TREES OF HUNTSVILLE AND WALKER COUNTY, TEXAS, & BIG TREE REGISTER
Guy L. Nesom
Sam Houston State University
February 1998
TEXAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
&
WALKER COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION
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CONTENTS
Trees of Huntsville and Walker County - Introduction
[1] Geographic and Biological Setting
Pineywoods and Blackland Prairies
Geographic Distribution of Huntsville's Trees
Tree Ages
[2] Huntsville's Trees - Past, Present, and Future
An Early Visitor
1850s to 1870s
Turn of the Century (about 1890 to 1920)
1920s to 1960s
Huntsville's Trees in 1998
Trees and Huntsville Street Names
Huntsville's Trees in the Future
[3] Tree Lists & Sources
1. Most Common In-Town Species
2. Species Most Commonly Planted In the Last 20 Years
3. Species Most Commonly Sold In 1996/97
4. Recommended Species for Huntsville
5. Recommended Species for Nacogdoches and Houston
6. Tree Sources -- Local and Regional
[4] Urban Trees
Values of Urban Trees
Urban Tree Health
Huntsville's Tree Policy
A Tree Ordinance for Huntsville
[5] Landscaping, Buffers, Parks, and Open Space In the Huntsville Development Code
[6] Notes on Individual Species
[7] Tree Walks In Huntsville
[8] Timber Industry in Walker County
[9] Big Trees and Sam Houston National Forest
[10] Big Trees and Huntsville State Park
[11] Acknowledgements & Literature
[12] BIG TREE REGISTER
History of the Big Tree Register
How to Nominate an Entry
Entry Format
Identification
Big Trees In Texas and the United States
Big Tree Nomination Form
[13] Index To Tree Species
[14] Big Tree Champions
TREES OF HUNTSVILLE AND WALKER COUNTY
Woods and trees meet the eye almost everywhere in Huntsville and Walker County. Different eyes see different values in trees, but all agree they are a source of beauty and pride.
The presence of many trees within a city is a good indicator of a higher quality of life. Old trees inside the city, where spreading neighborhoods and commerce might have eliminated them, indicate a respect for beauty and tradition. Urban trees also help in lowering summer temperatures, providing clean air, reducing runoff and erosion, increasing property values, and providing food and habitat for birds and other native animals that we like to see.
Both Huntsville and Walker County have a wonderful potential to emphasize the beauty of the wooded environment, because its greatest economic value is barely tapped. This area could provide forest-based outdoor recreation to the people of southeast Texas. As the huge Houston metroplex quickly approaches our southern boundary, we can keep and enhance what we value and have it form a major part of the economy. Many good opportunities to start on this, though, won’t last much longer.
This little book is written with the hope that it will bring attention to the beauty, interest, and possibilities that woods and trees give this area. The Big Tree Register (the second part of the book) documents efforts to locate and record the largest individuals of tree species found in Huntsville and Walker County.
[1] BIOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHIC SETTING
Piney Woods and Blackland Prairie: Sand and Clay
Both Walker County and the city of Huntsville are divided between sand and clay surfaces, generally corresponding to pineywoods and prairie vegetation. The nucleus of the original settlement of Huntsville was built over a prairie site, but the town has grown outwardly into sandy areas. Westward and northward from Huntsville, clay is the most common soil and prairies were once much more extensive -- we have places with names like Pine Prairie, Crabbs Prairie, Round Prairie, Cline's Prairie. Much of this area was a mixture of open prairies and savannas with scattered post oaks, but prairie vegetation in Walker County has now been almost completely lost to agriculture, timber production, and residential or commercial development.
Property acquired in the formation of Sam Houston National Forest (see comments below), mostly to the south and east of Huntsville, rarely strayed off the sandy surfaces closely associated with quick-growing pines. Clay almost always is 1-3 feet below the sandy surface, or sometimes twice deeper on hills, but there the clay usually is red rather than the dark prairie colors. To see true post oaks growing on sand in Walker County suggests that clay is close to the surface.
Over both sand and clay, there are ridges, slopes, flat areas, bottomlands, and creek-sides, and characteristic groups of tree species and other plants are associated with each kind of habitat. The soils even exert a strong influence on what kind of species are in "weedy" areas like roadsides, fencerows, old fields, and city lots. Transitional areas ("sandy clay") also exist, and heavy clay is usually modified to a loamier texture by a long period of forested vegetation.
Sandstone outcrops occur in the northern half of Walker County. These also have a characteristic herbaceous flora, but the trees that grow over the sandstone are more similar to those over the clay soils. Alas for our natural heritage, those larger outcrops, the only known Walker County localities for several fern and flowering species, have been removed by quarrying.
Geographic Distribution of Huntsville's Trees
Walker County is at the edge (southwestern corner) of the forest that covers most of the eastern United States. Knowing the trees in the Huntsville area, you would feel much at home in the woods of Louisiana, Georgia, Virginia, Missouri, or Indiana. Even many of the commonly cultivated species are similar.
A number of our native tree species reach the absolute western boundary of their geographic range in Walker County (for example): sweetgum, red maple, magnolia, cherry laurel, nutmeg hickory, the two hornbeam species, sassafras, fringetree, black oak, white oak, and swamp chestnut oak. It's interesting that some of these species are so common here before disappearing entirely only a few more miles to the west. The predominance of clay soils toward the west is surely connected with this, but other environmental factors that may limit their growth are not so clear or sharply defined. Water, though, is clearly involved: it’s a good guess that Huntsville's annual average 44 inches of precipitation is near the minimal amount required by many tree species. Rainfall increases quickly to the east of Huntsville (48 inches in Livingston, 52 in Jasper) and decreases to the west (39 inches in College Station, 32 in Austin). And, as all who live here know (or at least suspect), the hot season in southeast Texas is hotter longer than anywhere else in the eastern U.S. That long heat has a strong effect on the water available to plants.
Other tree species are very near their western distributional boundary in Walker County (for example): shortleaf and loblolly pine, dogwood, black gum, white ash, persimmon, bitternut hickory, water hickory, river birch, southern red oak, willow oak, and overcup oak.
Some of our common species are Eastern forest trees that reach near central Texas before being sharply limited in their growth and survival (for example): water oak, Shumard oak, post oak, pecan, winged elm, American elm, sycamore, cottonwood, black walnut, red mulberry, juniper, honey locust, green ash, redbud, and hercules club.
A few characteristic tree species of the Eastern forest reach westward into east Texas nearly but not quite to Walker County. American beech and pawpaw both occur further east in east Texas. Tulip poplar, which is as common as sweetgum in much of the Eastern forest, grows as far west as Louisiana but has never been found as a Texas native.
Only three species occur in Walker County as outlyers of a western or southwestern distribution: mesquite, acacia, and soapberry. The first two are small trees found in openings mostly over clay, while the latter is found mostly along streams. None of them is common in our area.
In a broader perspective, almost all of the genera represented among our forest trees (for example, oaks, hickories, walnuts, tupelo gums, hollies, sassafras, dogwoods, redbuds, maples, birches, elms, mulberries, sweetgums, sycamores) have species in Eurasia as well as eastern North America. Many of them also have species in the western U.S. The presence of genera in such widely separated locations reflects a once more continuous distribution of these plants, when continents of the Northern Hemisphere were connected as a single landmass. In fact, most of the woody genera that now grow in the eastern United States apparently came into existence (as known from fossils) between 40 and 70 million years ago (mya). Complete separation of North America and Eurasia between 40 and 50 mya ended direct migration between these continents.
The geographic distributions of individual species, in contrast, usually don't leap across oceans or even across continents, because these evolved more recently, after separation of these landmasses. The close similarity of different species on separate continents (for example, compare the Formosan and American sweetgum) or across a continent suggests that both species evolved from a common ancestor not very different from either.
Tree Ages
Trees of some species can grow larger for a longer time and some grow larger at a faster rate, but in general, there is a good correlation between "big" and "old." The fact that a tree is old may not necessarily add to its beauty, but there is a tangible awe to be felt in the presence of a living organism that has been around for a lot longer than you have, especially if it towers over you.
The average age of the oldest trees of any species usually is considerably less than the age of the few very oldest individuals known. Many influences can shorten lives, and urban trees (often growing in stressful conditions) usually have a shorter life expectancy than those in natural settings. Maximum ages listed for various species in the Big Tree Register are taken from estimates given in references on tree culture and biology (Harlow et al. 1996; Burns and Honkala 1990; Shugart 1984).
Information on ages of eastern North American trees, however, is surprisingly sparse. There is not even an estimate for many of our common species, especially the smaller ones without strong economic importance. It obviously is much easier to unroll a tape and measure the size than to take a wood core for a count of tree rings. Aside from the physical difficulties in extracting a core, the rings often are obscure and difficult to count in heartwood, or false rings may be present (echoing distinct wet/dry cycles during a single growing season). Some fast-growing hardwoods, particularly in the South and Southeast, add yearly growth that is hard to see as a distinct ring. Among the oldest individuals, many trees grow unevenly, producing wood on one side but not the other for a long period and then shifting growth to a different side.
