The following species were identified:

Akanthomyces aculeatus Lebert 

Amanita bisporigera Atkinson 

Amanita peckiana complex 

Amanita vaginata complex  

Callistosporium luteo-olivaceum (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Singer …

Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve

January 8, 2021

Highlights of Minutes

Present: Pauline Singleton, Chris Eldredge, Jim Willis, Joe Liggio, Linda Knowles, Kathleen Appelbaum, Charles Smith, Wanda Smith, and Mike Howlett

 Chris Eldredge suggested that we put the minutes, or at least the most important parts of minutes, on the…

Watson Preserve mushroom walk, November 10, 2018 Watson Preserve mushroom walk, November 10, 2018 Agaricus pocillator Murr. Amanita "amerifulva" Tulloss nom. Prov. Amanita amerirubescens Tulloss, nom. prov. Amanita flavoconia Atkinson Amanita lavendula (Coker) Tulloss, K.W. Hughes, Rodrig. Cayc. & Kudzma Amanita persicina (Dav. T. Jenkins) Tulloss & Geml Amanita vaginata complex 2 speciesArtomyces pyxidatus (Pers.) Jülich Baeospora mysura (Fr.) Singer Calostoma cinnabarina Desv.…

Gulf States Mycological Society mushroom walk

Watson Rare Plant Preserve

June 25, 2016

Abortiporus biennis (Bull.:Fr.) Singer

Amanita bisporigera Atkinson

Boletellus ananus (Curt.) Murr.

Callistosporium luteo-olivaceum (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Singer

Cantharellus species

Cantharellus tabernensis Feibelman & Cibula

Cantharellus tenuithrix Buyck & V.…

Dr. Jyotsna Sharma, who is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, is leading conservation research projects at Watson Native Plant Preserve since 2012. The focus of her lab’s work is on one of the rare and superbly showy orchids of Texas. Platanthera chapmanii (Chapman’s orchid) is known from only a few locations in southeastern Texas, and Watson Native Plant Preserve hosts the largest population in Texas. Her work has included:

1)   augmenting the…

I have some very bad news.   It  concerns two of our most common but easily-overlooked shrubs/small trees:  the redbay (Persea borbonia) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum).  They don’t directly affect people’s lives, except that sassafras is the source of the flavoring for root beer and gumbo file, and redbay is occasionally used in cooking.  They do play a role in the ecosystems of east Texas, and we may be about to receive an unpleasant lesson in the interconnectedness…

Without the knowledge or consent of the Board of Directors of Watson Preserve, someone put some campaign posters for one of the presidential candidates on trees on Watson Preserve.

We are a 501c3 tax-exempt corporation, and therefore do not support specific candidates for office. Any political material that we find on the preserve will be removed. So please, save yourself some time and energy, and post such materials somewhere else. Please don't take it personally, but a…

Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve

Mushroom Walk

June 27, 2015

Species List

Agaricus silvaticus Schaeff

Amanita bisporigera Atkinson

Amanita flavoconia Atkinson

Amanita peckiana complex

Amanita vaginata complex

Boletus oliveisporus (Murr) Murr

Cantarellus tabernensis Feibelman & Cibula

Coltricia cinnamomea (Jacq.:Pers.)…

I can't believe the summer of 2013 is history.  It was an eventful summer.  In addition to events mentioned earlier, a youth group from Triumphant Lutheran Church in San Antonio under the supervision of Youth Pastor Chris St. Clair came out on July 26 and spent several hours helping us out.  We are very grateful to them for their assistance.  We are also very grateful to the staff of the National Park Service for putting them in touch with us.

Joe Liggio again led a wildflower walk to…

GSMS species list, Watson Rare Plant Preserve, Lake Hyatt, TX

Mushroom walk, June 1, 2013

Amanita bisporigera…

Twenty-something people gathered at Watson Preserve on June 1 to brave the heat and search for mushrooms.  All levels of skill were represented, from beginners to experienced mycologists.  David and Pat Lewis did a great job of leading the activities.  We hope they will do it again  There is no better way to learn more about fungi than to go into the field with an expert.  I have posted a few photos and will try to add a few more as I get time.  If David gives me a list of species found, I…

Our thanks to DeAndra Ramsey from the Houston Zoo for bringing a group of  college students to Watson Preserve on May 23.  Eleven young people pitched in and helped us for about 3 1/2 hours that Thursday.  They demolished and removed the old privy; they loaded up a pine tree that had earlier been cut down (it leaned over the cabin) and hauled it off site; they cut down and removed a number of Chinese tallow trees.  We were really amazed at what they got done in such a short time.  It is…

We had a wonderful turnout for our wildflower walk on April 27.  Our thanks to Joe Liggio who led the tour, and to Jim Willis, who had cold water waiting at the end of our hike.

We are always glad to see old friends, of course, but we were especially pleased that there were several people visiting for the first time.  We hope they'll return many times.

The only disappointment was the paucity of orchids.  There were a few rose pogonias (very few), one grass-pink orchid about to…

We want to thank volunteers Bill and Mary Keller and Kathleen and Lisa Appelbaum for leading the birding tour on Saturday, April 13.  They enjoyed very nice weather and identified 29 species of birds, including a great crested flycatcher, a summer tanager, a catbird, a yellow-throated vireo, kingbirds, wood ducks (with babies!) and our resident redheaded wookpeckers.

Pauline Singleton

The weatherman predicted an 80% chance of rain.  So we canceled our wildflower walk, right?  Wrong!  It was a small group this time, and that is really understandable.  It rained on me the whole way as I drove to the preserve.  Light rain continued off and on all day.

We simply carried umbrellas and pressed on.  What was blooming?  Goldenrod of several species, swamp sunflowers (they will probably put on a more dramatic show in a few more days), cowbane (Oxypolis sp.), Lobilia,…

We had a wonderful group turn out for the orchid walk on July 28.  About three dozen people, from Dallas-Ft Worth area to Louisiana to Houston, braved the southeast Texas heat and humidity to search for the rare Chapman’s orchid, Platanthera chapmanii. We were not disappointed.

Our thanks and our sympathy go to Joe Liggio, who led the walk that day.  A few days earlier, Joe’s mother passed away.  We certainly would have understood if he had canceled.  However, he…