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Cross Timbers and Prairies
The Cross Timbers and Prairies region is a transitional area for many plants and animals whose ranges extend northward into the Great Plains or eastward into the forests. Vegetation on the landscape of the Cross Timbers and Prairies Ecological Region of Northcentral Texas has undergone significant changes over the past 150 years. Early travelers through north Texas coined the name "Cross Timbers" by their repeated crossings of these timbered areas that proved to be a barrier to their travel on the open prairies to the east and west. The location of the East and West Cross Timbers was well known by these early travelers who used them as points of reference for travel.
Dirty Dozen Terrestrial Invasive Species
These plants have been identified as particularly worrisome terrestrial invasive species in the Cross Timbers and Prairies ecoregion. Click on their scientific names to go to the Invasive Plant Database and learn more.
Japanese honeysuckle -
Lonicera japonica
Glossy privet -
Ligustrum lucidum
Chinese privet -
Ligustrum sinense
Giant reed -
Arundo donax
Chinese wisteria -
Wisteria sinensis
Lilac chastetree -
Vitex agnus-castus
Brazilian vervain -
Verbena brasiliensis
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Common periwinkle -
Vinca minor
Chinaberry tree -
Melia azedarach
Chinese tallow tree -
Triadica sebifera
Johnson grass -
Sorghum halepense
