Welcome to...

1. ---

   This exotic tree chokes out native prairie and marsh vegetation. (Fact: These fast growing trees were brought over from China for landscaping purposes.)
   

2. Our state flower. (Fact: This flower sets its seed in the summer, germinates in the fall, and spends the winters as a small seedling called a rosette and blossoms in the spring.)
3. These partially submerged trees thrive in the northern portion of the Galveston Bay ecosystem. (Fact: Mainly bald varieties of these trees grow in this area.)
4. One common grass found in salt or brackish marshes. (Fact: Brackish marshes are the most extensive wetland communities in the Galveston Bay system.)
5. A bulrush has a triangular stalk while a cordgrass’s stalk is this shape.(Fact: the stalks of many types of submerged and emergent vegetation have epiphytic algae growing on them. Epiphytic algae grows on top of or is attached to the outside of another plant. The Marsh Periwinkles graze on the epiphytic algae.)
6. These submerged saltwater plants can attach to a number of different bottoms or substrates. (Fact: Seagrasses will attach to not only natural anchors but also to a variety of debris such as nylon rope, plastic bags, wood, and discarded tires.)
7. One of several plants that exist only in a freshwater marsh. (Fact: Freshwater marshes occur along river systems and in upland basins on the mainland and on barrier islands.)
8. This small, bright orange wildflower often occurs with bluebonnets. (Fact: This flower can’t exist independently – it must absorb minerals and water from another plants’ roots!)
9. This plant group is the most predominant in Texas? (Fact: Native grasses lay dormant in the winter so do not compete with wildflower seedlings for nutrients and water.)
10. All plants that have had millions of years to adapt to temperature and environmental extremes in their particular region. (Fact: Since this kind of plants are already adapted to our Texas environment, they require little extra water or fertilizer.)
11. Any flowering plant that will grow in the wild without the help of man.
12. Wildflowers along our highways are allowed to complete their blooming cycle before being mowed for this reason. (Fact: There are more than 5000 species of wildflowers statewide.)
13. The absence of shoreline and submerged grasses contribute to this natural process. (Fact: The shoreline is eroding at an annual average of about 2.4 feet.)
14. This long-lived species of hardwood tree produces acorns.
15. One type of oak tree that grows in the Galveston Bay area.
16. This type of landscaping recommends using native plants that require little water and fertilizer, and have fewer pest problems. (Fact: This technique is an innovative approach to landscaping for water conservation.)
17. One of many human practices that may damage submerged (underwater) seagrasses. (Fact: Since the 1950s, submerged seagrass beds have declined from 2500 acres to less than 700 acres in the Galveston Bay system.)
18. An algae bloom that naturally manufactures biotoxins that are harmful to marine life. (Fact: This phenomenon can result in large-scale fish kills.)
19. Phytoplankton are a single-celled example of this simple plant group that drifts with the motion of the currents in the Bay. (Fact: This simple plant provides an important, high quality source of food (energy) to many small organisms living in the Bay.)
20. This seaweed is often seen washed up on area beaches. (Fact: This seaweed is native to the Atlantic ocean)