Lower Rio Grande Valley Trees and Shrubs

The Rio Grande Valley's Nature Site

NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS USED BY BUTTERFLIES of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas

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Return to Photos of the Native Plants Used by Butterflies in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas

There are several thousand species of plants in the LRGV. Below are just a few images of the trees and shrubs of the Lower Rio Grande Valley that are used by the butterflies as host or nectar plants.

Unfortunately, there is not enough space below to show all the parts of the trees and shrubs that help to identify them. Go to our "Rio Grande Valley Native Plants Links" page, via "Home" above or search on the scientific names of these plants for more information.

NOTE: Use of Common Names for native plants can be a real problem, since every region of the U.S. may use many and diverse Common Names, and these names often differ from one region of the nation to another. This is particularly true in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where the use of Common Names for Valley natives varies so much, both in English and in Spanish. It is ALWAYS best to copy the Scientific Name of any of the plants shown on our webpage and do an Internet Search (google) on the Scientific Name. We ALL need to learn and get used to using the Scientific Names of native plants.

GO NATIVE!

USE ONLY NATIVE PLANTS!

All photos on this site are by Jan Dauphin and are copyright protected and may not be used or published elsewhere without the permission of Jan Dauphin

Agarito - Berberis trifoliolata

Allthorn or Junco - Koeberlinia spinosa

Amantillo - Abutilon trisulcatum

Anacua or Sandpaper Tree - Ehretia anacua

Barbados Cherry or Manzanita - Malpighia glabra

Baretta - Helietta parviflora

Bastardia or Viscid Mallow - Bastardia viscosa

Berlandier Acacia or Guajillo - Acacia berllandieri

Berlandier Croton or Pepperbush or Low Croton - Croton humilis

Berlandier Wolfberry - Lycium berlandieri

Berlandier's Fiddlewood or Negrito - Citharexylum berlandieri

Bernadette or Rio Grande Pearlhead - Isocarpha oppositifolia

Bernardia-Oreja De Raton - Bernardia myricifolia

Betony Mistflower or South Padre Island Mistflower or Betonyleaf Throughwort - Conoclinium betonicifolium (formerly Eupatorium betonicifolium)

Black Mangrove - Avicennia germinans

Blackbrush or Blackbrush Acacia or Catclaw or Chaparro Prieto - Acacia rigidula

Blue Mistflower or Blue Boneset or Tamaulipa Azurea - Conoclinium coelestinum (formerly Eupatorium azureum)

Brasil or Bluewood or Brasilian Bluewood or Bluewood Condalia - Condalia hookeri

Brush Holly - Xylosma flexuosa

Brushy Lippia or Lippia or Juanilama or Salvia Sija - Lippia alba

Caesalpinia sp. - Caesalpinia sp.

Calderona or Manystem Ratany - Krameria ramosissima

Capraria or Goatweed - Capraria biflora (formerly C. mexicana)

Cedar Elm - Ulmas crassifolia

Chilipiquin or Cayenne Pepper - Capsicum annum

Clapweed or Mormon Tea - Ephedra antisyphilitica

Colima or Lime Prickly Ash or Wild Lime - Zanthoxylum fagara

Coma or Saffron Plum - Sideroxylon celastrinum (formerly Bumelia celastrina)

Cortes Croton or Cortez's Croton - Croton cortesianus

Coyotillo or Humboldt Coyotillo - Karwinskia humboldtiana

Crucillo - Randia rhagocarpa

Crucita or Christmas Bush or Siam Weed or Jack in the Bush - Chromolaena odorata (formerly Eupatorium odoratum)

Damiana or Turnera Aphrodisiac or Hierba del Venado - Turnera diffusa

Desert Lantana or Mexican Marjoram or Brushland Shrubverbena - Lantana achyranthifolia (formerly L. macropoda)

Desert Willow or Desert Catalpa - Chilopsis linearis

Desert Yaupon - Schaefferia cuneifolia

Duranta or Golden Dewdrops - Duranta erecta (NOTE: Non-Native)

