[{"id":7016,"date":"2025-10-28T10:17:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/?p=7016"},"modified":"2025-10-28T10:17:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:17:50","slug":"seednsee-lone-star-seed-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/seednsee-lone-star-seed-library\/","title":{"rendered":"SeedNSee – Lone Star Seed Library"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Becky McGraw-Wall, PWL Member<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Piney Wood Lakes chapter of TMN has a new project in the works, thanks to a grant by HEB and the efforts of project coordinator Julie Kuylen. The SeedNSee-Lone Star Seed Library will soon be available to local library patrons inside the Livingston Municipal Library. Seed libraries are growing in popularity across the country along with the movement to grow more native plants for pollinators and with the movement to cultivate more resilient non-hybridized, open-pollinated vegetables. The use of commercially produced seeds has led to a loss of genetic diversity in plants, especially in food crops. Seed libraries enhance biodiversity by preserving and sharing seeds adapted to our local ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A seed library works just like it sounds- a library patron can \u201ccheck out\u201d free seeds to plant in a garden, then hopefully return seeds to the library after the plants have grown and new seeds have been harvested to keep the project self-sustaining. The mission of the SeedNSee Library is focused on both conservation and education. Participants can learn about the role of native plants in supporting our local ecosystem by seeding<\/em> <\/strong>native pollinator-friendly plants and seeing <\/em><\/strong>how these gardens enhance biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seed library will offer free packets of native wildflowers, herbs and vegetables suited to our East Texas environment, which participants can plant in home, school or community gardens. Each packet will include planting and growing instructions, instructions for seed harvesting, and educational material about the species\u2019 role in supporting pollinators and healthy ecosystems. Participants will be encouraged to record and share their observations about germination times, plant growth and pollinator visits, to pass on to subsequent growers and enhance our understanding of local ecology. The organizers of the seed library program anticipate sponsoring educational events at the library to help teach the community about seed harvesting, native plants adapted to East Texas, the importance of host plants for caterpillars, the impact of native flowers for pollinators, and related conservation topics. The grand reveal for the SeedNSee Library is expected to be in November 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Becky McGraw-Wall, PWL Member The Piney Wood Lakes chapter of TMN has a new project in the works, thanks to a grant by HEB and the efforts of project… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1488,"featured_media":7017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[78439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-projects","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077.jpg",2015,1259,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077-300x187.jpg",300,187,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077-768x480.jpg",768,480,true],"large":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077-1024x640.jpg",1024,640,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077-1536x960.jpg",1536,960,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077.jpg",2015,1259,false],"archive":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077-400x225.jpg",400,225,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077.jpg",300,187,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077.jpg",400,250,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/10\/IMG_2077.jpg",600,375,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"shailap","author_link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/author\/shailap\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"by Becky McGraw-Wall, PWL Member The Piney Wood Lakes chapter of TMN has a new project in the works, thanks to a grant by HEB and the efforts of project... Read More →","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5WQEU-1Pa","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1488"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":6973,"date":"2025-09-30T13:54:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/?p=6973"},"modified":"2025-09-30T13:54:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:54:53","slug":"a-real-pain-in-the-asp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/a-real-pain-in-the-asp\/","title":{"rendered":"A Real Pain in the Asp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Sharon Hanzik, PWL Member<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever experienced the sting of North America\u2019s most venomous caterpillar, you understand the title of this article. It was a mild Fall day. I was living in a rural environment in Fort Bend County where Live Oak Trees are the predominant oak species. I was enjoying a day with my five-year-old great nephew. We had trekked down a gravel road on the property that wound through forest and pasture, he on his bicycle and I walking my dog. We were having a great time! On our way back we took a shortcut, as we were hungry and ready for lunch. We needed to climb a rail fence. He went over and I reached to haul his bicycle over the top. As I pulled back my