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— By Nancy Pumphrey
February 13th was a beautiful day up at Hidden Springs Preserve. We had a good showing of 20 people and explored the southeast quadrant of the preserve.
Even though it was still winter and most things were dormant, it was easy to spot the first early signs of spring. Wild geraniums, anemone and watercress were spotted just beginning to come up. Of course, the small bluebonnet rosettes were seen.
Around the pond in a wet area, we saw a forest of common button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) but they were bare on this date. It will be fun to revisit these in the summer. This was near the watercress (Rorippa Nasturtium-aquaticum) of course.
We went from wet areas to drier slopes with many different plants noted. It was easy to see our native evergreens on this trip although there are not many. On the drive in, I spotted one of my favorites – nolina. It was standing all alone out in the full sun with a large clump of evergreen leaves.
We had a very diverse group of individuals with us for a wonderful hike through this lovely preserve. Botanists, beginners, experts and high school students joined us on this sunny mid-winter adventure to learn and teach about Texas Native Plants.
We even made it back in time to see the Super Bowl kickoff!
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