East Texas trees with the longest maximum life span are live oaks (1000+ years) followed by white oak, cypress, and sycamore (up to 600 years). Based on these species (and others from other parts of the world), it's a reasonable deduction that the largest species have the longest lives. Most of our relatively large forest trees, however, including the pines, have a maximum life span between 200 and 400 years. Species producing smaller individuals (dogwood, redbud, and American holly, for example) generally have shorter lives.
The oldest known trees in North America are a number of trees of bristlecone pine from Utah and California, which are between 4000 and 5000 years old. A grove of these bristlecone pines from the White Mountains of California is known as the "Methuselah Grove." These relatively small trees live in dry, rocky places and grow very slowly. Often only small portions of the bark are alive at any one time. Trees of Rocky Mountain juniper have a similar habitat and growth pattern and may reach nearly the same age as bristlecone pine. Both of these are obvious exceptions to the generality that the biggest trees have the longest life expectancy.
Giant sequoia of the Pacific coast also are known to reach several thousand years of age, but these are giant trees with straight trunks that may approach 300 feet in height.
Among the oldest known organisms of North America surely are quaking aspens, the beautiful trees of Canada and the western United States with white bark and heart-shaped leaves that quake in the lightest breeze. Aspens occur in Texas in the high mountains of the trans-Pecos region (in Brewster, Jeff Davis, and Culberson counties). The shallow roots of these trees produce "root suckers" that develop into young plants, each of which has the potential to become independent. The parent tree and its root sprouts form a clone, a group of genetically identical individuals. The clones are variable in size, but in areas of the Rocky Mountains, some aspen clones are known to cover up to 200 acres. Individual aspen trees may reach an old age of 200 years, but some aspen clones in Minnesota have been estimated to be up to 8-10 thousand years old. Some lines of evidence indicate that the huge clones of the Rocky Mountains may be much older, perhaps reaching back as far as 2 million years.
[2] HUNTSVILLE'S TREES -- PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
There is no published historical account of changes in the general appearance of Huntsville, particularly regarding the trees and shrubs that lend such conspicuous character. There is barely a scattered mention of such even in the large volume on local history (Crews 1976). A great deal of information, however, is found in "A Photographic History of Huntsville and Walker County," a collection of 546 photos in nine looseleaf volumes compiled by the Huntsville Arts Commission in 1979. Complete sets are available in the Huntsville Public Library and the SHSU library.
"A Pictorial History of Walker County" (McLaughlin 1993) also pulls together a collection of 312 old photos reaching back to 1853. Many of these are not duplicated in the "Photographic History" (although there is overlap), and the documentation is better (dates are available for almost all of the photos). The tentative insights from these photographs match those gathered from "A Photographic History."
The following comments on the history of Huntsville's trees are drawn from primarily from "A Photographic History" and "A Pictorial History" and it's hoped this meager fabric of deduction and guesswork will stimulate citizens with a knowledge or memory about such things to contribute to a more substantial account.
An Early Visitor
William Bollaert, an English lawyer well-versed in natural history and highly absorbent observer and recorder, passed through Huntsville in 1843. The population was already about 2500 (Hollon 1956; McLaughlin 1993), only nine years after the city was first established (in 1836) and four years before the first Walker County courthouse was built (in 1847-48, at the same site as the present one). Bollaert saw several schools, a Planters Exchange, Gibbs Grocery, the Huntsville Hotel, and observed that "building is going on and sound of the anvil and hammer [is] heard continually." He noted that "dense pine woods" occurred in some places and that Huntsville was located on a "pine height." On a "roam thro' the woods" he saw "Pine in abundance. Oaks, half a dozen varieties, particularly "overcup oak," the acorn as large as an egg. Hickory, walnut (white and black), dogwood (of which the Indians made their arrows), but in particular abundance is the Laurus Sassasfras, the bark or outside root used as a tea."
Bollaert wrote that "very few of the houses can be seen on account of pine & other trees, bushes, etc." Over the next 30 years, a remarkable change apparently occurred.
1850s to 1870s
Most of the earliest photographs of "A Photographic History" are in series taken in 1873-75, showing views mostly of the town area. For example, there is a vista from University Avenue looking south (photo 010) and several of the downtown area (photo 077 for example). Broad dirt roads, bare yards, and bare fields were everywhere. The whole town was virtually devoid of trees as well as most other vegetation. Scattered tall pines could be seen here and there with a few scattered, young hardwoods. A narrative by Mary Rather (in Crews 1976) refers to "strolls on the boardwalks of the town," which surely were necessary for walking without becoming mud-mired. Rather's descriptions of croquet as "a new and popular game" of the 1870's "played on grassy lawns beneath the spreading elms" and of "children playing together in the large shady yards" sound inconsistent with what is seen in the photos.
It has been suggested that the relatively dense population of that time took the wood at hand for building, heating, and cooking, but would that account for the lack of even small shrubs? Other possible explanations for the bare landscape are clearing for maximum visibility because of the nearby prison system, logging, horses and other livestock kept in town, slow growth on natural prairies, and social conventions that suggested bareness and openness were desirable features. All of these reasons may have contributed, but demand for wood was high. The farm-related population was rapidly increasing by 1860 --- Walker County was the largest cotton-producer of all the counties along the Trinity River --- and sawmills ran all year to meet the local demand for lumber. The first sawmill in Huntsville opened in 1840, and the first lumber house was built in 1841 (Block 1997).
According to Mary Rather, favorite spots for picnics and other outings in the 1870's were "Magnolia Grove" (along Robinson Creek behind the present Huntsville Hospital), Nelson and Harmon Creeks (east of Huntsville, passing through the old state Fish Hatchery), and Ten-Mile Spring (10 miles north of Huntsville on Hwy 75). These seem like long distances from town for a picnic, especially in horse-powered transportation, but surely a big part of the draw of these places, in addition to their beauty, were sources of cool, clean water.
Sam Houston maintained his home in Huntsville until he died here in 1863. His home site in what is now Sam Houston Memorial Park was originally over a clay prairie site with very few trees around 1850. Mrs. Fan Leigh visited the home at that time as a friend of Sam Houston's daughter and many years later (around 1934) put down her remarkably detailed recollections in a map of the area, including locations of the trees. She showed a "wild plum tree" (perhaps Mexican plum), a "plum orchard," a poplar tree (probably a Lombardy poplar), a line of bois d'arcs, a catalpa tree, apple tree, pear tree, pecan tree, and crepe myrtle. Most of these were close around the house. She also remembered a "willow thicket" along the branch on the east side of the house.
Houston also owned 84 acres situated roughly between present-day Sam Houston Avenue, Avenue O, 22nd Street, and 15th Street. This land remained in wooded condition until the early 1920s, when streets were laid out and construction of residences began. George Russell says this was referred to by some locals as the "Big Woods" and notes that large trees of loblolly and shortleaf pine, post oak, sweetgum, and other native species persisted here through the next six decades of development. A dead shortleaf pine at 1421 19th Street was 192 years old (by ring count) when cut down in 1992. Except for the southern end of the "Big Woods" area, where residences have been built within a "second growth" woods, it is now essentially similar in trees to nearby areas much earlier laid bare in the 1870s.
Turn of the Century (about 1890-1920)
Five Huntsville churches photographed in 1899 (Pict. Hist. p. 46) showed nothing but bare surroundings. The Sallie E. Gibbs home (southeast corner of 11th Street and Avenue M) had only a few very young trees in the yard (Pict. Hist. p. 18). A 1900 view from the Old Walls Unit to Old Main shows the whole vista with nothing but very young trees (photo 465), but at least some trees were beginning to be in evidence after the previous decades when the landscape was cleared. The same is true for other 1900 photos from other directions with Old Main in the far background (photos 509 and 516). The immediate grounds of Old Main itself in 1918 (photo 067) had one southern red oak about 20-40 years old and a few smaller trees of different species. A slightly earlier view of Old Main, "ca. 1908," from further back shows more young hardwoods about 30-50 years old (in winter condition) and several scattered pines near other college buildings. A picture of SHSU grounds in "ca. 1914" (photo 399) shows a sycamore and southern red oak, both probably 30-40 years old.
One view of the grounds of the "Huntsville Public School" of 1900 (near corner of 8th Street and University Avenue, photo 508) had only a few scattered trees, including a post oak that could have been 20-40 years old and a several other smaller trees. Another view of the same structure (photo 441) sometime between "1893-1906" shows 4 large pines, probably 40-60 years old, as the only trees in the nearly one acre front area. The corner of University Avenue and 12th Street in about 1900-1910 (photo 451) had a number of young street trees apparently about 10-30 years old.
