THIRD CHOICE — Plants lightly consumed and/or when first and texas parks and wildlife second choice plants are absent Common Browse Plants Used by White-Tailed Deer in the Cross Timbers and Prairies of Texas White-tailed deer eat the leaves, stems, and fruits of a wide variety of Western Soapberry Texas Ash Agarito plants. They choose vegetation based on palatability, seasonal availability, Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii Fraxinus texensis Berberis trifoliata abundance, precipitation, and overall health of the habitat. Deer prefer Small tree to 15m; narrow, alternate Small tree; leaves oval or spade shaped, Evergreen shrub; leaves blue-gray above, forbs; however, forb abundance is highly dependent on precipitation. leaves turning bright yellow in the fall; gray pale below with prominent veins; bark holly-like with sharp points, occurring in We often gauge the value of a habitat to white-tailed deer based on to red bark with small, reddish scales rough and gray color; fruit wing shaped, three leaflets; stems gray-brown, yellow the volume and variety of browse plants. Browse plants make up the possible; when ripe, fruits are grape-sized in clusters; common on limestone slopes within; bright red berries in June; dry, most stable part of the habitat because they are deep rooted and and bluffs translucent globes; often found along rocky limestone soils. less dependent on seasonal rainfall. This brochure is intended to help fence rows and wooded edges landowners identify common browse plants and their relative importance to deer in the Cross Timbers and Prairies of Texas. Diet studies, field experience, stem counts, and cursory observations of plants under natural habitat conditions were used to place plants into preference classes. FIRST CHOICE — Plants that are highly preferred by white-tailed deer. Ashe Juniper/Mountain or Blueberry Cedar Common Persimmon Lotebush Juniperus ashei Diospyros virginiana Ziziphus obtusifolia Evergreen shrub or small tree; reddish- Medium-sized tree to 20m; oblong leaves Shrub; small, oblong, grayish-green brown bark shreds into vertical strips with pointed tips, dark green above, leaves with three distinct veins; smooth, as trees age; leaves tiny, scale-like and pale below; dark brown bark with deep gray bark, branch tips ending in thorns; sharp-pointed; dark blue, cone-like berries fissures; round yellowish-orange fruits, small, black, globular fruits in summer; produced by female plants; limestone hills ripen after leaf drop in the fall; variety of rocky or sandy soils. and slopes. soils, old fields and clearings. Blackhaw viburnum/Rusty Blackhaw Blackjack Oak Bois d’arc/Osage Orange Viburnum rufidulum Quercus marilandica Maclura pomifera Small tree; opposite leaves with finely Small tree; leaves triangular to wedge- Medium tree; leaves with smooth edges toothed edges, turning red in the fall; shaped with pointed tips; bark rough and pointed tips, thorny stems with milky bark spongy to touch with alligator skin and dark; limbs often reach the ground; sap; roots conspicuously orange in color; appearance; waxy fruits in clusters, dark found on rocky and sandy soils; valued large round baseball-size fruit, yellow in blue, football shape, fruit retained in fall as browse, with acorns a very important color with a wrinkled surface component of fall and winter diets Mesquite Mexican Buckeye Prickly Pear Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa Ungnadia speciosa Opuntia lindheimeri Small, thorny tree; compound leaves with Small tree; distinctive three-chambered Clump-forming cactus; jointed, waxy, narrow leaflets; rough, reddish-brown seed pods with dark brown, marble-sized flat stems or “pads” with spines; yellow bark; seed pods 4-10 inches long, valuable seed within each chamber; mottled gray flowers; fruit or “tuna” red to purple, in deer diets during droughty periods; bark; alternate, compound leaves; bright ripening in late summer, common mast common invader of Texas rangelands. pink flower clusters in the spring; found component of deer diets in late summer on canyon slopes and along creeks. and early fall. Cedar Elm Hackberry Mexican Plum Ulmus crassifolia Celtis laevigata Prunus mexicana Photos courtesy TPWD staff. TPWD receives federal assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies. TPWD is therefore Tree; rough-textured leaves with serrated Tree; rough, lance-shaped leaves with Small tree; leaves egg shaped with subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans edges; young branches and seedlings prominent veins; gray bark with warty serrated edges and wrinkled appearance; with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, in In accordance with Texas State Depository Law, this often winged; bark with deep furrows; bumps; small, round, reddish fruits; bark deeply