Lurking on the Mexican Border for Palms

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:03][snorts] >> Hi, this is Tony. Welcome to another episode of Krampus Abominations. As you can see, I'm on the US-Mexico border here in South Texas. I am wearing a corny ass hat. Louie is stuck in the truck. She's I kept her in the truck cuz I don't want her coming out here cuz I have to check for ticks. This is a very buggy area. It's more lowland. We're right on the Rio Grande River. And uh the mosquitoes were terrible last time I was here, but we we're here with a really rare and cool plant species, Quadrella ancana, the Borderlands caper, as it's known. A true relative of uh capers, like the the Mediterranean spice, in the order Brassicales, the mustard order. I had done a few previous videos on this where uh you know, there was a population of this plant that was due to get destroyed in Brownsville, Texas, about 2 hours east of here. The city came in and saved them last minute using a tree spade. But there's uh actually three trees that we found here last week. And so this is one of them.

[00:00:57]You can see it's uh died back a little bit, but it's resprouting from the uh from the base. And uh it's really interesting. But overall, this whole plant community is is pretty fascinating because it's the more lowland plant community of the South Texas Borderlands region. Upland, you got more of the dry cactus scrub. Down here, it's all sable palm, sable mexicana, uh our native palm tree, uh Fouquieria splendens, Texas snake eyes, Quadrella ancana, Ziziphus obtusifolia, whole bunch of cool plant species. This is a more mesic area. Uh obviously, it's in the floodplain of the Rio Grande. So let's go check it out. So here is Quadrella ancana. Now the genus Quadrella has quite a few species in it.

[00:01:39]Uh I've uh seen them in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, etc. Uh but uh there's the flowers you could see. You got four petals. Got uh how many stamens is it? Six or eight?

[00:01:50]Uh and uh and a very distinct sepals.

[00:01:53]You can see those sepals are kind of bendy. They're kind of boat out like that. I mean, it looks like a brassica flower. Not in the same family, but in the same order. The leaves are just beautiful silvery sheen with a rustity pubescence. I'm trying to root some in a cloning machine right now. You know, like the ones that the park growers use.

[00:02:10]I'll see if I have any luck. I uh I don't know. We'll uh we'll see. You got to get like semi-woody tissue. Uh you know, it's got to be right to use rooting hormone. So, we'll see if it actually works. But, this was a massive tree for uh you know, compared to the specimens that I've seen. I don't know why it died back if it was just due to the drought or what. But, this is a really cool plant. And this whole plant community is really cool. We got Sideroxylon celastrinum right here, coma which produces edible fruit, Sapotaceae. We got the Condalia hookeri, also known as Brazil, which is a buckthorn, Rhamnaceae uh the family.

[00:02:49]We got the ooh, Texas ebony, Ebenopsis ebano. That's always a stunner. Now, let's step inside here, and you can see some of the other plants we've got popping up. Like uh this is Ziziphus obtusifolia, another buckthorn, Rhamnaceae, another buckthorn member.

[00:03:07]And uh there was even could see bottles from numerous border crossings of years gone past.

[00:03:14]And uh oh yeah, here's another Here's another uh Texas caper, borderlands caper. You could see it's uh right there. So, they kind of like they seem to like shade when they're young.

[00:03:25]This is a little bit we've we stepped down about 3 ft. As you get lower, oh yeah, the mosquitoes already popping up.

[00:03:30]You could see there's numerous Sabal mexicana right there, gorgeous palm tree, provides ample habitat for owls with uh the skirt of its dead leaves. I think we only counted three trees here, but there might be more. I mean, we were only here for 15 minutes. So, you come down here, you talk to Border Patrol, you just say, "Hey, this is what we're going to do.

[00:03:50]We're not uh you know, we're not looking to cross people or smuggle drugs in our ass and you just tell them what's up and they're they're they've always been cool with me. So, um let's see what else. But, I I just fell in love with this plant community cuz this is I mean, we're on the banks of the Rio Grande. It's much different than the upland areas that I'm used to, you know, where you see much more drought-tolerant xeric uh plant species. So, to get to see this, you got the bottles. You can't leave your bottles behind. If you're going to cross the border illegally, don't you know, don't leave the bottles behind at least.