Sycamores were commonly being planted in the town area at least by the turn of the century (various photos, for example 089). A 1905 view of 11th Street (photo 510; Pict. Hist. p. 36), "looking west from about Sycamore and Hwy 19" along a largely residential area, shows a sycamore about 15-30 years old to be the largest tree in the first several hundred yards of view. Another view, however, of a wide residential street at about the same time (photo 506; possibly another portion of 11th Street) shows a good number of moderate-sized trees, possibly hackberries and sweetgums, one or two per house front and almost certainly in a "planted" arrangement. Several chinaberries grew in the front yard of the Randolph residence at Avenue J and 11th Street in 1913 (photo 011).
A water oak about 30-40 years old and other smaller trees were in the front yard of the Sandford Gibbs home in about 1890 (photo 361; Pict. Hist. p. 13). The yard of the May residence in about 1900 also had several water oaks probably about 15-20 years old (photo 211). The front yard of the Oliphant residence in 1911 (photo 170) had two large trees, at least one of them a water oak, probably 60-90 years old. The same house in 1853 (photo 147, one of the oldest in the "Photographic History" collection) shows the same two trees as distinctly smaller but still probably 15-30 years old.
Post oaks have been long-favored inside Huntsville and some of these trees surely were among the few allowed to persist from the otherwise cleared native vegetation in the late 1800s. The Smither residence in about 1900 (photo 179; Pict. Hist. p. 13) had several large post oaks in the yard. The Pritchett residence (1322 Avenue O) had several large post oaks in the yard in the early 1900s (photo 229). Comments by local citizens indicate that some other of the local post oak "stands" (along Old Houston Road, for example) probably were very young in the 1920s and 1930s.
Southern magnolias were planted in the 1890s. Two large ones grew in the front yard of the Thomason home on Avenue J in about 1950 (photo 197), these said to be planted at the same time the house was built in 1891. Another was planted by Col. Tom Ball in about 1894 near the corner of 13th Street and Avenue P (see Big Tree Register).
1920s to 1960s
Tree plantings and volunteers were becoming common in residential Huntsville of the 1920s and 1930s. Relatively small pecan trees were planted around the original Huntsville Memorial Hospital soon after the completion of its construction in about 1930 (photo 180). Judging from the sizes of many of the pecan trees around town in 1997, many others began to be planted at about the same time. Live oaks began to be commonly planted at least as early as the 1930s.
The "M. Stougaard Nursery" (photo 313, perhaps taken around 1936 or a little later) shows stock (as pictured) mostly of small shrubs less than 5 feet tall, unidentifiable except for a group of Arbor Vitae plants. Stougaard, however, was horticulturist for the Sam Houston Park and had access to a range of tree species, which he had been setting into the park at about this time (see comments below, Tree Walks).
Trees in Huntsville in the 1950s still were not nearly as abundant or large as today, but the most common in-town tree species were about the same. Mimosa and Chinese tallow were heavily planted in these years. A number of relatively young street trees, including water oak and hackberry, grew along Avenue I in 1950 (photo 357). An aerial photo of the Elementary School and High School in about 1955 (photo 283) shows scattered small trees about 20-30 years old along streets.
The woods immediately surrounding Huntsville recovered somewhat from the vast clearings from the last half of the 19th century through the early 1900s, only to undergo another period of extensive timbering in the 1960's and 1970s, when large parts of the public lands of Sam Houston National Forest, and others, were clearcut. A set of aerial photos of Huntsville and peripheral areas from various directions taken in about 1960 (photos 335-356) show long vistas of clearings and vegetated areas with young woods.
Huntsville's Trees In 1998
Several lists (LISTS 1-3) have been drawn up to show the most common Huntsville species and those most often planted now and in the past. They seem to be fairly accurate, at least as generalities, although their preparation was somewhat subjective.
The city of Huntsville in 1998 has an interesting diversity of trees, but more than three-fourths of the individuals are divided between ten species (LIST 1). A number of other species also are common (LISTS 1-3). The two most common in-town tree species are live oak and pecan. Live oak is the most commonly planted species of the last thirty years, although its intense popularity has waned over the last 10 years. In addition to these two, a survey suggests that trees of each of the other eight most common species (except pine) are growing on almost every residential block in the pre-1970s part of the city. Pines, water oaks, and other species are very common in some neighborhoods. All of the most common species are capable of reproducing themselves by seeds capable of wide transport and quick germination.
In addition to the ten most common species, a number of others are relatively common in town and easily reproduce themselves as volunteers. All of these are native except three (chinaberry, crepe myrtle, and Chinese tallow). Still other species occur in town in smaller numbers (see Index to Big Tree Register).
Common tree species of Huntsville in 1998 differ sharply between areas of the city that have been "in-town" at least several decades and those areas recently been annexed as the city has grown outward, where natural vegetation remained dominant. Recently annexed areas retain a much closer resemblance to the natural forest tree composition. Over areas of clay, common trees are post oak, water oak, and bois d'arc. Even in town, scattered individuals of these three species (especially post oak) may persist as relicts from the early 1900's or even earlier. Over sandy soils, loblolly and shortleaf pine, sweetgum, southern red oak, water oak, and black hickory may persist in yards and along streets. In these peripheral parts of town and in those still to be opened to residential and commercial development, Huntsvilleans should take advantage of opportunities to preserve native species, especially those that are not so common.
The roster of Huntsville trees, like that of many other Texas towns and cities, is becoming increasingly narrow and dominated by "cultivated" species (commercially obtained and planted ones). Almost all of existing city trees in older parts of town either have been planted or have germinated as volunteers from seeds of previously planted stock. Because of numerous plantings, it's a reasonable prediction that Huntsville's general in-town "green" aspect in half a century will be dominated by live oaks, barring a major shift in climate, an oak wilt epidemic, or changes in attitudes about trees. Pecan, hackberry, and American elm also occupy large amounts of "tree space" in Huntsville, and their gradual loss will provide the major gaps most likely to be filled by other species.
The loss of native species is easiest to see in parts of town where some native vegetation still persists. Post oak, shortleaf pine, bois d'arc, black hickory, and southern red oak are not being replaced by others of their species. Sweetgum, loblolly pine, juniper, winged elm, American elm, and red mulberry volunteer easily, but few of these young ones will be allowed to last long.
Trees and Huntsville Street Names
Streets are often named for trees and woods, but these names seem to be especially numerous in Huntsville (68 listed here). Is this just a quick way to find a name, or does this reflect a high value placed on trees? Birch, Bois D'Arc, Cedar Lane, Cedar Drive, Cherry Hills Drive, Cherry Lane, Cross Timbers, Cypress Circle, Cottonwood Street, Creekwood, Dogwood Circle, Dogwood Drive, Elm Avenue, Elmwood, Eucalyptus Street, Forest Lane, Greenleaf Street, Green Tree Drive, Greenwood, Hickory Drive, Hickory Hill, Holly Drive, Holly Springs, Knob Oaks Drive, Laurel Spring Drive, Magnolia Street, Magnolia Way, Mesquite Street, Mimosa Lane, Oak Drive, Oakhill Drive, Oaklawn Street, Oakview, Old Sycamore, Palm, Parkwood, Peach Tree, Pecan Drive, Persimmon Drive, Pine Grove Drive, Pin Oak, Pine Valley, Pine Street, Pine Avenue, Pine Drive, Pinedale Road, Pine-shadows Drive, Pine Valley, Pines Avenue, Plum Creek, Redbud Lane, River Oaks Drive, Royal Oaks, Sweetgum Avenue, Sycamore, Tall Timbers Lane, Thornwood Way, Timberline Drive, Timberwood Lane, Trailwood Drive, Walnut Street, Wild Plum, Willow Bend, Woodland Drive, Woodland Valley, Woodlawn Avenue, Woodmont Drive, Woodview, and Youpon (not "Yaupon") Lane.
Eucalyptus Street (off Hwy 290, just east of the city limits) stands out among all these names, because the 300 species of eucalyptus trees are native mostly to Australia. Eucalyptus has been planted all over the world in areas where temperature are moderate without freezing. In 1968, several employees of Champion International (including Bruce Fulenwider, now of SHSU) had been studying the economic potential of eucalyptus and planted about 30 saplings of Eucalyptus camphora in their neighborhood as a curiosity. These plantings also supplied the street name, which was required about the same time. Nearly all of these trees proved to be intolerant of the occasional hard freezes of the Huntsville winters, and only one remains alive today.
Mesquite Street, at the northeastern corner of Eastham-Thomason Park, surely was named for at least one mesquite tree that must have been there. No longer, though.
Huntsville's Trees In The Future
The nature of Huntsville's future "urban forest" is decided in large part by what species are now being planted. Many dozens of tree species could be successfully planted and grown here, and there is no need to rely on just a few. Spreading the replacements and new plantings among more species would add interest and resilience to our urban forest. For example, live oaks make beautiful trees, but the increasing frequency of their plantings may lead to problems. Oak wilt has already killed many live oaks where they are a major part of the urban forest (in Austin, for example), and the possibility is real that this disease could reach Huntsville.