furrowed; conspicuous in publication is available at the Texas State Publications addition to state anti-discrimination laws. TPWD will comply with state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any TPWD winged seeds mature in fall; uplands or common in bottomland, woodlands, early spring by presence of white flowers; Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries. program, activity or event, you may contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Federal Assistance, 4401 N. © 2009 TPWD PWD BR W7000-1222A (1/09) Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop: MBSP-4020, Arlington, VA 22203, Attention: Civil Rights Coordinator for Public Access. lowlands and fence rows round, purple fruit Possumhaw/Deciduous Yaupon Post Oak Rough-leaf Dogwood Coralberry Elbowbush Flame Leaf Sumac Ilex decidua Quercus stellata Cornus drummondii Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Forestiera pubescens Rhus lanceolata Shrub or small tree; alternate, oblong Moderate to large tree; leaves deeply Shrub or small tree; thin leaves with Small, thicket-forming shrub with Shrub; leaves oval shape, dull Large shrub or small tree; stems leaves with rounded teeth on leaf lobed with no points, shiny above and prominent veins, rough to touch and gray bark; opposite, oval leaves; green and lightly serrated on edge; winged; leaves long and narrow, edges; small, round, reddish-orange pale below; bark thick with dark gray dark green above, fuzzy to touch coral red to pink berries often bark light gray, smooth; blue-black smooth above, hairy below, turning berries persisting after leaf drop; ridges; acorns produced annually; and pale below; reddish stems; persistent through the winter. rounded fruits, in clusters; one of the red in fall; bark smooth; fruit in large found in thickets and along woodland upland prairies and woodlands; small, waxy, white berries first to “leaf out” in spring; uplands clusters, dark red, hairy; increases edges. valued as browse, with acorns very after fire or disturbance important to fall and winter diets Sawtooth Greenbriar Texas Oak/Spanish Oak Texas Sophora/Eve’s Necklace Lime Prickly Ash/Hercules Club Live Oak Pecan Smilax bona-nox Quercus buckleyi Sophora affinis Zanthoxylum hirsutum Quercus virginiana Carya illinoinensis Spiny vine; leaves triangular to Small to medium tree; leaves with Shrub or small tree; oval, fuzzy leaves Shrub or small tree; reddish thorns Large, evergreen tree; leaves usually Large tree to 40m height; alternate heart-like with variations; stems deep lobes, tips sharply pointed; with smooth edges, shiny blue/black and leaf stems; leaves opposite, elliptic or oblong, margins smooth leaves with scythe-shaped leaflets; green; berries spherical, black-blue smooth, gray bark; producing acorns fruits resemble a beaded necklace; leathery, aromatic, shiny above with with some variation, dark green and gray-brown scaly or flaky bark; color; often green throughout winter; every other year; occurs on limestone found on rocky limestone slopes and elliptic to oblong oval shape; light shiny above, pale below; bark dark thin-shelled, oblong-shaped nuts, common in fence rows, understory, outcrops and stream bottoms ravines, usually found sheltered within gray bark smooth with thorns; sandy brown to black; acorns produced maturing in fall months; state tree of and uplands other species due to herbivory or rocky soil annually and valuable in deer diets Texas; along creek and river bottoms. SECOND CHOICE — Plants that are commonly eaten by white-tailed deer. White Shin Oak Bumelia/Chittam Carolina Buckthorn Redbud Sand Plum Skunkbush Sumac/Aromatic Sumac Quercus sinuata Bumelia lanuginosa Frangula caroliniana Cercis canadensis var. texensis Prunus angustifolia Rhus trilobata Shrub or small tree; leaves with Small tree; leaves oval to elliptic Shrub or small tree; leaves large Small, thornless tree; leaves heart Small thicket forming shrub; leaves Shrub; leaves with three lobes, tips smooth, wavy edges; gray, shaggy shape, shiny above and fuzzy below; and elliptic to oblong, finely toothed, shaped to oval, smooth edges, shiny narrow with serrated edges, reddish pointed, veins prominent below; bark; producing acorns every bark resembles oak, stems with bright green above; bark smooth, green; bark reddish brown to gray, brown stems form a zig-zag shape, aromatic smell when bruised; bark year; commonly found on shallow, thorns; round, dark blue fruit; woods, gray to brown; fruit a small, rounded smooth; fruit enclosed in a reddish sometimes spiny; red or yellow cherry- gray to brown in color; reddish- limestone soils riparian zones, hillsides, rocky drupe, red turning to black color bean-like pod; limestone soils and like fruits; common on sandy soils orange fruits densely haired, in outcrops bottomlands clusters.