Left/Top:  LBJ Wildflower Center:  NPIN 11834 by Joseph A. Marcus
Right/Bottom:  LBJ Wildflower Center:  NPIN 21559 by Sally & Andy Wasowski

Written by Alamo Area Master Naturalist Stan Drezek.

COMMON IN PHIL HARDBERGER PARK

It is very early spring, and as you walk along the trail you catch the scent of honey, and your eyes are attracted to the yellow flowers on an ubiquitous evergreen shrub named Agarita, Berberis trifoliolata. 

The honey-scented Agarita is very common on the dry rocky limestone ground which characterizes the Texas Hill Country.  If you look closely as you walk along the trails of our Natural Areas, you cannot miss it!  Especially in winter its grey-green evergreen foliage will stand out.  After completing a hike you may remember seeing it often close to the trail.  That is, because the Agarita loves the sun, and, while it tolerates the shade, it tends to proliferate on the borders of the forest,where there is access to light.  In that light, Agarita can grow to as much as eight feet; in the shade a height of four feet is more frequently seen. Will you ever forget that early spring fragrance of Agarita?

SHARP TRIFOLIATE LEAVES

Another reason you cannot miss Agarita is the very distinct, holly-like, leaves.  If you have not felt the leaves, make sure you feel them.  They are extremely sharp.  Once felt, not forgotten.  Actually the leaf structure is three leaflets, each of which has three to seven sharp-tipped lobes.  Inevitably some dry, and fall into the litter in our arid climate.  That leaf litter is nasty to clean up.

BRIGHT RED BERRIES

Now, pretend it is a bit later in the spring, closer to May than March.  By now the Agarita is covered with green berries, turning into bright red ones, usually by June. 

USES: SHELTER, SOURCE OF FOOD, HEDGE

Agarita is a beautiful sight with its dark green foliage and red berries, but soon the birds and small mammals that love the berries consume them.  Of course, if you are a jelly-maker and know the trick of placing a ground cover beneath the shrub and beating it with a stick, you will be rewarded with enough berries to make a jelly. Should I eat that berry?  Don’t eat the berry from any plant unless you are sure that it is safe to eat.  Many berries are poisonous!

 This most common shrub has all of these uses:

#1 Its smell, feel, and taste inspire us.

#2 Its sharp leaflets provide excellent protective shelter for birds, small mammals, and reptiles.

#3 Its berries are an important food source in the Hill Country especially for birds, raccoons, and opossums, as well as serving humans as a source for jelly

#4 Its young leaves are eaten by deer, goats, sheep, and cattle.

#5 Its yellow flowers are a source of nectar for bees.

#6 It makes a wonderful hedge or border—plant it where you do not want people to go.

#7 A tan-orange dye can be made from its wood.

HARBINGER OF SPRING

But for me, it all comes back to that honey sweet smell in February that tells me spring is here. Coupled with the flowering of Red Buds and Mexican Plums, I know the profusion of wildflowers is not far behind, and once again, this magical land will call us.

Both photos below by Wendy Drezek of Phil Hardberger Park Agarita.