Of Crape Myrtles and Azaleas

Agreeing (and disagreeing) with Houston's Evan Mintz on our state shrub and brainstorming what it really should be.

Photo by Logan Clark on Unsplash

I was scrolling Facebook the other morning (I know, I know) when I saw a link to this Texas Monthly article calling on Texans to disavow the non-native crape myrtle as the Texas state shrub. The author, Houston’s Evan Mintz, Pulitizer Prize finalist and Build the Ike Dike fanatic, is someone I used to follow on Twitter/X and enjoyed his particular takes for the Houston region, except his Ike Dike fixations (more on that at some point in the future). So, I was very curious what the article was going to say. But first, I stopped by the Facebook comments (yes…why do I do this to myself?) to see what Texans were saying in reaction to the article.

A lot of people love their crape myrtles!

And I do, too. But, I agree with Evan, they should not be our state shrub.

For starters, they aren’t even a shrub, which is one of the first things pointed out. An actually well-maintained and fully grown crape myrtle that hasn’t been subjected to crape murder can be very beautiful, at least to some people’s eyes. We have one in our yard that was here when we moved in and has grown to be a beautiful specimen. We also removed two that were planted in bad locations and replaced them with native bottomland oak species more suitable to the low area in our yard.

Evan goes on to complain about crape myrtles dropping blooms and bark as one reason to avoid crape myrtles and how they clog pool drains and pile up on sidewalks and well, I don’t know that Evan understands how plants work. Because, no matter what plant you choose, pieces of vegetation will fall from whatever species you want to substitute, whether it is flowers, bark, fruits, or leaves. I think people just love to complain about anything that causes them to do any extra work, a typical human-centric view of ecology. In the end, Evan wants all crape myrtles gone, even going so far as to implore Governor Abbott to “tear down this tree.”

Fine. Crape myrtles shouldn’t be our state shrub. I am in agreeance here.

For a brief paragraph Evan waxes poetic about azaleas as a viable alternative, but mostly the non-native Tsutsusi azaleas, Rhododendron indicum, and some other associated non-native species that are commonly planted throughout east Texas gardens. He almost makes a half-hearted case for Texas’ native azalea/rhododendron species but fails to follow through after mentioning Rhododendron oblongifolium, a rather uncommon, deep-east Texas species that happens to have the common name Texas azalea. R. indicum are beautiful plants, especially when pruned and maintained and grown in the appropriate conditions, but they still aren’t native to Texas or even North America…so…

Rhododendron canescens in Angelina National Forest

So, what about our native azaleas? Our most common species is Rhododendron canescens, or mountain azalea, is a mostly commonly found in central/southeast Texas and would be a viable alternative as our state shrub. It’s beautiful, but unfortunately for Evan, also drops flowers, and can be picky about soil and water requirements. Our next most common azalea is swamp azalea, Rhododendron viscosum, but yeah, that common name means not too many people are going to be seeing this plant in-situ nor are they going to have the right conditions to grow this species. And as I mentioned, R. oblongifolium is even more uncommon. And frankly, I don’t think most people think of azaleas when they think “Texas”. That’s left for Mississippi, the Carolinas, or Georgia in my mind.

Evan’s article does bring us to a great point though, that we have both a state shrub and a native state shrub! Our state native shrub is Texas sage/cenizo, Leucophyllum frutescens, which is not a sage at all, though it is in the same plant family, but definitely a beautiful species that really only grows well in central and south Texas where it likes the drier, limestone soils. Therein lies our problem. Why do we have two shrub categories? We also have a state plant, the prickly pear cactus (ok, fine), plus a native pepper and a generic pepper, a flower (all species of bluebonnets), a health nut (pecan) and a tree (also pecan), a state waterlily, and a state vegetable (sweet onion), and squash (pumpkin). I dunno, it all seems a little odd if you ask me. All the other categories aside, we should mix the two shrub categories into one, delete crape myrtles from our memory of state shrub, and move forward actually representing the entire state better with a native shrub that is more widespread.

Texas is massive as we all know. We have 11 ecoregions with varying soils, rainfall, and temperature fluctuations. Finding a species that can be somewhat representative of the entire state is going to be difficult. Which brings me to baccharis! Hear me out…

Groundsel, Baccharis halimifolia by threeagoutdoors on iNaturalist CC-BY

Texas has two very common species of baccharis, Baccharis halimifolia and Baccharis neglecta. The latter, known as poverty weed or Roosevelt weed due to its ability to establish in neglected or severely abused ecosystems, is more ubiquitous in the state and can be found widely, while B. halimifolia, is more coastal and found in the eastern half of the state. Then there are several other less common species that can be found further west, such as willow baccharis, B. salicina, and even specialists west of the Pecos such as Yerba de Pasmo, B. pteronioides, mule fat, B. salicifolia. And even the prairie falsewillow, B. texana (Texana!), which can be found scattered along the line of I-35 from DFW to Brownsville. This genus is really widespread, making it much more of a candidate for Texas state shrub than crape myrtles or Texas sage. That said, I don’t know how many people, other than native plant and ecology enthusiasts, are driving around and noticing this genus and realizing its benefits for pollinators and bird cover.