Elbow Bush or Narrow-leaf Forestiera or Texas Swampprivet - Forestiera angustifolia

Fairy Duster or Rio Grande Stickpea or False Mesquite - Calliandra conferta

Goat Bush or Amargosa or Allthorn Goatbush - Castela erecta texana

Gregg's Mistflower or Palmleaf Mistflower or Palmleaf Thoroughwort - Conoclinium greggii (formerly Eupatorium greggii)

Gregg's Saddlebush or Afinador or Gregg's Mortonia - Mortonia greggii

Guamuchil or Monkeypod or Manilla Tamarind - Pithecellobium dulce

Guava - Psidium guajava

Guayacan or Soapbush or Texas Lignum-vitae - Guaiacum angustifolium

Hierba Del Soldado - Waltheria indica

Honey Mesquite - Prosopis glandulosa

Hogplum or Texas Snakewood or Guajalote - Colubrina texensis

Huisache or Huisache Acacia or Sweet Acacia or Mealy Wattle or Sweet Wattle or Mimosa Bush - Acacia farnesiana

Huisachillo or Twisted Acacia - Acacia schaffneri

Indian Mallow - Abutilon fruticosum

Kapok Tree - Ceiba pentandra

Late Boneset or Late Mistflower or Lateflowering Thoroughwort - Eupatorium serotinum

Leatherstem or Sangra de Drago - Jatropha dioica

Lotebush or Gumdrop Tree or Crucillo or Graythorn - Ziziphus obtusifolia

Malva Loca - Malvastrum americanum

Mauve or Indian Mallow or Abutilon - Abutilon hulseanum

Mexican Buttonbush - Cephalanthus salicifolius

Mexican Caesalpinia or Mexican Poinciana or Mexican Holdback or Mexican Bird of Paradise - Caesalpinia mexicana

Mexican Honeysuckle or Mohintli or Orange Plume Flower
- Justicia spicigera

Mexican Orchid Tree or Goat's-foot Bauhinia - Bauhinia mexicana

Mexican Oregano or Oregano Cimarron or Redbrush Lippia - Lippia graveolens

Mexican Turk's Cap - Malvaceae arboreus mexicanus

Mountain Torchwood or Sierra Madre Torchwood or Mexican Amyris or Chapotillo - Amyris madrensis

Parks' Croton - Croton parksii

Partridge Pea - Chamaecrista fasciculata

PigeonBerry or Rouge Plant or Baby Peppers or Bloodberry - Rivina humilis

Pitseed Goosefoot - Chenopodium berlandieri

Potato Tree - Solanum erianthum

Pseudoabutilon - Allowissadula lozanii

Purple Sage or Texas Sage or Texas Ranger or Cenizo - Leucophyllum frutescens

Pyramid Bush or Teabush - Melochia tormentosa

Retama or Jerusalem Thorn or Mexican Palo Verde - Parkinsonia aculeata

Rio Grande Ayenia - Ayenia limitaris

Rock Rose or Rose Pavonia or Texas Swampmallow or Wright Pavonia - Pavonia lasiopetala

Roosevelt or Depression Weed - Baccharis neglecta

Scarlet Spiderling or Red Boerhaavia - Boerhavia coccinea

Serjania or Littlefruit Slipplejack - Serjania brachycarpa

Shrubby Blue Sage or Blue Shrub Sage or Mejorana - Salvia ballotiflora

Shrubby Blue Sage or Blue Shrub Sage or Mejorana - Salvia ballotiflora (white form is rarely seen in the LRGV)

Shrubby Bullseye or Ocote or Chomonque - Gochnatia hypoleuca

Silverleaf Croton or Healing Croton or Silver Croton - Croton argyranthemus

Skeleton-leaf Goldeneye or Resinbush or Golden Bush Daisy - Viguiera stenoloba

Slender Celosia or West Indian Cock's Comb - Celosia nitida

Snake-Eyes or Devilqueen or Putia - Phaulothamnus spinescens

Soapberry or Western Soapberry or Wingleaf Soapberry or Jaboncillo - Sapindus saponaria

