The Post Oak Savannah is a transition zone between the blackland prairies to the west and the Pineywoods to the east. This ecosystem is part of a historic oak belt, which travels south from Canada towards Central America. Few true examples of old-growth Post Oak Savannah in Texas still exist today. The Post Oak Savannah is dominated by native bunch grasses and forbs with scattered post oaks and some plateau live oak, black hickory, and blackjack oak. In recent times this historical vegetation has been replaced by species such as yaupon holly, cedar elm, sugarberry, and eastern red cedar. Upland areas are typically where bunch grasses are concentrated. Recurrent fires and large herds of buffalo were major forces that molded this eco-region. Fires were typically very large and would burn until weather conditions or landforms would contain them.
These plants have been identified as particularly worrisome terrestrial invasive species in the Post Oak Savannah ecoregion. Click on their scientific names to go to the Invasive Plant Database and learn more.
Giant reed -
Arundo donax
Chinaberry tree -
Melia azedarach
Chinese tallow tree -
Triadica sebifera
Bermudagrass -
Cynodon dactylon
Johnson grass -
Sorghum halepense
Japanese honeysuckle -
Lonicera japonica
Chinese privet -
Ligustrum sinense
Glossy privet -
Ligustrum lucidum
Japanese privet -
Ligustrum japonicum
Giant salvinia -
Salvinia molesta
King Ranch bluestem -
Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica
Heavenly bamboo -
Nandina domestica