But we can do something else. We can have two native shrubs for the state. We’re large enough to concede that we have diverse ecosystems, and wetter and drier sections of the state, which means different cohorts of plants grow in each area. Sure, plants overlap habitats but they often leave out large sections of the state. And even though our governor might not want to make everyone feel as if they belong in this state, I do and I think we should try to represent as many people and ecosystems as possible.

Here are some native alternatives for each half of our state.

Eastern:

Dwarf palmettos in Sam Houston National Forest

Dwarf palmettos, Sabal minor: found throughout the eastern half of the state in our bottomlands, and we even have a state park named for them!

Wax myrtle in natural area near Galveston by ck2az on iNaturalist CC-BY

Wax myrtles, Morella cerifera: widespread throughout much of the eastern half of the state and even found in cultivation, this sturdy native produces berries for wildlife, likes full sun, is adaptable to varying soil conditions, and stays evergreen! What’s not to like?

Beautyberry growing in my home garden a few years ago.

Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana: Probably my top-tier choice since it grows all over the eastern half of the state, beautyberry is colorful in the fall with bright purple fruits (will probably aggravate Mr. Mintz for its fruit falling on the ground), and birds love this plant! The only downside is that this plant droops a lot when Texas goes through its summer droughts. Even the most established, wild plants will show signs of struggle when we’re dealing with day 49 of 100* temperatures and no rain. You can even make a light jelly from its berries!

Honorable and worthwhile mentions: sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum), yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) and possumhaw (Ilex decidua).

Western:

Blooming agarita at Inks Lake State Park

Agarita, Berberis trifoliolata: Aside from the obvious sharp points that may poke out eyes and leave scars, agarita is beautiful when it is blooming, beautiful when its red fruits are ripe, and a stunner when it is only displaying its leaves. And it grows widely throughout the western half of the state. Like beautyberry, wildlife love the fruits and humans can also turn it into jelly. Bonus points for being evergreen when most of central and west Texas is dusty and brown in winter.

Texas mountain laurel in my home garden a few years ago

Texas mountain laurel, Dermatophyllum secundiflorum: Probably at the top of the pile for western native shrubs due to the bright purple coloring and grape Kool-aid scent, this tough central and west Texas native can even grow outside its region if you give it the right growing conditions. The blooms are a sight to behold and I’d say rival the bluebonnets for their vibrancy.

And I guess we can throw Texas sage into this mix for the western half but I think we have prettier alternatives.

Honorable and worthwhile mentions: evergreen sumac (Rhus virens), flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus), Turk’s cap hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus).

All of that is to say, Evan Mintz is right. Crape myrtles shouldn’t be our Texas state shrub. We have so many wonderful options that we should be choosing something growing in our own ecosystems here in the state. We don’t need to turn to horticulture or old-school garden clubs for ideas when what’s growing right here will far better represent this great state. I do have some bad news for Evan, however, who when taking about azalea trails couldn’t fathom anyone having a crape myrtle trail. Well, McKinney, Texas might have something to say about that!

This is all fluff, of course. It’s much more fun, and sometimes needed fun, to debate what objects should represent our state rather than looking at environmental crises, border and immigration travesties, criminal elected officials, and first amendment protestors being arrested as what truly represents our state. We’re not going to have a state chemical plant to show off our state air pollution—I mean, I’m sure some company can pay for that privilege. How about a state well pad? What people truly see when they think of Texas goes well beyond a pretty little spring blooming bluebonnet or outrageously pink crape myrtle.

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At least we aren’t Florida. Florida has been trying to get the scrub-jay to be their state bird for years. It is currently the Northern Mockingbird, the same as our state bird (we can also do better) and the scrub-jay is an endemic bird to Florida. Unfortunately a woman named Marion Hammer, an NRA lobbyist, has been campaigning against it for years because she hates scrub jays. In her words: “Scrub jays are so lazy and scurrilous they eat the eggs and nestlings of other birds. Now to me, that's robbery and murder and those are not good family values. And you certainly can't call that friendly. That's not the image we want for our state.” …. She told lawmakers what others described as the bird's friendliness was actually "begging," and signs of a “welfare mentality.” I’m not sure why an NRA lobbyist was given so much power over the state bird when she clearly isn’t that versed in ecology and seems to anthropomorphize wildlife! But it doesn’t take much digging to realize it’s just plainly anti-environmental and she doesn’t care about scrub jays because protecting scrub jay habitat means less land for development. Private property rights is what it always boils down to!

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This was fun to research and write! I’d love to hear what you think our state shrub/native shrub should be! Reply to this newsletter via email or leave a comment below. And if you read from out of state, what is your native shrub, if you have one?

Misti writes regularly at Oceanic Wilderness and In the Weeds. She hosts one podcast, Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast, and recently retired The Garden Path Podcast.