Tree species already growing in abundance in Huntsville are obvious choices for further plantings in yards and on streets, because these are among those proven "tough." As a tentative guide toward increasing Huntsville's tree diversity, LIST 4 gives other species that will do well in our climate and soils. This is a selection based on personal observations, conversation with growers, nursery staff, and foresters, as well as suggestions from other published guides for our region. LIST 4 is "biased" toward native species, but there is no reason to insist that trees in an urban environment must be from native species. "Any tree, in the right place, in good health, is a winner" (David Zellar).
In David's observation, "Any tree in the right place" is not as simple as it might sound. Is it to be planted in a yard, a park, or along a street or highway? Should it be a large or small tree? Is it for shade, decoration, or screening? Is fast growth a necessity? Is the potential age of the tree a critical factor? How will the location affect the growth? All should be considered, and the nursery or tree supplier should be able to provide the information.
"Tree planting guides" have recently been published for Nacogdoches and Houston (Nacogdoches Proud 1996; Houston Area Urban Forestry Council 1997). These are compact, easy-on-the-eye brochures that offer suggestions and illustrations for successful species and instructions on planting locations, planting techniques, and pruning. The tree species suggested for the two cities (LIST 5) are similar between themselves and close to those listed here for Huntsville. These brochures are so well done and applicable to our own city that they should be made widely available here. Another information source is an internet “Tree Selector for the Houston and Gulf Coast Area” (www.ghg.net/beyer/).
The list of trees suggested for local planting brings up an immediate problem: relatively few native tree species are sold by local nurseries (essentially those of LIST 3). The most economical strategy for dealers is to stock a few species known to grow well and fast in our area, and of course they will recommend these trees to customers. To get past this bottleneck, customers must be aware of the possibilities for planting and want something besides the standard few species now being sold and set in. Local nurseries should agree to handling less common species, especially if they are available from east Texas wholesale growers. Another problem: only a few (apparently) east Texas growers have a wide range of native species. Local and regional commercial sources of native and other trees for Huntsville are given below.
[3] TREE LISTS AND SOURCES
LIST 1. Most common in-town species
(the ten most common are starred)
* Live Oak Post Oak Box Elder
* Pecan Bois d'Arc Southern Magnolia
* Smooth Hackberry Southern Red Oak Cottonwood
* American Elm Black Hickory Mimosa
* Water Oak Sweetgum Chinaberry
* Redbud Cherry Laurel
* Loblolly Pine Winged Elm
* Catalpa Juniper
* Chinese Tallow Sycamore
* Crepe Myrtle
LIST 2. Tree species most commonly planted in the last 20 years
(the five most common are starred)
* Live Oak Bradford Pear
* Pecan Shumard Oak
* Southern Magnolia Nuttall Oak
* Redbud Cottonwood
* Chinese Tallow Sycamore
* Water Oak Catalpa
LIST 3. Tree species most commonly sold in 1996/97
(the four most commonly sold are double-starred;
the three next most so are starred)
** Shumard Oak *Southern Magnolia Purple Plum
** Live Oak *Red Maple Weeping Willow
** Silver Maple *Sycamore Red Mulberry
** Bradford Pear Arizona Ash Green Ash
Chinese Elm Redbud
LIST 4. Recommended tree species for Huntsville
Small & Medium Trees
Hawthorns Dogwood
Redbud Bumelia
Red Mulberry Sassafras
American Hornbeam Silverbell
American Holly Red Bay
Deciduous Holly Star Magnolia
Juniper Saucer Magnolia
Cherry Laurel Lacebark Elm
Mexican Plum Callery Pear
Rusty Black Haw Japanese Evergreen Oak
Fringe Tree
Large Trees
Willow Oak Sweetgum
Water Oak Red Maple
Southern Red Oak Black Gum
Laurel Oak Persimmon
Post Oak Loblolly Pine
Bur Oak Sycamore
Shumard Oak Basswood
Live Oak River Birch
Green Ash Hackberry
LIST 5. Recommended species for Nacogdoches (N) and Houston (H)
White Ash (N) Cherrybark Oak (N)
American Beech (N) Live Oak (NH)
River Birch (NH) Nuttall Oak (N)
Carolina Buckthorn (N) Overcup Oak (H)
Catalpa (N) Shumard Oak (H)
Wild Black Cherry (N) Southern Red Oak (N)
Southern Crab Apple (N) Water Oak (NH)
Bald Cypress (NH) White Oak (NH)
Flowering Dogwood (N) Loblolly Pine (NH)
Black Gum (N) Longleaf Pine (N)
Pecan (H) Shortleaf Pine (N)
Black Walnut (H) Juniper (H)
American Elm (NH) Chinese Pistachio (NH)
Cedar Elm (H) Tulip Poplar (N)
Chinese Elm (H) Redbud (NH)
Parsely Hawthorn (N) Sweetgum (NH)
Mockernut Hickory (N) Fringe Tree (H)
American Holly (NH) Texas Persimmon (H)
Yaupon (NH) Mexican Plum (H)
Southern Magnolia (NH) Crepe Myrtle (H)
Red Maple (NH) Southern Waxmyrtle (H)
Chestnut oak (N) Cherry Laurel (H)
Bur Oak (NH)
Tree Sources --- Local and Regional
Almost all of the species in Lists 4 and 5 are grown and sold in east Texas and they are grown from native seeds or stock. The only species on these lists that I have not found for sale are beech, bumelia, basswood, post oak, American elm, mockernut hickory, and red mulberry.
The Plant Environment (retail)
Normal Park & 19th Street
Huntsville, TX (Walker County)
(409) 291-0542
Handles as many as 40 species of trees, including natives. Scenic setting for retail tree purchases.
Stewart's Garden Center (retail)
600 Old Phelps Rd at Hwy 19
Huntsville, TX (Walker County)
(409) 295-5282
JP Landscape Supply (retail)
1314 I-45
Huntsville, TX (Walker County)
(409) 291-9948
Indian Mound Nursery
P.O. Box 617
Alto, TX 75925-0617 (Cherokee County)
[6 miles west of Alto on Texas Hwy 21]
(409) 858-4202
This is run by The Texas Forest Service and is open to the public. It produces pine and hardwood seedlings for reforestation, windbreak, wildlife, and resource conservation primarily for private landowners across the state. The emphasis is on various commercial cultivars of pine (loblolly, shortleaf, slash, Virginia), but small numbers of regionally native hardwood species were handled in 1997: bur oak, live oak, cherrybark oak, Nuttall oak, Shumard oak, water oak, pecan, cypress, and green ash.
WHOLESALE GROWERS
There are many commercial tree growers in east Texas. Almost all of these are wholesale only, but here is where local retailers can get species that are less common. The few growers listed below are representative, but they are among those with the largest numbers of native species.
A broad listing of wholesale growers and their species they raise is published by the Southeast Texas Nursery Growers’ Association (PO Box 418, Conroe, TX 77305). These also are available on a remarkable internet site (“www.growit.com”), which has the STNGA catalog in electronic form as well as many other listings. Find out where to locate a grower for whatever species you may be interested in.
Sandy Creek Wholesale Nursery
Walker Loop (FM 1791), Huntsville, TX (Walker County)
(409) 295-4333
Grows and sells a good variety of native tree species (about 20 species) in various sizes of containers. Among those available are loblolly pine, slash pine, Shumard oak, white oak, water oak, green ash, Mexican plum, sweetgum, pecan, red maple, juniper, river birch, sycamore, redbud, cherry laurel, yaupon, and wax myrtle. Even if you are not going to buy wholesale, it’s still worth asking at Sandy Creek.
Doremus Wholesale Nursery
Rte. 2, Box 750, Warren, TX 77664 (Tyler County)
(409) 547-3536
Handles a wide variety of native species -- perhaps the largest number in east Texas -- including large and small trees. For example, they have hawthorns, silverbell, snowbell, witch hazel, deciduous holly, Georgia holly, Carolina buckthorn, hornbeam, sugar maple, fringetree, red bay, sweet bay, black gum, sassafras, and many others. Seed sources are mostly within a 200-mile radius of the nursery.
Senter's Nursery
608 Railroad Avenue, Whitehouse, TX 75791 (Smith County)
(903) 839-2626
Handles a wide range of native species, derived from stock originating in east Texas or adjacent Louisiana. Among many woody species, Senter's grows and sells bottomland and wet-site species that are commercially uncommon because they provide these for projects involving environmental mitigation and land reclamation. The plants are containerized in various sizes. Larger species include (for example) red maple, wild black cherry, water hickory, winged elm, slippery elm, catalpa, persimmon, juniper, black gum, swamp tupelo, southern red oak, overcup oak, cherrybark oak, blackjack oak, scrubby post oak, sugarberry, and many others. Among numerous smaller species are rough-leaved dogwood, chickasaw plum, smooth and flame sumac, elderberry, sassafras, buttonbush, and wax myrtle.
