Texas Madrone

Texas madrones are among the Big Bend region’s signature trees. A hardy evergreen, madrones grow slowly into twisted, curving trees resembling something out of a Dr. Seuss story. Their old bark layers peel away to leave a shiny pink, red, or white surface. The most accessible madrones in the park are along the Basin Road up Green Gulch, where this one lives by a roadside pullout, and in the Oak Creek drainage visited by the Window Trail. We found it relatively healthy last month, though the trees most accessible to tourists tend to be in poorer health than those fortunate enough to grow in wilder places.

Texas Madrone, BB08-0418-0083R, Big Bend National Park, Texas | ©2008 Jeff Blaylock

Potentially related posts:

• Madrone and Pinnacles (12/27)
• Texas Lakes (5/10)
• Beaver Ponds on Texas Creek (9/20)
• Emory Peak From the South Rim
• Birthplace of Texas (4/21)
• Texas Horned Lizard (8/14)
• Smoky Creek Overlook (2/16)