Trees of the East Texas Pineywoods

The following herbarium specimens, field images, and printed matter document some of the extant (still-existing) tree species that dominated distinct historic East Texas Pineywoods plant communities. These historic communities exist today in fragmented and altered conditions.

Periodic fires were important in maintaining a grassy open understory, wiping out the load of pine needles and competing woody plants and allowing the fire-adapted young and adult longleaf pines. This photograph taken in 2021 shows encroachment of woody plants behind the sapling.

Although much of the habitat is now dominated by loblolly and slash pine, longleaf pine communities can still be found on public lands with prescribed burn regimes, and there is increased interest in their restoration across both public and private lands.

How does the length of the needles of the shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) compare to those of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) previously seen? It's the short length of these leaves that inspired its common name!

Scrubby oak forests prevailed in these communities, including post oaks (pictured), southern red oaks, and blackjack oaks.

Hickory trees (Carya spp.) were present in the upland hardwood assemblage, such as the black hickory (Carya texana), pictured here. This herbarium specimen was collected in 1901 by Julien Reverchon (1837-1905), a French botanist who emigrated to Texas.

Some Pinus taeda could have been as old as 150 years and exhibited trunk diameters greater than 147 cm (Louisiana Natural Heritage Program 1985-1999).

100 miles west from the main body of these loblolly pine forests in East Texas are the lost pines of Bastrop County  (a result of ancient glacial activity). Texas Parks and Wildlife preserves this experience in its Bastrop State Park. 

Arguably more common today in cultivation than in the wild, southern magnolia trees were another member of this loblolly-hardwood assemblage. Large fragrant white blooms mature into a cone-like aggregate fruit that has many black seeds covered with a red layer called an aril.

The swamps and backwaters often were characterized by the presence of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), and water elm (Planera aquatica). Echoes of these communities are found today in modern floodplains that haven't been cleared for agriculture or impounded for reservoirs.

Tupelo or black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) trees get their common name from the Muscogee (Creek) Native Americans (Bates 2007). The genus name, Nyssa, is named for the water nymph of Greek mythology and alludes to the ability of this tree to tolerate an abundance of water.

The glossy dark green leaves of this tree turn to spectacular fall foliage before dropping.

Other assemblages existed in the Pineywoods, comprising smaller areas but still unique habitats. Some of these were openings in the forested landscape occupied by saline prairies, barrens, glades, or perhaps bogs. Scientists study these botanical remnants and their geologies.