arm I felt  hell-fire on the inside of my upper arm. I knew immediately that I had made full contact with an Asp, properly known as the Puss Caterpillar. Growing up along the Gulf Coast, I was definitely familiar with this species, having even been stung a time or two, each time on the tougher skin of my fingers. As I had made full contact with every venomous spine on its wretched little body, I knew I needed to act quickly, so we rushed back to the house. I called my mother to let her know what happened, just in case I needed emergency assistance. I was already feeling a bit on the woozy side. I removed any loose hairs and spines, took a benadryl and used an ice pack. I never let my nephew know how badly I hurt. I gave him a banana, put on Fantasia and he remained distracted. All turned out ok. I did end up with a caterpillar-shaped scar for months and this cautionary tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Southern Flannel Moth is the adult version of this particular caterpillar. It is cute, fuzzy and harmless but produces a dangerous offspring found along the Texas Coast and into Mexico. The caterpillar is considered polyphagous, meaning that it dines on a wide variety of species including oaks, elms, maples and willows as well as common garden plants such as roses and hibiscus. Its nickname \u201cAsp\u201d refers to its potent, venom-like sting. Its proper name, Puss Caterpillar, refers to its fluffy pussycat-like appearance. But as they say \u201ckittens have claws\u201d. The scientific name of the moth is also interesting. Megalopyge (large rump) opercularis (covered) refers to its robust, fluffy appearance, although the moth is quite small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The caterpillars seem to be most prevalent in the late summer-early fall. Be on high alert. If stung, remember to first try and remove any spines. Use hydrocortisone cream or make a baking soda and water paste and apply to the area. An ice pack will help numb the pain. An antihistamine can also help. If symptoms are worse, such as nausea, chest pain or dizziness, do seek emergency medical attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sharon Hanzik, PWL Member If you\u2019ve ever experienced the sting of North America\u2019s most venomous caterpillar, you understand the title of this article. It was a mild Fall day…. Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1488,"featured_media":6971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[78438],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-article","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg",1200,800,false],"archive":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar-400x225.jpg",400,225,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg",300,200,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg",400,267,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/puss-caterpillar.jpg",600,400,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"shailap","author_link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/author\/shailap\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"by Sharon Hanzik, PWL Member If you\u2019ve ever experienced the sting of North America\u2019s most venomous caterpillar, you understand the title of this article. It was a mild Fall day.... Read More →","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5WQEU-1Ot","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1488"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":6965,"date":"2025-09-30T10:57:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/?p=6965"},"modified":"2025-09-30T12:18:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T17:18:36","slug":"history-of-the-piney-wood-lakes-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/history-of-the-piney-wood-lakes-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the Piney Wood Lakes Chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Becky McGraw-Wall, PWL Member<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The original organizers of the Piney Wood Lakes TMN chapter, Susan Moran (far left) and Susan Tullos (far right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Piney Wood Lakes Texas Master Naturalist Chapter is celebrating its 15 year anniversary this October. The Texas Master Naturalist Program is a partnership between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, with the goal of training volunteers to educate, outreach and support the natural resources within a community. In 2009, then-Polk County Chamber of Commerce Director Sydney Murphy held 3 public meetings to determine interest in forming a local TMN chapter. Assisted by the Polk, Tyler and Trinity County Agrilife Extension Agents, the new chapter was established thanks to the organizational efforts by founding members Susan Tullos and Susan Moran. The PWLTMN chapter was officially recognized as the 42nd chapter of the statewide Texas Master Naturalist program in August 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan Tullos became the first chapter president (serving continuously from 2010 to 2016), and Susan Moran served as training director and Treasurer. Seventeen members completed training and received their certification at the ceremony in 2010. In fact, all 17 of the initial members completed the requirements for both their certification and recertification hours by the time of the induction ceremony! Of these founding members, 3 remain active: Susan Tullos, Kathleen Applebaum, and Justine Henley. All the past presidents of the chapter have remained active in the chapter, including Timi Maples (2017-2018), Ron Diderich (2019-2021), Nelda