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Lower Rio Grande Valley

Ecoregion in Atlantic Coastal Plain, TX

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The Lower Rio Grande Valley ecoregion once supported dense, diverse grassland and shrub communities and low woodlands. However, mesquite, granjeno, and a variety of brush and shrub species invaded the landscape. Now, it is almost all in cropland, pasture, and urban land cover. The region is underlain by a mix of Quaternary clays and sands with some Miocene-age sediments of the Goliad Formation at the western edge. Mollisols are extensive, and the soils are deep, mostly clay loams and sandy clay loams. The freeze-free growing season is often over 320 days compared to 250-260 days along the northern Texas coastal area of Ecoregion 34a. Along with Ecoregion 34f, the Lower Rio Grande Valley contains important nesting grounds for the white-winged dove, a favored hunting species in southern Texas.

— EPA

Plants

Sunflower Helianthus annuus (species), “Sunflowers”, “Common Sunflower”

Lower Rio Grande Valley

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