Plant Survey
Ensuring that your property has the diversity of plant life necessary to support the wildlife species you want to attract and support begins with a survey of all of the plant species on your property. While the Hill Country is known as an oak and juniper woodland environment, there are hundreds of other plant species that can be found here among and around the oaks and junipers. These native plants are hosts to butterflies, nesting and shelter sites for birds, food for mammals, homes for cool insects and their predators. Every native plant is important to some creature, so there are no weeds in our book, except for non-native invasive plants that are taking over our diverse and special biomes.
Survey Fees
Up to 100 acres: $300 per survey
100-200 acres: $400 per survey
Fees for larger properties determined on request.
Owners are welcome to walk the property with us during all or part of the survey.
Plant Survey Data Provided to You
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Complete list of all tree, shrub, vine, grass, groundcover, and perennial/annual species seen during the survey time.
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Common and species names are provided on the list.
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Species names are checked for updated taxonomy.
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Comments on rare or unusual species and important host plants.
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Comments on non-native and invasive species.
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Digital photographs of particular plants found during the survey provided on request.
Survey Dates and Times
Spring through Autumn is optimal.
Plant surveys can be conducted any time during the day but can take several hours if there is a great diversity of plants on the property. Spring is best for perennials and annuals, summer is good for grasses, and fall good for fruiting plants, but any time from spring through fall will produce a good cross-section of your plant life. Because many of our plants are deciduous, winter is not a good time, since it is difficult to identify bare trees and shrubs without leaves, flowers, or seeds.
No single day will provide a complete list of your plants because many perennials and annuals show themselves for a short seasonal period, some in spring, some in fall, some after rain. Moreover, every year the wind, birds, and animals bring in seeds of new plants, and annual climatic conditions can be better for some over other seeds to germinate. However, one survey day can provide a base list that can be added to with additional surveys or as you find new plants yourself.
Plant Facts
Our area of the Edwards Plateau has a great diversity of plant species in many habitats, from moist swales, ponds and marshes, to stream and river alluvium, to rocky limestone hills, canyons, and cliffsides. Some plants can be found in all of these habitats, but many need specific conditions to thrive. But no matter where you are, you have many more species of plants than you think.
Single leaves are made of one contiguous surface attached to a branch by a stem. Single leaves may be round, pointed, lobed, toothed, or hairy and have many different sizes and shapes. Some plants have leaves shaped differently at their bases than on the flower stalk.
Plants with compound leaves have opposite pairs of similar leaflets on either side of the stem. These are called pinnate leaves, from the Greek for wing. Many pinnate plants, like the ashes, are not obviously compound. If the leaves are paired opposite a stem, rather than opposite a branch, then they are pinnate. Some plants are bipinnate, in which each of the pinnae are divided further into smaller pairs of leaflets. Mimosas and mesquites are common bipinnate plants.
Monoecious species have male and female flower parts on the same plants, while dioecious species have separate male and female plants. Some dioecious plants include Texas Persimmon, Green Ash, Ashe Juniper, and Lindheimer Silktassel. Some plants, like oak trees, have different male and female flowers but on the same plant, while most wildflowers have the male pollen and female fruiting parts on the same flower head.
