grows in the mountains of southwestern Texas, normally as a small tree, or even as a sprawling shrub under adverse conditions. Its name derives from the fact that the [bark] on older trees somewhat resembles alligator hide, being broken up into square plates 1 to 2 inches across. The leaves are about ⅛ inch long, and blue-green in color. The [fruit] is berry-like, nearly round, reddish-brown, and matures in two seasons. Seeds 3-4.
DROOPING JUNIPER (Weeping Juniper)
(Juniperus flaccida Schlect.)
occurs in this country only on the slopes of the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas. It has graceful spreading branches with long slender, drooping branchlets. After the leaves fall, the thin bright cinnamon-brown [bark] separating into thin loose papery [scales] is characteristic.
ONE-SEED JUNIPER
(Juniperus monosperma [Engelm.] Sarg.)
occurs throughout western Texas, usually as a spreading shrub or small, much branched tree. The [bark] is ashy gray, ridged and shreddy. The leaves resemble those of the alligator juniper, but are gray-green in color, and fringed with minute teeth. The [fruit] is smaller, usually copper colored or occasionally blue, usually one-seeded, and matures in one season.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN JUNIPER
(Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.)
occurs in western Texas where it is often the largest of the junipers found there. The [bark] is reddish-brown or grayish-brown, thin, fibrous, and divided into flat, interlacing ridges. The leaves are similar to those of the alligator juniper, but pale to dark green in color. The [fruit] is nearly round, blue, and matures in two seasons. Seeds 1 to 3, usually 2.
TEXAS PALMETTO
(Sabal texana [O. F. Cook] Becc.)
sometimes called palm, but not to be confused with the dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor [Jacq.] Pers.) found in East Texas, reaches to heights of 30 to 50 feet and often 2 feet in diameter. It is a native of the rich bottomlands on the Bernando River in Cameron County, Texas, but has been widely cultivated and is found along the Gulf Coast, where the trunks are sometimes used for wharf piles. On the lower Rio Grande the leaves are used for the thatch of houses.