Southwest Bernardia or Brush Myrtlecroton or Mouse Ears or Mouse's Eye or Oreja de Raton - Bernardia myricifolia

Spiny Hackberry or Desert Hackberry or Shiny Hackberry or Granjeno - Celtis ehrenbergiana (formerly C. pallida)

Sprawling Lippia or Brushy Lippia - Lippia alba

Suaeda or Coastal Seepweed - Suaeda tampicensis

Sugar Hackberry or Hackberry or Sugarberry or Palo Blanco - Celtis laevigata

Sweet Stem or Rio Grande Beebrush or Wooly Beebrush or Vara Dulce - Aloysia macrostachya

Tenaza or Ape's Ear-ring or Huahillo - Havardia pallens (formerly Pithecellobium pallens)

Tepeguaje or Tepaguaje or Great Leadtree or Mexican Leadtree - Leucaena pulverulenta

Tepozan or Butterfly Bush or Butterfly-Bush or Butterflybush or Rio Grande Butterflybush - Buddleja sessiflora

Texas Ebony or Ebano - Ebenopsis ebano (formerly Pithecellobium ebano)

Texas Kidneywood or Vara Dulce - Eysenhardtia texana

Texas Lantana or West Indian Shrubverbena or Western Lantana - Lantana urticoides (formerly L. horrida)

Texas Mountain Laurel or Mountain Laurel or Mescal Bean - Sophora secundiflora

Texas Olive or Texas Wild Olive or Mexican Olive or Anacahuita - Cordia boissieri

Texas Paloverde or Border Paloverde - Parkinsonia texana

Texas Persimmon or Mexican Persimmon or Chapote - Diospyros texana

Texas Torchwood or Torchwood or Chapotillo - Amyris texana

Torrey's Croton - Croton incanus

Trailing Lantana or Weeping Lantana or Trailing Shrubverbena - Lantana montevidensis

Tree Tobacco - Nicotiana glauca

Trixis or American Threefold - Trixis californica

Turk's Cap or Turkscap or Drummond Wax Mallow or Manzanilla - Malvaviscus arboreus drummondii

Twisted Acacia or Schaffner's Wattle or Huisachillo -Acacia schaffneri

Vasey Adelia or Vasey's Adelia or Adelia or Vasey's Wild Lime - Adelia vaseyi

Velvet Lantana or Velvet Shrubverbena or Velvet Verbena - Lantana velutina

Wedelia or Zexmenia or Orange Wedelia or Orange Zexmenia or Hairy Wedelia - Wedelia hispida

West Indian Lantana or Calico Bush or Ham n' Eggs - Lantana camara

Wherry Mimosa or Texas Mimosa or Texas Catclaw - Mimosa texana

White Brush or Whitebrush or White-Brush or Beebrush or Bee-Brush or Privet Lippia or Jazmanillo or Chaparro Blanco-Aloysia gratissima

White Mistflower or Pink Thoroughwort - Fleischmannia incarnata (formerly Eupatorium incarnatum)

White Plumbago or Doctorbush or Mexican Plumbago or Summer Snow Plumbago or Leadwort Flower or Devil's Herb - Plumbago scandens

Wooly Coldenia or Woody Crinklemat or Ratear Coldenia - Tiquilia canescens

Wooly Croton - Croton capitatus

Wright Acacia or Catclaw or Catclaw Acacia or Una de Gato - Acacia wrightii

Yellow Sophora or Necklace Pod or Yellow Necklace Pod or Tombalisa - Sophora tomentosa

Zarza or Puerto Rico Sensitive-Briar or Black Mimosa or Catclaw Mimosa or Thorny Sensitive Plant - Mimosa asperata