N RANCHING


atural Resources


What Plant Is Important in July? Huisache (Acacia farnesiana)


H


UISACHE IS PRONOUNCED “WEE-SATCH” AND IS ALSO known as Sweet Acacia in some areas of the state. Huisache and mesquite are found grow-


ing in harmony in many counties. The result is a dense wall of brush that can make gathering cattle diffi cult. • A small shrub to fairly large tree • Frequents the southern region of the Texas from Louisiana to Austin south and is moving north throughout the Texas Hill Country at a rapid rate


• Very invasive plant that can take over a pasture if ignored and make an extremely thick thorny cover in a few short years


• Cannot be controlled very easily with herbicides • Mechanical control often aggravates the situation, and seedlings will sprout and re-infest an area quickly.


32 The Cattleman July 2013


Huisache does have 2 redeeming qualities: Bees


will make very good honey from the fragrant yellow fl owers, and the plant is utilized in several southern cultures for medicines. Huisache is the next major brush species for Texans


along with mesquite and juniper (cedar) that will be an economic threat to the natural resources of Texas. Huisache is a plant not to be ignored for even a moment.


Editor’s note: Jeff Goodwin and Kent Ferguson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), are providing us with plant identifi cation photo stories to help ranchers identify those forb, forages and brush species growing in the pastures. Photos provided by the authors.


thecattlemanmagazine.com


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