Tree Search Farms
7625 Alabonson Road, Houston, TX 77088 (Harris County)
(713) 937-9811
Propagators and growers of a wide range of species, with a heavy emphasis on Texas natives. Their 100-mile delivery range includes Huntsville. Their stock includes small trees: sugar maples, pawpaw, redbud, fringe tree, silverbell, snowbell, yaupon, redbay, deciduous holly, Mexican plum, hawthorns, flame sumac, rusty blackhaw, and others --- and larger trees: cedar elm, winged elm, black gum, red maple, hornbeam, white oak, swamp chestnut oak, bois d’arc, and many others.
[4] URBAN TREES
Values of Urban Trees
Some values of trees in the city range are obvious. Others are not so easily seen but have been documented in many studies of urban forestry (for example, at the SHSU library: Grey and Deneke 1986; Moll and Ebenreck 1989; Phillips 1993).
* Quality of life
The presence and beauty of trees alone and in combination with cityscapes give a certain peacefulness and help us feel that we aren't enclosed within completely artificial environments. Many Huntsvilleans feel that our quality of life is closely tied to the natural character and beauty of the area. For most of us, this means our woods and trees. Visitors, who contribute directly to the local economy, feel the same way.
* Wildlife habitat
Trees provide food, nesting sites, and protection for hundreds of songbird species and other native animals that now live within Huntsville or migrate through it.
* Cooling and energy conservation
The significance of shade in reducing summer temperatures and cooling bills is understood but underestimated by most of our citizens. Well-placed trees can give energy savings up to 30% by shading roofs and walls. Not only does shading directly lower temperatures but the large amount of water evaporated from the undersides of leaves (process of "transpiration") relieves the local environment of huge amounts of heat.
* Water retention and reduction of soil erosion
Tree roots increase soil permeability and its ability to absorb water, reducing stormwater runoff. More water retained naturally means less needed by artificial application. By intercepting and slowing the impact of rain, trees can reduce runoff rate and soil erosion by as much as 15%.
* Air quality
Air pollution is not now a major concern for Huntsville, but prevailing south breezes from Houston and Conroe will bring us more and more pollutants, such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitric oxide. The efficiency of trees in removing these compounds as well as various particulates like dust, pollen, and smoke is well-documented. This is a problem that can be treated with some success at the local level.
On a global scale, trees and other plants add tremendous amounts of oxygen to the air and remove carbon dioxide. Local vegetation contributes to this, but the equilibrium of these gases in the atmosphere is maintained on a broader regional basis and the direct effects of local vegetation are subtle. Nearly 90% of atmospheric oxygen has been produced by green organisms in the oceans.
* Noise and glare reduction
Traffic noise is already becoming a problem in parts of Huntsville, and trees and shrubs form barriers effective in noise reduction. Residents of the Sandbrook subdivision recently became suddenly aware of this after the wholesale removal of trees from along I-45. Trees and shrubs also reduce glare on roads where concrete and buildings are prevalent.
Urban Tree Health
Current replacement of trees in Huntsville apparently lags behind the loss of individuals from disease and damage. But the most pressing problem for Huntsville trees, in the view of many citizens, is their removal by developers who want merely to simplify construction procedures.
For trees that have survived the "development bottleneck" or that have grown from plantings, many problems remain and their life expectancy is greatly lowered. The greatest threat to urban trees is the condition and amount of soil space available for root growth. The volume of roots required to support a tree is roughly equal to the volume of tree branching above. In Huntsville, placement of underground utilities (primarily water and sewage) often cut off major parts of root system, either killing them relatively quickly or reducing their health and increasing their vulnerability to disease. Trees commonly are planted in spaces too small for growing an adequate root system. We see young trees put in immediately next to sidewalks, curbs, and roads or left in the middle of parking lots, often planted or maintained in tiny spaces completely boxed in by concrete. David Zellar calls these "parking lot bonsai," which usually are failures.
Tree roots normally grow in the upper three feet of soil, but even in relatively good situations only the upper foot of urban soil may have characteristics that allow root growth. Roots require both water and oxygen, but overlays of concrete severely limit the potential for water absorption and aeration. Compacted soil produces the same effect and also makes it more difficult simply for roots to penetrate into new areas. And where leaves fall on hard surfaces like these, nutrients and organic matter are washed or blown away rather than replaced in the soil.
It's simply not a fact that a tree will grow anywhere it's planted. If trees are to be planted after construction, the planned spaces should be filled with good soil rather than building debris and other rubble. And trees closely surrounded by concrete can't be expected to have a long life.
The spread of roots usually goes well beyond the crown, and use of chemicals anywhere in a tree's vicinity will affect it. Dogwoods and other species with very shallow root systems may be damaged even by the herbicide Roundup, which supposedly deteriorates when in contact with soil or muddy water. Roots of different species intermingle, and roots of trees of the same species, especially in oaks, commonly graft to each other so that the group of trees may be similar to a single organism. Chemicals may pass from one tree to the others.
Finally, it's easy to see trunk damage from mowers and vehicles, where even small openings in the bark allow disease and fungi to enter. Neither is it hard to find large trees left isolated in open locations, where they are much more prone to catch lightning strikes and be overturned by wind.
Huntsville's Tree Policy
The city's "Tree Policy" (as summarized in a 1990 memorandum to the City Council from Glenn Isbell, City Engineer, and further condensed here), consists of one city Development Code regulation and three City Council directives from 1989.
* Development Code, Section 1201.8 (1986, revised 1995)
"A person commits an offense if he removes or destroys a tree in the street right-of-way or in any public place without first obtaining a permit from the City Manager."
* City Council Directive, 14 March 1989
Internal operation policy is established for the Engineering Design Department to guide design and location of utilities in environmentally sensitive areas on street right-of-ways (but not on utility or drainage easements). "Consider existing utilities and side of street which will damage the fewest trees in the neighborhood." Trees proposed for removal are "red-flagged" and the property owners are notified and given 10 days to respond with suggestions for adjustments. The City Manager is notified of trees to be removed and the reasons.
The City Council has not determined whether private utility companies (SW Bell, Entex, etc.) must comply with this policy as part of their permitting and construction procedures.
* City Council Directive, 27 June 1989
Improve communication between city and residence/commerce regarding waterline construction by distributing handbills with project information the same day it is "survey-staked."
* City Council Directive, 11 July 1989
1. Adopt "root-sawing as a standard policy to care for trees. To inflict minimal root damage, a clean vertical cut of roots is made before digging a trench.
2. Use a "Tree Classification System" to identify trees for "preservation treatment." Huntsville's system establishes five size classes (including one for "ornamentals") and lists species in each class to be recognized for preservation. Generally, the intent of the classification seems to be to preserve more native species in small sizes, but a revision is needed to make it more realistic and understandable. A clear statement of purpose, including rationale for the form of the Classification System, would be helpful.
3. Set priorities as follows (in the most cost-effective sequence) for alternate construction pathways near trees identified for special treatment.
Bore a channel through tree root systems at about 5 feet depth
(this option is most commonly used now in Huntsville).
Go into private easements where possible.
Go into streets on rare occasions.
A Tree Ordinance for Huntsville
The management of our urban forest will always be primarily the responsibility of private property owners, but the city can provide direction toward protecting and enhancing the health and growth of the city's trees. Huntsville's Tree Policy and Development Code (below) give us a start, but a "Tree Ordinance" (a set of provisions adopted by the City Council to provide authorization and standards for tree management) would provide an integrated, overall strategy. Basic portions of an ordinance might include the establishment of tree protection zones in streets, parks, and other public places, requirements for spacing and location in plantings, suggestions for appropriate species, removal and pruning specifications, guidelines for tree management on property planned for development or renovation, and guidelines for creation of wooded buffers along major streets. The Huntsville 2020 Cultural Plan (Huntsville Arts Council 1992) also provided recommendations that might be considered in forming a tree ordinance.
Many US cities and towns have established effective tree plans that meet their individual needs. Examples and generalized samples of these are provided in a number of books on urban forestry. "Guidelines for Developing and Evaluating Tree Ordinances" (Bernhardt and Swiecki 1991) is drawn from California sources but is a rich source of help to any city working toward a tree ordinance. "Tree Conservation Ordinances" (Duerksen 1993) and an "Analysis of Tree Ordinances" (Michigan Municipal League) give information about different types of ordinance sections and provides examples drawn from actual city tree ordinances, and the Inter-national Society of Arboriculture has prepared "A Standard Municipal Tree Ordinance" as a model.
Before any such legal guidelines can be put into place, general attitudes in the city regarding greenspace will have to clarified and matched by a political willingness to move toward "greener" policies. Examples of current attitudes influencing our local trees are not hard to find. In response to criticism for the city's removal of trees along McDonald Creek, Mayor Bill Green ended with this pithy observation (as quoted in the Huntsville Item, 5 October 1997): "Whatever, trees will grow again in Huntsville." Of course this is true, but what trees do we want to keep, and how do we want our city to look right now?
