Texas Persimmon: Local Texas Master Naturalist chapter selects tree to mark 10-year anniversary

By ANITA WESTERVELT | SPECIAL TO MyRGV.COM

Monday is tree planting time at the South Texas Border Chapter Texas Master Naturalist native plant garden in Pharr, in honor of their 10-year anniversary.

The tree planting will begin at 6 p.m. at Saint George Orthodox Church, at 704 West Sam Houston Blvd., in Pharr, where the chapter holds monthly meetings the third Monday each month. The public is invited. A selection of native plants will be available for purchase.

The public also is invited to the monthly program, following the activities. “Spanish for Naturalists” is the topic presented by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Biologist Ernesto Garcia-Ortega.

The Texas Persimmon tree, Diospyros texana, was chosen to honor the chapter’s 10-year mark by long-time chapter member and past president Robert Hernandez who oversees the chapter’s Native Pollinator Garden and Monarch Waystation. The tree is one he particularly likes. “It is a good-looking tree, it is compact, doesn’t require a lot of care and is well-suited to the region’s climate and habitat,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez, a retired local English and history teacher, is a native plant enthusiast. He has been with the chapter since its initial training of Texas Master Naturalists in January 2016.

Texas persimmon is a valuable native wildlife tree and an attractive and entertaining addition to residential gardens, adding nectar and pollen for insects and fruit for birds. It is a small tree six to 10 feet tall.

Also called Mexican persimmon, chapote and chapote prieto, its scientific name comes from Greek words, meaning divine fruit. Its range is central and south Texas and south to Nuevo Leon in northeastern Mexico.

Fragrant, small creamy white, nectar-rich bell-shaped flowers hang in clusters from branch tips in spring. Insects sip nectar and collect and transfer pollen from the sweet-smelling blooms. The fruit is a large round green berry about one inch in diameter that turns dark blue-black in late summer when it ripens. The fruit is sweet if fully ripe, but bitter and acidic otherwise. It was used to make jams and jellies. Historically, Native Americans used juices from the fruit to dye animal hides.

The tree’s leaves are dark green, thin but leathery, the upper surface is glossy with venation that gives it a textured appearance; the underside is covered in fine hairs. Leaves are one to two inches long and roll downward around the edges. They remain on the tree until new leaves emerge in spring. The bark on mature trees peels away to reveal smooth shades of gray, white and pink on the trunk underneath.

Texas persimmon is a larval host plant to gray hairstreak butterflies and the hypocala moth.

Texas Persimmon tree flowers (Anita Westervelt)

In the wild, chachalaca, quail, wild turkey, songbirds, deer, javelina, feral hogs, coyote, raccoons, opossums and skunks benefit from Texas persimmon trees.

The species is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are on separate plants. Fruit is only borne on female trees. To feed birds and other critters, plant more than one tree to ensure fruit.

Texas Master Naturalist chapter members will be available at the ceremony to talk about the native plants for sale and those in the chapter’s pollinator garden.

The Rio Grande Valley supports two Texas Master Naturalist chapters: the Rio Grande Valley chapter, founded in 2002, serves Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties and the South Texas Border chapter, established in 2015, serves Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr counties.

The Texas Master Naturalist organization is a unique educational volunteer program sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the Texas Sea Grant Program and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Many communities are aware of these citizen volunteers who help support local conservation efforts. Texas Master Naturalist members receive expert-level training in ecosystems, wildlife and land management. Volunteers work in their communities alongside conservation organizations to help protect Texas’ natural habitats. Since the South Texas Border Chapter’s inception in 2015, local chapter members have contributed more than 70,000 volunteer hours, generating $1.65 million economic impact toward in-kind monies for grants.

The advisors for both Rio Grande Valley chapters are Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Estero Llano Grande Park Superintendent Javier de Leon, TPWD’s Ernesto Garcia-Ortega and Cameron County Extension Agent for Coastal & Marine Resources with Texas Sea Grant at Texas A&M University and Texas AgriLife Extension Service Sara Stewart.

Texas Master Naturalist membership is open to residents 18 years and older. For more information about the program, annual training classes, chapter projects and to find articles about the local nature and habitat, visit the chapter’s website at www.stbctmn.org.

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