Turkey vultures warm up in the early morning sun at Sam Nail Ranch.
NPS/CA Hoyt
The 0.5-mile trail is an easy walk and a great place to think about how plants were used in the past. You'll find remnants of the Nail's orchards and gardens as well as edible and useful native plants. Could you survive here?
Remember: Just because these plants have been eaten or processed in the past, doesn't mean YOU should do it. Before handling or consuming a native plant, do your research, know your allergies, and proceed with caution. Always remember that collecting plants in the park is not allowed.
A ripening fig.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Fig Tree Ficus sp.
Fig trees flourish in hot, dry climates, making them a garden favorite. Their sweet fruit is good straight from the tree, made into jam, or used as a sweetener for desserts when sugar was scarce.
The soft pink flowers of a peach tree in early spring.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Peach Tree Prunus persica
Peaches do well in a desert environment as long as there's water and a late freeze doesn't kill the flowers. Peach trees were popular because the fruit could be eaten off the tree, canned, or made into brandy.
Sun filters through the leaves of a pecan tree.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Pecan Tree Carya illinoinensis
Texas Governor Jim Hogg didn't want a headstone when he passed away in 1906. Instead, he wanted a pecan planted at his head and a walnut at his feet. Descendants of these trees were to be distributed around the state so that Texas would become a land of trees. State Representative E.E. Townsend gave Sam Nail one of the Hogg Pecans to plant in his orchard.
Asparagus plants growing at Sam Nail Ranch.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Garden Asparagus Asparagus officinalis
Asparagus grows in the damp soil near the windmill. Asparagus thrives in saline (salty) soils--perhaps one reason that it has lasted so long at Sam Nail Ranch.
Small, acidic sumac fruit makes a refreshing lemonade-like drink.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Little-leaf Sumac Rhus microphylla
Little-leaf sumac is one of four species of sumac that grow in the park. Soak the small, red sumac fruits in water to make a tart, refreshing drink.
Western soapberries with spikes of white flowers and amber-colored fruit.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Western Soapberry Sapindus drummondii
The marble-sized, translucent, amber drupes of the soapberry are used as soap. The fruits are mashed, added to water, and stirred to create a lather. Today, soapberries are sold as an eco-friendly laundry detergent.
Purple tunas are the sweet fruit of a prickly pear.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Prickly Pear Opuntia sp.
A go-to plant for desert dwellers. The young pads (nopales) are stir-fried, fried, or pickled and used in a variety of savory dishes. The sweet, purple-red fruit (tunas) are eaten raw or cooked down to make jelly and syrup. The mature pads were split and used as poultices on wounds or bruises. A hair tonic for shiny, healthy, strong hair is made from prickly pear pad juice.
Ripe mesquite pods range from yellow to deep maroon. Locals will tell you "the redder the bean, the sweeter the taste."
NPS/CA Hoyt
Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa
The SuperStore of plants! Honey mesquite beans are nutritious and sweet and can be eaten straight off the tree or dried and ground into mesquite flour. Soak the beans and you'll get a sweet tea to boil down for mesquite jelly. The wood is hard and makes excellent furniture and firewood. The gummy sap was used as a dye for coloring hair and textiles; the spines were used as needles, and the long, limber roots as cordage.
During good years, the branches of algerita can be obscured by the bright red fruit.
CA Hoyt
Algerita Berberis trifoliolata
Algerita is one of our earliest-blooming shrubs. Fragrant yellow flowers form juicy red berries in the early summer. The spiny leaflets make the berries difficult to harvest, but the effort is worth it. The berries make excellent jellies, pies, and cobblers. Underneath the brown bark of the algerita is sunshine-yellow wood. During World War II, parachute makers extracted a yellow dye from the wood to produce color-coded parachutes.
The resins coating the stiff leaves of the creosote-bush offer a wealth of medicinal properties.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Creosote-bush Larrea tridentata
The desert pharmacy. Creosote is a super, cure-all plant, known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. Today, creosote salve is used to treat psoriasis, eczema, cold sores, and infected cuts. Plus, it smells so good! Which may be a matter of opinion. What do you think?
Hackberry fruit is sweet, protein-packed, and hard. Very hard.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Netleaf Hackberry Celtis reticulata
Hackberry seeds were found in a Chinese cave occupied by human ancestors 500,000 years ago--making hackberries one of the oldest-known foraged foods. With good reason. Although small, the fruit has a think, sweet skin and pulp and the seeds are protein-rich. Don't try to crush the seeds with your teeth, however. They're extremely hard and will likely send you straight to the dentist with a cracked tooth.
If you want a snack, choose fruit that is black and fully ripe. Under-ripe persimmons have pucker-power.
NPS/CA Hoyt
Texas Persimmon Diospyros texana
Texas persimmon is one of the best-tasting wild fruits. The small, black fruit has sweet pulp that can be eaten raw or made into wine, breads, pies, jams, or sauces. The juice from fully ripe fruit is used to dye hides. Black bears love Texas persimmons, so be alert in the late summer or fall when the fruit is ripe.
