Designating the Texas sabal palm as the official State Palm of Texas.

The text as introduced · 397 words

90R1393 BK-D

By: Gámez
H.C.R. No. 16

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Texas sabal palm is a striking example of the

unique plant species that have contributed to the rich ecological

diversity of the Lone Star State through the centuries; and

WHEREAS, Native to the riparian forest of the Lower Rio

Grande Valley, the Texas sabal palm is one of just three native

palms found in the state; the species is distinguished by a stout,

unarmed trunk that commonly grows to between 20 and 40 feet in

height; crowned by a dense canopy of fan-shaped costapalmate leaves

that can measure up to nine feet across, the Texas sabal palm serves

as a nesting habitat for birds, and its dark, berrylike fruit

provides a food source for these winged residents as well as a

variety of other wildlife; and

WHEREAS, Historically widespread in South Texas, the palm

caught the attention of early Spanish expeditions in the late 17th

century, and the prominent stands of palms along the Rio Grande

inspired them to dub the waterway "Rio de las Palmas"; both Native

Americans and colonists used the trunks as supports for shelters

and docks, and the leaves were woven into hats, baskets, mats, chair

seats, and roof thatching; the presence of petrified palmwood,

which was designated the official State Stone in 1969, further

highlights the prominence of palms in the prehistoric landscape of

Texas; and

WHEREAS, Today, the natural range of the Texas sabal palm is

limited to Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, where it grows in moist,

alluvial soils along the Rio Grande and its tributaries; one of the

best locations to view the trees is at the Sabal Palm Sanctuary in

Brownsville, a 557-acre nature reserve that safeguards one of the

last remaining native sabal palm groves in the United States; the

Rio Grande riparian forest where the palms are found is classified

as a globally imperiled environment, underscoring the ecological

importance and vulnerability of the species; and

WHEREAS, The Texas sabal palm remains vital to the

biodiversity of the South Texas ecosystem, and it is fitting that it

be recognized as an important native species and a living symbol of

the cultural, environmental, and natural history of the Lone Star

State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 90th Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby designate the Texas sabal palm as the official State Palm of

Texas.