[5] LANDSCAPING, BUFFERS, PARKS, AND OPEN SPACE IN THE HUNTSVILLE DEVELOPMENT CODE
Besides the "Tree Policy" summarized above, a section of Huntsville's Development Code regulates landscaping as well as other aspects of greenspace in new development areas and sites (Planning Commission 1995, amended from the new code of 1986). Although it deals with more than just trees, a summary of Development Code Chapter 12 ("Landscaping, Bufferyard, Park, and Open Space Standards") is given here to bring it to wider attention in a simpler form.
Landscaping Standards
* "Landscape development [definition]: Trees, shrubs, ground cover, vines, or grass installed in planting areas, having a minimum of 10 square feet of actual plantable area and a minimum inside dimension on any side of 18 inches."
* "A minimum of 10% of the lot is devoted to landscape development." The 10% area, however, may be reduced by receiving credit for trees both newly planted and already existing and by placing landscaping "within the setback areas of a site and next to a public street" (see below).
* A minimum of 18 total diameter inches (measured 4 feet above ground) of canopy trees per acre must be provided in a new development. Each tree that is part of the minimum requirement must be within a planting area at least 6 feet from the tree trunk to the nearest edge of the landscaping. The requirements for 50% of the canopy trees may be waived (by the Building Official) if existing trees are preserved and if the plantings meet specifications for planting areas and protection and the "tree classification system" (see "Tree Policy," above). There is no restriction on how close together newly planted canopy trees may be spaced (unless they are to be counted for credit towards reduction of the landscaping area, see below). There is no notice of how much less than one acre a lot may be before there is no requirement for trees.
There is no standard for the preservation of pre-existing trees. For example, the new motel beside El Chico has saved a row of 10-year-old live oaks previously planted by El Chico but has brought the curb within 2 feet of a number of them. Presumably, these were not counted as part of the "minimum tree requirement" nor could they serve as the basis for the "Building Official's 50% waiver."
* A minimum of 10% of the required 10% landscape development shall be developed with non-canopy trees and shrubs.
* "Every development shall employ either an irrigation or sprinkler system or have a hose connection within 150 feet of all landscaping."
* Dead landscape plantings must be replaced by plantings equal to those originally proposed in the landscape development plan or (presumably, if there was no landscape plan) in the original plantings. This must be done within 45 days after notification by the Building Official, unless seasonal considerations make this difficult.
Landscape plans are not legally required, but some have been submitted by larger commercial developments. The recently completed Auto Zone, Chili's, and Blockbuster each have had one. Site plans, however, are required of all new developments and must show at least the location and size of the existing and proposed landscaping.
Developers and owners are not legally obligated to modify or "refit" older sites that were built by specifications preceding the current Development Code. Unbroken expanses of concrete and asphalt were laid as parking lots and shopping areas during the 60s through early 80s. Sam Houston Blvd. and 11th St., Huntsville’s main commercial thoroughfares and major sources of impression for tourists and other visitors, are characterized by these lots and are hardly positive contributors to the town’s image. A conspicuous exception is the current renovation of the old Sam Houston Lodge (Sam Houston Blvd. and 16th St.), where part of the parking lot is being restored to vegetation and landscape.
Required Distribution of Landscaping
Landscaping in a new development must be dispersed as follows.
* An area equalling 10% of the building area must be landscaped "adjacent to" the building area. As interpreted by the current Building Official, this means "between the building and anything else," such as parking or sidewalk. In this sense "adjacent to" the building essentially means touching it.
* An area equalling 10% of the parking and drives area must be landscaped "interior to" the parking area. As interpreted by the current Building Official, this means "inside the outer perimeter of the parking and drives" and may include islands and inwardly protruding areas.
* "The remaining landscaping requirements shall be equally dispersed in the remaining area of development." There are no objective criteria in the Development Code for "equal dispersal." The judgement is made by the Building Official in order to prevent landscape from being concentrated in the back of the building.
Compare Auto Zone (11th Street, opened July 1997) and Chili's (NW corner of I-35 and Hwy 30, opened April 1997), both of which are said to have met minimum landscape requirements, to see a contrast in how the landscape requirements for plantings and distribution work. As long as the requirements are minimal and subjectively interpreted, developer's attitudes will be central.
Even the basic requirements may not be effective. All five canopy trees at Blockbuster (opened March 1997) are planted about 3 feet from the nearest curb. At Chili's, a number of the elms, cypress, and live oaks also are obviously planted in small areas too close to the landscape edge. Similar examples can be found at other recently completed developments. Lack of adherence to this basic requirement of the Development Code for tree planting thwarts its intent to provide healthy growing environment as well as to give the city a better appearance.
Reduction of Required Area
A developer may reduce the minimum required landscaping area to 7.5% by planting trees or maintaining already established ones. To receive credit for area reduction, each tree must be within a planting area at least 6 feet from the trunk to the nearest edge of the landscaping. Or, if the crown radius is wider than 6 feet (this would happen rarely, if ever, for new trees), the shortest dimension of the planting area must at least equal the crown radius.
Crown measurements presumably may be taken from the youngest and most narrowly-crowned tree plantings, since neither a minimum starting height nor minimum crown width is specified in the Development Code. The potential size of the crown at maturity is not considered. Because the trees for credit in area reduction are not specified as "canopy" (height of at least 30 feet at maturity), they may include "non-canopy" trees (height of at least 15 feet at maturity) past the minimum standard of 18 inches of canopy trunk per acre.
* Landscaping credit of 10 square feet for each inch of tree trunk diameter is allowed when trunk diameter totals 3 to 12 inches.
* Landscaping credit of 20 square feet for each inch of tree trunk diameter is allowed when trunk diameter totals 12 or more inches. For example, one tree of 21 inches diameter (around 66 inches circumference) preserved on a 1-acre lot would reduce the required landscape area by about 10%. Since a minimum of 18 total trunk diameter inches of canopy trees is required per acre of lot development, and because even newly planted landscape trees are given credit for reduction of the space requirement, slightly more 9% is the largest area that would ever be expected to be landscaped.
Landscaped areas "within the setback areas of a site and next to a public street" count double in area if they meet minimum landscaping requirements. It apparently might even be possible to bring the required landscape area close to 5% by placing most of the landscaping along the street and either setting in some young trees or preserving one or a few large ones. There is no specification of a minimum landscape area after allowable reductions have been made.
Setbacks, ROWs, and Easements
A setback is the "minimum unoccupied distance between the lot line and the principal and accessory buildings." The setback distances in Huntsville (for all types of property) are these: "Front" and "Side Street" = 25 feet; "Side" and "Rear" = 10 feet
Setbacks provide no guarantee of greenspace because the stipulation of "an unoccupied distance" does not require landscaping, not even grass. Some mortgage companies, however, may ask that the front and side setbacks at least be grass-covered. Setback requirements in the Development Code have been established more to ensure access for utility repairs (gas, water, phone) and to provide adequate spacing between buildings (according to Patrick Antwi, City Planner).
Another potential greenspace buffer along streets is available from the city-owned right-of-way (ROW) that parallels the edge of developed roads, from the back edge of the curb or road's edge to the property line. For residential streets, the width of this ROW is 11 feet ("low-density rural") or 9.5/9.0 feet ("high and medium volume"). For arterial and collector streets, this ROW corridor varies from 9.5 to 14.5 feet in width. When this distance is added to the 25-foot "Front" and "Side Street" setback, the minimum potential buffer (which could be "green") between any street's edge and a building should be 34.0 feet (25 + 9.0).
Still another strip of greenspace may be made possible by utility easements. "If a utility is adjacent to a public street, the developer shall provide utility easements of at least ten (10) feet in width along both sides of the street." The Development Code does not require, however, that such an easement (or ROW) be landscaped.
Changes in landscape regulations
The first standards for Huntsville landscaping were adopted in 1981 as City Ordinance 81-48. These were not included in the city's first development code (March 1982), which was then titled "Subdivision Design Standards," but they did appear in the 1986 revision. Significant Development Code changes in landscape and setback regulations since 1981 are outlined here (with the date of change).
* A larger area required for landscape development --- "a minimum of 10% of the lot is devoted to landscape development" (in 1996) vs. "a minimum of 10% of the lot not covered by a building or structure is devoted to landscape development."
* A section added on "Required distribution of landscaping" (in 1996).
* Increase in required planting area: "canopy trees with planting area with radius of not less than 6 feet" (in 1986) vs. trees with planting area of 3 feet.
* Less reduction of landscape area allowed for planting or maintaining trees (in 1996).
* Reduction of landscape area allowed for installation of an irrigation or sprinkler system (in 1996).
* Minimum side street setback increased to 25 feet (in 1996) from an earlier 15 feet.
Buffers
A vegetated buffer area is required on the outer perimeter of a new development that is situated adjacent to land of conflicting use or different use intensity. A buffer may also contain a berm or fence where "necessary to achieve the desired level of buffering between various activities." "City Council intends that these buffer requirements reduce nuisances between adjacent land uses or between a land use and a public road by separation of land uses through a required buffer. Such nuisances may include dirt, litter, noise, lights, signs, unsightly buildings or parking areas."
