Hello fellow Panhandlers! This is Potter County’s AG/NR summer intern, Lyndsey Rangel coming to you from the Rio Grande Valley (the real south Texas). Today I would like to talk about something dear to my heart and native to my home – palm trees! Specifically, the Sabal Mexicana (native), and the Washingtonian Robusta (non-native). The Sabal Mexicana was discovered in 1519 when Alfonso Alvarez de Pineda came around the Gulf of Mexico to explore the land. The remnants of this native palm are cared for in Brownsville, Texas at the Sabal-Palm Sancturary. After the coming of the railroad, the land was looking sparce, so developers brought truckloads of Washingtonian Robusta from southern California to make the Valley what it is today. While these trees typically thrive in warm, humid, and rainy regions, some of them were strong enough to survive the Valley’s “once in a blue moon,” harsh winter freeze back some years ago. In conclusion, palm trees are a staple in “the Valley,” with multiples in every corner you turn. Once I start to see those palm trees in the median between the Kennedy and Willacy County line, I know I am home. If you enjoyed reading about palm trees in deep south Texas, that is the Rio Grande Valley, come down and experience them yourself with a relaxing vacation on our state’s only tropical island – South Padre Island, Texas! We would love to have you.  

If you have any questions or need recommendations for your trip to the Valley, please contact me.

Lyndsey

956-536-6789  |   lyndsey.rangel@ag.tamu.edu