[00:04:24]But, the wildlife here, too, man. Can you imagine Look at that. Look at that.

[00:04:27]Perfect habitat. Except, they always shave off the leaves uh in cities. I can understand if it's next to like a busy road or something and you want to reduce the hazards when they fall, but you really got to leave the You got to leave the uh You need to leave those leaves on. That's ample habitat. And you can see the petiole doesn't have spines on it like all the non-native Washingtonias that get planted out in South Texas do.

[00:04:54]This is a much more useful tree to wildlife. It's more broad. It provides more habitat. It doesn't get tall and skinny. It actually provides more shade than uh than the Washingtonias do. What is this?

[00:05:08]So, so what came out of What is that?

[00:05:09]Like foot powder or something? Someone's out here washing their ass. Oh, it's a little trail left by the leaf cutters.

[00:05:15]That's what that is. So, they're defoliating the ebony and then they leave the little trail.

[00:05:21]You could see this grass. All this [ __ ] is guinea grass. It's a highly invasive grass species brought in for foraging. Oh, we got the salt cedar over there. It's another invasive. Not as invasive here as it is uh further west where it's drier.

[00:05:36]But, just an incredible plant community. They got the loudspeaker over there where the guy's saying, "Atención. Atención. Don't come here no more." Which, you know, after Trump's done with the the country, nobody's going to want to come here anymore anyway cuz the dollar's not going to be worth [ __ ] in the We're going to be trying to get the other way over the border, trying to get into Mexico.

[00:05:57]Anyway, uh look at that beautiful God, these sabals are so gorgeous. We got palo verde, of course, uh next to the invasive tamarisk.

[00:06:07]Just incredible stuff. Is this all Boerhavia diffusa, that member of Asteraceae with the spiny filers? I think so, yeah.

[00:06:15]Sunflower family member right there. But there you go. There's the flood plain and then there's the river right there.

[00:06:21]And if you come out on a river on like a Sunday, which I did with my friend Carlos, we took his boat out, the Mexican side people are partying, grilling, having a blast, and the US side looks like a [ __ ] demilitarized zone. It's really depressing.

[00:06:34]But uh you could tell there was life here once, but over the last 20 years as it's been further militarized, the life has kind of uh been driven away. It's just a host of abandoned buildings, cops, and uh and razor wire. Look at the flowers on these uh Parkinsonia aculeata though.

[00:06:50]God, these are incredible They're incredible. These should be planted in all the bleak shopping centers instead of the uh the live oaks.

[00:06:58]Ooh, what's this? Oh, we got Malpighia glabra, Barbados cherry.

[00:07:04]With the the those opposite leaves really give it away. See leaves that are directly opposite each other right there?

[00:07:10]This is a nice one, Coursetia Coursetia axillaris. You can see it's got a little pea flower, little pink bonnet like I got I hate the bonnet. Who the [ __ ] wears a bonnet? Where did that come from? Huh?

[00:07:23]But you know, this is this is used in the native plant gardens here, but I've you know, to actually see it in the uh habitat is different. I guess it likes wetter conditions. It likes more mesic conditions. So you're going to find it closer to the coast or closer to the river.

[00:07:37]You can see it's got the pinnate foliage and then there's a little fruits, little beans.

[00:07:41]But it does great in a garden, man.

[00:07:44]Should be using these. I mean, look at it. It's like a multi-stemmed shrub. You should be using these instead of whatever filth and crap whatever the [ __ ] and the filth.

[00:07:54]>> [laughter] >> Anyway, I like when you get so rabid about the horticultural atrocities. We need more people doing that. The [ __ ] and the filth they plant in strip malls now. Oh, that's a beautiful guayacan right there. Look, massive. That's a That's what you call an old growth.

[00:08:09]Well, that's probably only like 30 or 40 years. They get a lot of water here. I'm so thankful the mosquitoes are not that bad.

[00:08:14]But uh looks like a It was a palo verde that fell.

[00:08:18]Rest his soul. And then we got another capers right here. So, this is the fourth one right next to a this sideroxylon.