Standards are provided in the Development Code for the definitions of land use classes and use intensity and for the required size and vegetation of the buffers. A buffer cannot include an existing right-of-way or easement and is "to be provided on each lot or parcel independent of adjoining uses or adjoining bufferyards." It may be used for a recreational trail as long as its width and vegetation are maintained.
"Buffers shall remain in the ownership of the original owner (and assigns) of a lot or development. Buffers may be subjected to deed restriction and subsequently be freely conveyed. They may be transferred to any consenting grantees, such as adjoining landowners, or an open-space or conservation group, provided that any such conveyance adequately guarantees the protection of the buffer for the purposes of this Code."
Buffer requirements in the Development Code lack the clarity that would allow them to be enforced or unambiguously interpreted. Despite strong concern in Huntsville for preservation and establishment of wooded road corridors, there are no guidelines for highway or roadside buffers (except the brief comments on landscaping "setback areas of a site next to a public street"). Nor is there any guidance regarding the conditions under which a "nuisance buffer" would be required. The only formally established buffer in Huntsville is on Wiesner Automotive property where it is adjacent to Elmwood Drive.
Parks, Playgrounds, and Open Space Areas
"The developer of residential lots shall dedicate land for park uses at locations designated in the comprehensive plan or otherwise where such dedications are appropriate at a rate of 1 acre per 100 dwelling units or 10% of the total development (as shown on the preliminary plat), whichever is less up to a maximum of 6 acres dedicated for park and recreational purposes."
The Planning Commission may allow a developer to provide money rather than parkland for two reasons.
* Provision of the land is "an undue hardship on the development."
* "The tract size is inadequate for park and/or recreational purposes and a park site is available within 1/2 mile of the development."
The money must equal the assessed value of the required park land and be deposited in a Neighborhood Park and Recreation Improvement Fund established by the City Council. It must be used for facilities to benefit the new development and located within 1/2 mile of it. Missing here is some indication of how "inadequate size" for park or recreation would be determined. How would "undue hardship" be determined?
Land dedicated as a recreation site should have a total frontage on one or more streets of at least 200 feet in depth and no other dimension less than 100 feet in depth. It must be "relatively level and dry."
A developer may dedicate open space area in partial fulfillment of the obligation to provide 10% or 1 acre per 100 dwelling units. Open space includes "land and water dedicated as a means to conserve land and other natural resources or for historic or scenic purposes not required to be dedicated elsewhere." Such areas are not limited to but may include the following.
* Land with existing or potential geological hazards (such as earth slippage or subsidence).
* Land where flooding from stormwater runoff may occur.
* Scenic sites.
* Buffers between lands of incompatible uses.
The phrase "partial fulfillment" is not explained, and there apparently is no legal limit on the hazardous or stormwater area that could be included in the open space.
"If the developer provides private open space for park and recreation purposes and such space is to be privately owned and maintained by future residents of the development, such areas shall be credited against the requirement of dedication for park and recreational land." Written agreements must adequately provide for ownership and maintenance and deed restrictions must ensure that the open space will remain in the same condition in the future.
What could be done to guide Huntsville's development?
Anything could be done, depending on what citizens want. Some local citizens and organizations are vocal in their desire for a better looking city, but landscaping and development standards in Huntsville are minimal and until "vocal" meets "action," our town probably will continue to be mostly a wishful tourist attraction. Here is an interesting set of pithy books with ideas and attitudes that could guide the kind of development that at least some would like to see: "Caring for the Land: Environmental Principles for Site Design and Review" (Hendler 1977), "Aesthetics and Land-Use Controls: Beyond Ecology and Economics" (Duerksen 1986), "Preserving Rural Character" (Heyer 1990), "Preparing a Landscaping Ordinance" (Martz 1990), and "Parking Lot Landscaping" (Corwin 1978). Also see the books cited above for the development of tree ordinances.
[6] NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL SPECIES
For most of Huntsville's common in-town tree species, there are brief comments below on some of their interesting features. There is a plethora of published "tree books" for anyone wanting a little or a lot more information. Besides books on identification, many can be found on various topics of tree biology, ecology, propagation and culture, and economic uses. A great one is Haislet's (1984) "Famous Trees of Texas." A trip to the SHSU library or Huntsville public library will be rewarding.
* Pecan (the State Tree of Texas) also is a native bottomland and river side species but not often found in natural settings in Walker County. Like other heavily used Huntsville tree species that easily propagate themselves, younger in-town pecans probably have their origin in cultivated trees, but many of the parental trees likely were natives transplanted from nearby natural sites. Relatively few pecan trees are found now in sapling stage in Huntsville, but with the help of squirrels this species commonly volunteers itself in seedlings after good "mast" years. A few pecans also apparently are still being planted.
Many of our "yard tree" pecans are native forms with relatively small nuts and thick shells, but it would be interesting to know how many kinds of cultivars exist in Huntsville yards, since Texas has been a center of the pecan breeding industry since the 1800s. Part of the popularity of planting in-town pecan trees surely was the promise of a harvest of nuts, immediately at hand, before the days when pecans became relatively cheap (the 1970s) because of mechanized harvest and shelling.
An interesting and compact discussion of the biology, place in cultural history, cultivation and industry, and nutrition (with recipes) of the pecan tree has recently been has brought together by Manaster (1994).
* Live oaks are famous for their low, strong, wide-spreading branches. The dark green, evergreen leaves and the dark, nearly black bark make them distinctive from a distance. The popularity seems well-deserved, because they transplant easily and grow with few problems, little or no maintenance.
Live oaks are remarkably fast-growing and these trees begin to acquire some of their appearance of "old" even after a quick 20 or 30 years. Most of the Huntsville "city" live oak trees are no older than about 50-60 years, judging from size, but a few of them probably are older (especially those listed in the champion or nominated categories). The huge trees from east of Dodge are known to have been planted around the turn of the century.
In Walker County, live oaks are at the eastern edge of their natural range in Texas and the species has not been documented as part of the native flora of Walker County. The native trees in this part of the state are part of a "hybrid swarm" between the coastal live oak (Quercus virginiana) and the escarpment live oak (Quercus fusiformis). A range map of the "live oak complex" (Simpson 1988) shows western Walker County as part of the native range of live oak, and natural populations of the species apparently do occur in Grimes, Madison, and Houston counties. Some of the local live oaks, though, have come from the coastal form. For example, those planted near Dodge at the turn of the century apparently came from native populations in Liberty County.
* Loblolly pines are common in several parts of Huntsville but they are not often planted. Shortleaf pine is found in town much leses commonly. Most of these in-town pines are persisting from natural revegetation after the last cycle of timber removal.
Many residents have removed pines because they dislike the yard "litter" of cones and because of the potential of danger and damage from falling limbs or toppling trunks. The amazingly tall, straight, and limbless trunks result in part from their self-pruning habit -- the side branches die and are dropped off. Pines also are susceptible to quick death from boring beetle damage, particularly when stressed by drought. Isolated trees with high crowns and shallow root systems are prone to being pushed over in high wind. While pines do have liabilities as yard trees, they lend great beauty to those Huntsville neighborhoods where they have been kept and held in esteem.
Although loblolly and shortleaf pine are sometimes mixed in nearly equal abundance in sandy places outside of town, loblollies have been the primary species to grow inside the city. The weaker inhibition of growth to loblolly seedlings and saplings by competition from other species (Burns and Honkala 1990) is the apparent reason for this. Short-leaf saplings also are more intolerant of shading and the species typically grows in the drier, more sparsely vegetated sites in nature. A wonderful example of natural sorting according to the inherent tendencies of these two species can be seen at the hilltop corner of 21st Street and Avenue O, where a group of large shortleaf pines at the very crest is surrounded by loblollies on all sides. These shortleafs surely were established under natural conditions, before the houses were built.
Other large shortleaf pines can be easily seen in the area of Fish Hatchery Road and along parts of Old Houston Road. A good place to see a mixture of shortleaf and loblolly is the TDCJ ("Joe Byrd") Cemetery on the south side of Bowers Boulevard, although loblollies outnumber the shortleafs there.
Hybrids between these two pine species apparently are relatively common over a broad geographic area west of the Mississippi, and it is not uncommon around Huntsville to encounter trees that appear to be intermediate in bark, cones, and leaves. The most common form of these apparent hybrids can been seen in trees with loblolly-length needles but small cones like shortleaf.
* Slash pines are not native to our area but have been planted here and there in landscapes. They are numerous on the SHSU campus. Needles of slash pine are about as long as those of loblolly but in bundles of 2 and 3 on the same tree (rather than 3 or 3 and 4 in loblolly). Slash and loblolly cones also are about the same size but slash cones are on short stalks and curved backward (vs. without a stalk and at right angles to the stems in loblolly). The bark of slash pines is commonly purplish and in large, thin plates more like shortleaf (vs brown and deeply furrowed with age, the plates narrower in loblolly).