Tuthill (2021-2022), Tina Crichfield (2023-2024), and Jessica Jones (2024-2025). In 2024, there were 47 active members, who cumulatively completed over 4500 service hours that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the chapter served Polk, Tyler and Trinity Counties. San Jacinto County was added to the chapter in 2014 to fully encompass the area around Lake Livingston for the Water Willow Project. The early projects for the new chapter included the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program (which continues to this day), the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Nature Trail improvements, and the Polk County Come Clean Lake Livingston Project presently run by Polk County Chamber of Commerce. The Water Willow Project has now evolved into the Friends of Lake Livingston Project (FOLL), a multiple TMN chapter venture aimed at erosion control and restoration of aquatic habitats in Lake Livingston. Another big accomplishment for the group has been the creation of the Gazebo Nature Preserve, a required Federal public recreation area at the construction site of the Thomas Hydroelectric Plant. There are now 18 active projects maintained by PWLTMN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous statewide awards, recognitions and grants have been bestowed on PWLTMN chapter in the past ten years. Over 100 volunteers with the group have contributed more than 44,000 hours of service to the community. Of note, the chapter secured a grant through the Arbor Day Foundation to distribute 640 native trees to residents in Onalaska following the 2020 tornado devastation of the tree canopy there. In 2021, chapter advisor Matthew Marsh received the statewide Chapter Advisor Award from TMN. Most recently, the PWLTMN chapter has been awarded a 2025 Pollinators for Texas award, supported by HEB, to establish the \u201cSeedNSee Lone Star Seed Library\u201d a native seed catalog at the Livingston Public Library.
PWLTMN continues to grow and contribute to the communities surrounding Lake Livingston. Interested trainees are always welcome to join the 2026 class starting in February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Becky McGraw-Wall, PWL Member The Piney Wood Lakes Texas Master Naturalist Chapter is celebrating its 15 year anniversary this October. The Texas Master Naturalist Program is a partnership between… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1488,"featured_media":6970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[78438],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-article","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-scaled.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-scaled.jpg",2560,1442,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-768x433.jpg",768,433,true],"large":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-1024x577.jpg",1024,577,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-1536x865.jpg",1536,865,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-2048x1154.jpg",2048,1154,true],"archive":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-400x225.jpg",400,225,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-scaled.jpg",300,169,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-scaled.jpg",400,225,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/files\/2025\/09\/PWL-Early-Group-Photo-copy-scaled.jpg",600,338,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"shailap","author_link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/author\/shailap\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"by Becky McGraw-Wall, PWL Member The Piney Wood Lakes Texas Master Naturalist Chapter is celebrating its 15 year anniversary this October. The Texas Master Naturalist Program is a partnership between... Read More →","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5WQEU-1Ol","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1488"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":6892,"date":"2025-08-26T12:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/?p=6892"},"modified":"2025-08-26T12:43:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:43:01","slug":"carnivorous-plants-of-east-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/txmn.org\/pineywoodlakes\/carnivorous-plants-of-east-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnivorous Plants of East Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Shaila Palamand, PWL Member<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pink Sundew (Drosera Capillaris). Photo by Shaila Palamand<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Often considered exotic, spooky, and even potentially dangerous, carnivorous plants are in fact native to our area and are not only beautiful, but also beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four species of carnivorous plants can be found right here in East Texas: Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia), Sundews (Drosera), Butterworts (Pinguicula), and Bladderworts (Utricularia). They typically live in wetlands and bogs \u2013 such as the Big Thicket National Preserve \u2013 and are able to thrive in the nutrient-poor soil of these areas by consuming insects and other small organisms, which provide them with the nitrogen and phosphorus needed for photosynthesis and growth. Based on their diet, some of these plants may be characterized as \u201cinsectivorous\u201d rather than carnivorous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flytraps may be the most widely recognized type of carnivorous plant, but our East Texas species have different methods and mechanisms of catching prey:<\/p>\n\n\n\n