[00:08:26]So, another caper incana or quadrella incana, excuse me. The borderlands caper.

[00:08:32]But again, just a little one.

[00:08:34]So, I wonder if it's uh gets It must get too dry for them when you get further upland cuz that way's north, that way's south to the river. See, there's Matt with the quadrella. Just for scale.

[00:08:47]The intercom's saying, "Atencion!

[00:08:49]Atencion! We got a rare plant right here."

[00:08:54]This [ __ ] Is that just sideroxylon or what is that?

[00:08:58]>> Yeah.

[00:08:59]God, there Everything has such big leaves cuz it's so wet.

[00:09:02]>> so variable here. This is ziziphus was throwing me off.

[00:09:07]I mean, it's so it's in in much more mesic conditions, it gets larger leaves.

[00:09:11]Look at that. That's the ziziphus obtusa Is this isn't the sandbar willow, is it?

[00:09:14]That's the ziziphus obtusifolia, which normally is leafless. It'll survive in upland conditions which are drier and then down here by the river it's got enough water. It's probably tapped into the water, you know, deep down. Oh, nice guayacan.

[00:09:26]It gets bigger leaves cuz it can afford to. It can afford to have that extra surface area.

[00:09:32]Or a condalia hookeri or brasil, as they call it. Look at it, just a thicket.

[00:09:38]Yeah, you know boy, when you crawl through that, you're trying to cross illegally, you leave the bottles behind.

[00:09:42]You're making it hot for everybody.

[00:09:43]They're going to know, you know, they're going to know that you were crossing here. You got to take the bottles with you. You'll pack it in, pack it out.

[00:09:50]And uh there you go. There's Texas snake eyes, follow Thamnos spinescence, which is in the order Caryophyllales.

[00:09:56]And uh it's called snake eyes cuz the fruits look like snake eyes.

[00:10:01]Very distinct branching structure, alternate branching and spatulate leaves.

[00:10:06]Boy, this is really interesting. So, you could tell we're in a flood plain, too.

[00:10:10]That I mean, cuz there seems to be disturbance here. That's how the grass gets in. And so, the disturbance is the flood.

[00:10:17]Whenever it happens, whenever the Rio Grande overflows its banks. Looks like there's pig activity, too, pigs and coyotes. God, I bet there's more of those quadrellas here, though. So, we got four plants total.

[00:10:30]But, they seem to be closer to the river, which is where God, look at that guayacan.

[00:10:35]Every time I see it, I say, "Why is this not more common in horticulture down here?"

[00:10:40]It's so perfect.

[00:10:42]Yeah, look at this. All this stuff, we're in a drought, but this stuff's tapped into the water table.

[00:10:48]See, there's that Ziziphus.

[00:10:51]So, it's doing photosynthesis through its stems, and then it's also got leaves as well because it's uh tapped into the ground water or in the into the river, basically.

[00:11:06]Let's see. It's just So, it's follow Thamnos. We got follow Thamnos cedar rocks line ebony's, Ziziphus, and the occasional quadrella. Oh, and of course, mesquites. And then we got baccharis neglecta, as well.

[00:11:21]Ooh, and this is a cool one, Senegalia wrightii. Mean ass cat claw. It used to be cat claw acacia, but of course, it's acacia Acacia was is monophyletic, so it got split up. God, I'm getting destroyed by mosquitoes. And so now it's Senegalia, but the flowers smell absolutely incredible when it blooms.

[00:11:38]You could see those are about to bloom right there, little spikes coming off.

[00:11:42]Looking for more quadrellas, though.

[00:11:44]They got to be here. And this is like the This is where they would be, the ecotone between the drier upland area and then the flood plain. Well, we're in the flood plain, but the the more mesic lowland area.

[00:11:58]Here's guayacan. Look at this. Look at these. Look at these leaflets. Holy [ __ ] More ziziphus. See, these are all great shrubs that would do great on the uh uh wonderful shrubs that would do great on the sides of any of the bleak median strips here in uh South Texas.