* Juniper is also called "eastern red cedar" or just "cedar." These are evergreen trees that are rarely more than 50 feet tall. They grow well in both the sand and clay of the Huntsville area. A good place to see large ones is around old home sites and in cemeteries. The fibrous bark peeling into long strips sometimes looks a little unkempt and they tend to lose their tops (wind and disease) in their older age, but there is something about the dense, richly dark green foliage and geometric shape that suggests they should be treated with respect, especially when they are clustered.
Junipers come in either "male" (pollen-producing) or "female" (seed-producing). The little berry-like cones are covered with a pale blue wax and are eaten by many kinds of birds and other animals.
* Cypress are conifers like pines and junipers, but cypress leaves turn brown and are deciduous in the fall. The seed cones of cypress are spherical and, like those of juniper, are covered with a bluish-gray wax before completely mature.
It's peculiar to see cypress as shade trees or ornamentals in Huntsville (and other cities) on upland sites, because in nature they grow where frequent, prolonged flooding is common. Like cypress, however, many of our urban trees are from species that typically grow in bottomland or riverside habitats (sycamore, cottonwood, silver maple, box elder, American elm, smooth hackberry, pecan, Nuttall oak). Roots of these trees commonly are submerged for long periods and must be able to tolerate low oxygen supplies. This built-in tolerance gives an advantage to trees with root systems in compacted soil, cramped in space, and often covered over by concrete. Remarkably, cypress also is drought-tolerant.
Cypress "knees" (outgrowths from lateral roots) are most commonly produced in flooded habitats but smaller ones appear even from ornamentals in drier sites. These may be beneficial for aeration but are not critical to survival. The extensive root system associated with the knees helps to anchor trees and makes them extremely windfirm.
The largest cypress (City Champion) in Sam Houston Memorial Park was estimated in 1986 to have been planted around 1900 (by count of growth rings from a core sample), but this species commonly produces "false growth rings," perhaps in response to soil moisture fluctuations (Burns and Honkala 1990) and has often been overestimated in age. Photos indicate that very few trees grew in SHMP until M.H. Stougaard began planting saplings on the grounds around 1928. The lake was created in two phases between about 1930 and 1936. The cypress probably was planted around one of these dates or sometime between, making it about 60 or 70 years old now. This tree seems large to be only that old, but similar rapid growth of cypress in optimum habitats is known from other areas. Cypress trees on abandoned Mississippi cropland have reached 70 feet in height in 40 years.
Under natural conditions, height growth in cypress usually ends at about age 200 and many "slowly die back from the top as a fungus-caused rot progresses downward through the stem." Despite this, cypress trees apparently may reach a maximum age of 400-600 years.
* Bois d'arc (pronounced "bo-dark") is "one of the healthiest tree species in North America," rarely attacked by disease or insects and resistant to drought and wind damage. Its heartwood is "the most decay-resistant of all North American timbers" (Burns and Honkala 1990). It often forms long-lived, spreading trees of odd, interesting shapes, good for plenty of shade, and they are worth keeping. Although this species is still relatively common in Huntsville, young trees are rarely allowed to persist in the urban setting.
Sam Houston planted bois d'arc in Huntsville to establish thorny hedges, as was common practice before barbed wire became available. In fact, this species has been planted for hedges, windbreaks, and soil stabilization over almost the entire USA and is currently regarded as "naturalized" (reproducing itself under natural conditions) in 36 states, mostly in the central and southeastern area of the country. Indians also spread the species to produce wood for bows (hence its common name).
The extent of bois d'arc's native range in Texas is controversial. Its current geographic range in Texas includes counties in the east-central part of the state between the Edwards Plateau and the Piney Woods -- largely blackland prairie area as far south as Lavaca, DeWitt, and Bexar counties (for example, the maps in Burns and Honkala 1990 and Simpson 1988). Weniger (1996), however, has concluded that bois d'arc was native in Texas to only 12 counties in the northeastern part of the state mostly bordering or close to the Red River. His study is based on research of pre-1860 witness tree records and historical accounts by early travelers and naturalists.
Bois d'arc trees are common in scattered parts of the Huntsville area where clay is at the surface, particularly at the edges of prairies and along stream margins that run through clay areas. Further out in the county, it appears to be "true" to these kinds of habitats and is often found in relatively inaccessible locations. It doesn't behave like a recently introduced species in our area.
"Bois d'Arc [also] shows up in many places in the Trans-Pecos [west Texas] -- always at Indian campgrounds or caves, which of course were always by water (seeps, springs, creeks). Today, great thickets of Bois d'Arc are found in these areas, seeded from the horse apples carried by these tribes. No one is sure why they had the fruit. Was it just an accessory, picked up when bow wood was cut, or did they use the seed in some way? (Simpson 1988)."
The big, green, ball-shaped fruits of bois d'arc are sometimes called "horse apples" or "osage oranges." These are produced strictly by female trees (male and female flowers are borne on separate trees), but female trees will sometimes produce seedless fruit when no male bois d'arcs exist nearby. The fruits produce a bitter, milky juice, but "livestock, wild mammals, and birds feed on the fruit and disseminate the seed" (Burns and Honkala 1990). Squirrels in Sam Houston Memorial Park make fine meals of the fruits (observation by Carey Jordy, 1997).
* American elm and slippery elm are both found in nature on bottomland and other moist sites but both also are successful city trees. Although they are very similar, they apparently do not hybridize. American elm is a tree with a beautiful shape, good shade, and characteristically long life, and it is considered one of the best "soil-improving" trees because its leaves decompose rapidly and are rich in nutrients. Most if not all of Huntsville American elms, however, are volunteers and are not generally available at local or regional nurseries.
American elms in Huntsville are currently under stress. By early summer, many (but not all) of the local trees begin to yellow, and the leaves have lost so much chlorophyll by August and September that they stand out as "dead-looking" from a distance. Arborists in Houston, where American elms are plagued by the same problem, speculate that "excessive heat" may be responsible. If it's a disease, no one seems to know its cause. It's a beautiful tree and volunteer seedlings are plentiful, but it's hard to recommend the species for planting in Huntsville because of this problem and because of the possibility of Dutch elm disease.
Dutch elm disease has greatly reduced the number of large American elms in natural and urban forests over most of the eastern United States. The disease is a "wilt fungus" that was accidentally imported from Europe in 1930 in a shipment of elm logs. It is introduced into the sap of young twigs and small branches by elm bark beetles. Fortunately, Dutch elm disease is not common (yet?) in east Texas and no effects are apparent in Huntsville. Potentially, though, it could affect all four of the elm species native to our area. Other elm species apparently are not susceptible to the problem now plaguing American elms in Huntsville.
The best of the Asian elm species is the lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia) --- nice plantings are on the SHSU campus. Another close relative of elm (in the same family) is the Asian "zelkova" (Zelkova serrata), which makes a hardy and beautifully shaped tree that should do well in Huntsville.
* Water oak is a time-tested tree in Huntsville yards. It makes a beautiful shade tree because the leaves tend to persist through winter and the trunk usually is very straight and lifts the canopy high. It occurs in nature in a variety of habitats and soils and can be grown successfully almost anywhere in Huntsville. It surely is our most common in-town oak species and the most common volunteer oak. Acorns of water oak are small and germinate easily, and the seedling and saplings grow rapidly. In fact, water oak is the fastest-growing of local oaks, potentially reaching 100 feet high in 50 years, particularly when in a relatively open site.
Laurel oak is similar to water oak in many ways, including the habits of holding its leaves through most of the winter. Instead of leaves widest toward the tip, laurel oak leaves are widest at the middle and they average larger. The native range of laurel oak apparently ends slightly east of Walker County, but the large size and beauty of the two laurel oaks planted in Oakwood Cemetery suggests that this species deserves to be among Huntsville's yard trees.
Water oak and laurel oak are closely related, and occasional individuals of water oak may approach the other species in leaf shape. Of two large trees in a yard along 19th Street (1506 19th), one has typical water oak leaves while the other has many leaves like laurel oak. Probably, though, this peculiar individual is just a variant from the local "pool" of water oak genes.
* Willow oaks are native to bottomlands in our area but are not common in Huntsville. Like water oaks, though, these are quick-growers and good urban trees that grow well in water-stressed and oxygen-stressed habitats. Many have been planted on the SHSU campus, a few can be found around the Walls Unit, but the largest trees are in Sam Houston Memorial Park (see comments below). "Pin oak" is a name commonly used in east Texas for this species, as well as for water oak.
* Southern red oak is a beautiful and fast-growing tree and deserves to be commonly planted on streets and lawns. They are most common on sandy soils but also can be found in parts of town over clay. The leaves usually have a long, pointed terminal lobe, a shiny upper surface and much lighter colored lower surface, and their habit of hanging pendulously makes them easy to recognize at a distance.
* Shumard oak and Nuttall oak, both native to our area, make beautiful and relatively quick-growing yard trees, the reason for their popularity in local nurseries (Nuttall oak sometime
