Welcome to Txflora

Txflora.org is a dynamic plant search and identification guide for the flora of Texas. Txflora, now in its third phase, began in 2006, with the intention of becoming a web based resource to assist with the identification of vascular plants found within the borders of Texas and includes both native and non-native species. Txflora is under continual development and changes occur frequently – primarily in the number of species currently associated with images in the database as well as the data associated with species. Currently, over 1900 species have image associations (roughly 6000 images) with over 3 million data records in the database.

Texas is a vast state and very diverse in its flora. To someone new to the field of Botany, this is very overwhelming and frustration is often the first result when trying to identify a plant to the species level. This website and database aims to assist with the identification by narrowing the search using geography (county level or ecoregion) and a few characteristics such as growth habit, flowering or non-flowering and category (e.g. monocot, dicot). Other characteristics can be used when searching, but these characteristics are not complete for every species and unless there is an image associated with the species the search may yield a negative result.

How to use Txflora.org

As mentioned previously, the database is dynamic and through associations in the data one can narrow their search through a series of steps, much like a dichotomous key. Once you use the database a few times it becomes very intuitive. If you allow the system to set idle for too long, it will need to be reset. You can do this by simply beginning a new search. Below are a few suggestions to help you in the beginning.

    Search by geography:
From the search page you can select your county or ecoregion. Usually it is best to begin with county, but remember, county data is not complete (some counties have less than 100 species recorded while others, such as Brewster County, which has been studied very well, has over 1700 records). After selecting geography, you can then narrow your search by selecting different characteristics. The following characteristics are complete for each species: Flowering/Non-flowering, Category, Duration, Growth Habit and Nativity. These five characteristics should narrow your search to a more manageable number.

    Search by Family/Genus:
If you wish to view a family, you can simply select the family from the dropdown menu. Once family is selected, you can then select a genus from the dropdown menu. One can also use the characteristics after selecting a family. This is especially helpful when searching a family that has a large number of genera. For example, if you are searching for a member of the Asteraceae in the Chihuahuan Desert region (which yields 350 + results), one may then select the duration (annual/perennial) to further narrow the results.

    Combination Search:
Select geography (eco-region or county), then select Family. You can maneuver from family to family within geography, but you cannot select a family and switch to a different geographical area – if you do this, the system will reset back to the default position (main search page).

Geographical Regions and Associated Data

While there are many maps describing the eco-regions of Texas, and many of these are quite similar, Txflora uses the ecoregion map developed by the Nature Conservancy. You can view and download this map by clicking here. The bulk of the county data comes from USDA’s plant database. Additional county data has been collected through direct observations (i.e. photography), voucher specimens and through data research on the web. If you would like more information on county data, please contact Txflora using the link supplied below.

Nomenclature

Nomenclature is based on the Kartez system and synonyms are included on the species page. While there have been changes in nomenclature as well as new species added to the flora of Texas, Txflora tries to be as current as possible. For the most current nomenclature, please visit the USDA’s Plants Database

Participation

You do not need to register to use Txflora. However, if you wish to participate in Txflora by uploading images of your own, you will need to register. There is no limit (few to many) on the number of images you can upload. From the beginning, Txflora was designed to be a community based effort by allowing users of the site to upload their own images into the database and/or edit data currently in the database. Once you have registered, and would like to submit images et cetera, please contact Txflora through the “contact us” button at the bottom of this page. An image resize program is available if needed. Additional instructions will be given to those who wish to upload images. If you have any suggestions and/or comments, please select the “contact us” button below.

Images

All images on Txflora.org are copyrighted. Any use of these images requires consent of photographer (submitter). Please contact Txflora via email (select the contact us button at the bottom of the page) if you wish to use any of the images (commercial or non-commercial use). Txflora will then forward your email to the appropriate photographer.