The Agency of Nature

Hackberry trees [Celtis sp.] are treated as "trash trees" in Texas even though they are one of the most significant trees as host plants and food sources [and, moreover, as early successional forest species driving the recovery of the bottomland forest here at Hornsby Bend]. They are short lived, and so they are not promoted by urban foresters. They are a highly "invasive" species, popping up as "weeds" in yards and fencelines, but, since they are native to Texas, they are not classified for extermination. Instead, they are rhetorically marginalized as "trash trees" and go uncelebrated in native plant culture.

But they are capable of remarkable feats of survival and vigorous growth in the city. This one has created one of my favorite sculptures here on a field edge at Hornsby Bend.