Native Katy Trees an Endangered Species

KATY, Texas - It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Native trees in Texas do not usually turn beautiful colors when the weather cools, so bring in ones that do.

But the Chinese Tallow, prized for its fall foliage, fast growth and shade, has literally taken over.

Mary Anne Piancentini with the Katy Prairie Conservancy tells FOX 26 News, "It moved to Texas in the 1900s. The US Department of Agriculture brought it here thinking it would be a good agricultural crop because it produces an oil that you can actually use for cooking. It also is one of the top producers they they use for oil for bio diesel".

But the beauty of the Chinese Tallow pales in comparison to the toll it has taken on native grass and plants.

"When it comes in and it grows, it becomes a monoculture, a single species, one plant, Chinese Tallow and it chokes everything else out under it, around it and in the vicinity." describes Wesley Newman, Land Manager for the Katy Prairie Conservancy.

Of particular concern, what is left of the pristine prairie that once stretched from the 610 Loop to U.S. Highway 290 to Interstate 10.

Of the 300 acres of Katy Prairie at Live Oak Creek South, Chinese Tallow has aggressively taken over 90 percent of the tree cover.

"It's so prolific, that once it has been killed, if it has produced seeds, the seeds come back really rapidly. You can't kill it by cutting it because it sprouts," says Newman.

The only way to get rid of it is by using an herbicide mix. For the thicker trunks, you have to make sure the spray penetrates usually by cutting the bark.

It can be a backbreaking, tedious endeavor, but one that the Katy Prairie Conservancy is willing to make ... to create room for the native plants and grass to return.