[00:12:19]Oh, and this is another great member of the Eupatorie, Tamaulipa azurea, but you could see we're in the more low conditions, so it likes it wetter.

[00:12:28]Purple flowers when it's going off, mass collecting seed. I'm getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and slowly losing my mind, but it's all worth it to see this god damn plant uh this uh caper cuz it's so cool.

[00:12:39]Look at it. Look at that. Just the the palms. It's so cool to see the this habitat, man, just cuz it's so much it's so much wetter than uh we're used to in the uplands.

[00:12:49]You know, you get couple hundred feet away from the river, you get away from this kind of habitat. It just dries out.

[00:12:56]Oh, they got Oh, they got a stake here.

[00:12:58]You should ask the Border Patrol if there's plans to bulldoze this. You know, it would be in keeping with the theme of bleakness for South Texas.

[00:13:05]That'd be That'd be depressing. I mean, you discover a new population of a rare plant then it gets uh destroyed shortly thereafter. Look at these ebonies. They're just gorgeous.

[00:13:19]Here you got a ready anacua. That's a common pioneer species here.

[00:13:25]Edible fruits, very pleasant smelling flowers, and very scabered leaves.

[00:13:34]Lots of palo verde.

[00:13:38]We'll walk back. I'm not going to expect to find any here cuz we're on the more upland side, but you never know.

[00:13:47]See, I I don't know if you could hear the intercom, but he's saying, "Atención. Atención. You don't want to come over here.

[00:13:54]Don't come over here.

[00:13:57]Atención. Atención. Do not cross that border. Do not come across the river.

[00:14:02]Okay? They'll nab your ass anyway. They got thermal and stuff. And don't you wish I mean, if you're going to have a militarized border and it's going to be bleak in the prison, don't you wish it was, you know, like the voice of a guy with a mustache at Midway Airport uh you know, Don and Cicero narrating it instead of like Kristi Noem. God, I'm so glad she's gone. I [ __ ] hate that woman. You know, or something uh something else, you know, like like you say you could say anything in that accent that thick Chicago Mook accent, and it's just it's so much softer. You know, it's so much easier to listen to, at least for me.

[00:14:37]And we got a little bag of cuttings, as you could see right there.

[00:14:42]We'll put in the cloner. I got I'll put some in my own cloner, but I don't have complete faith in it. And then I'll just I'll take the rest to James Peace and see if he can get them going.

[00:14:52]I don't see any more.

[00:14:55]It's wild. God, it's a brutal drought, too.

[00:14:58]I bet if it wasn't such a bad drought, that big one would be taking off a little bit more.

[00:15:05]Oh, this is kind of cool. So, we got Sarcomphalus Brachycarya.

[00:15:09]There's the fruits right there, looking like little maple samaras, little butts with wings on them because they're in the maple family, Sapindaceae.

[00:15:18]And then here is uh the flowers.

[00:15:23]This is mostly Mexican. It doesn't really get in the US much. It's kind of rare. Oh, look at those little flowers.

[00:15:29]Serjania Serjania Who's in there? Is there a guy in there?

[00:15:35]Pubescence on that uh that inflorescence and the stem.

[00:15:42]And then there's some just coming up uh right there.

[00:15:47]Cool vine.

[00:15:50]Oh, we got a beautiful mesquite. God, this I hope they don't bulldoze this cuz there needs to be a little bit of this preserved. We got this historical mission just over there.

[00:16:02]So, hopefully some of this is over there if they do bulldoze it. But, you know, that's the story of Texas. Everything just getting destroyed. It's It's been It's been the story of Texas since I moved there 5 years ago.

[00:16:12]Watching so many habitats get destroyed.

[00:16:14]Look at that Ziziphus.

[00:16:16]Under appreciated.

[00:16:19]And follow up on the family estate.

[00:16:20]There you go. There's a nice close-up of those spatulate leaves.

[00:16:26]Anyway, I'm going to go check with Border Patrol and see if there's plans to destroy this. I bet there is. Look at how Look at a palo verdes when they flower. How is that species not more desirable in cultivation?

[00:16:36]Anyway, that's all I got. Have a blessed day. Go [ __ ] yourself. Bye.