or click the
"Browse the Gallery" link.
-
In the future, we hope to
enable browsing by easily-recognized characters such as flower color as well
as by habitat type. The gallery will continue to connect students,
laymen, and professionals with the plants that are the foundation of both
the ecosystems and economy of Texas.
|
Links
 |
