The Desert Pantry at Sam Nail Ranch

Turkey vultures spread their wings to the morning sun.
Turkey vultures warm up in the early morning sun at Sam Nail Ranch.

NPS/CA Hoyt

The 0.5-mile trail is an easy walk and a great place to think about how plants were used in the past. You'll find remnants of the Nail's orchards and gardens as well as edible and useful native plants. Could you survive here?

Remember: Just because these plants have been eaten or processed in the past, doesn't mean YOU should do it. Before handling or consuming a native plant, do your research, know your allergies, and proceed with caution. Always remember that collecting plants in the park is not allowed.
 
Ripe fig grows on fig tree at Sam Nail Ranch.
A ripening fig.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Fig Tree
Ficus sp.

Fig trees flourish in hot, dry climates, making them a garden favorite. Their sweet fruit is good straight from the tree, made into jam, or used as a sweetener for desserts when sugar was scarce.
 
Pink flowers of a peach tree on bare branches.
The soft pink flowers of a peach tree in early spring.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Peach Tree
Prunus persica

Peaches do well in a desert environment as long as there's water and a late freeze doesn't kill the flowers. Peach trees were popular because the fruit could be eaten off the tree, canned, or made into brandy.
 
The sun filters through green pecan leaves.
Sun filters through the leaves of a pecan tree.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Pecan Tree
Carya illinoinensis

Texas Governor Jim Hogg didn't want a headstone when he passed away in 1906. Instead, he wanted a pecan planted at his head and a walnut at his feet. Descendants of these trees were to be distributed around the state so that Texas would become a land of trees. State Representative E.E. Townsend gave Sam Nail one of the Hogg Pecans to plant in his orchard.
 
Asparagus plants
Asparagus plants growing at Sam Nail Ranch.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Garden Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis

Asparagus grows in the damp soil near the windmill. Asparagus thrives in saline (salty) soils--perhaps one reason that it has lasted so long at Sam Nail Ranch.
 
Clusters of red fruit displayed against green leaves.
Small, acidic sumac fruit makes a refreshing lemonade-like drink.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Little-leaf Sumac
Rhus microphylla

Little-leaf sumac is one of four species of sumac that grow in the park. Soak the small, red sumac fruits in water to make a tart, refreshing drink.
 
Western Soapberry trees with round, golden fruit and spikes of white flowers.
Western soapberries with spikes of white flowers and amber-colored fruit.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Western Soapberry
Sapindus drummondii

The marble-sized, translucent, amber drupes of the soapberry are used as soap. The fruits are mashed, added to water, and stirred to create a lather. Today, soapberries are sold as an eco-friendly laundry detergent.
 
Dark purple fruit line the rim of a prickly pear pad.
Purple tunas are the sweet fruit of a prickly pear.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Prickly Pear
Opuntia sp.

A go-to plant for desert dwellers. The young pads (nopales) are stir-fried, fried, or pickled and used in a variety of savory dishes. The sweet, purple-red fruit (tunas) are eaten raw or cooked down to make jelly and syrup. The mature pads were split and used as poultices on wounds or bruises. A hair tonic for shiny, healthy, strong hair is made from prickly pear pad juice.
 
Long, bean-like pods hang from the branches of a honey mesquite tree.
Ripe mesquite pods range from yellow to deep maroon. Locals will tell you "the redder the bean, the sweeter the taste."

NPS/CA Hoyt

Honey Mesquite
Prosopis glandulosa

The SuperStore of plants! Honey mesquite beans are nutritious and sweet and can be eaten straight off the tree or dried and ground into mesquite flour. Soak the beans and you'll get a sweet tea to boil down for mesquite jelly. The wood is hard and makes excellent furniture and firewood. The gummy sap was used as a dye for coloring hair and textiles; the spines were used as needles, and the long, limber roots as cordage.
 
A spiny-leaved algerita is loaded with red berries.
During good years, the branches of algerita can be obscured by the bright red fruit.

CA Hoyt

Algerita
Berberis trifoliolata

Algerita is one of our earliest-blooming shrubs. Fragrant yellow flowers form juicy red berries in the early summer. The spiny leaflets make the berries difficult to harvest, but the effort is worth it. The berries make excellent jellies, pies, and cobblers. Underneath the brown bark of the algerita is sunshine-yellow wood. During World War II, parachute makers extracted a yellow dye from the wood to produce color-coded parachutes.
 
A creosote bush loaded with fuzzy, white fruit.
The resins coating the stiff leaves of the creosote-bush offer a wealth of medicinal properties.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Creosote-bush
Larrea tridentata

The desert pharmacy. Creosote is a super, cure-all plant, known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. Today, creosote salve is used to treat psoriasis, eczema, cold sores, and infected cuts. Plus, it smells so good! Which may be a matter of opinion. What do you think?
 
Small, round, plum-colored fruit dangle from the branch of a hackberry tree.
Hackberry fruit is sweet, protein-packed, and hard. Very hard.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Netleaf Hackberry
Celtis reticulata

Hackberry seeds were found in a Chinese cave occupied by human ancestors 500,000 years ago--making hackberries one of the oldest-known foraged foods. With good reason. Although small, the fruit has a think, sweet skin and pulp and the seeds are protein-rich. Don't try to crush the seeds with your teeth, however. They're extremely hard and will likely send you straight to the dentist with a cracked tooth.
 
Round, black fruit hangs on a Texas persimmon tree.
If you want a snack, choose fruit that is black and fully ripe. Under-ripe persimmons have pucker-power.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Texas Persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon is one of the best-tasting wild fruits. The small, black fruit has sweet pulp that can be eaten raw or made into wine, breads, pies, jams, or sauces. The juice from fully ripe fruit is used to dye hides. Black bears love Texas persimmons, so be alert in the late summer or fall when the fruit is ripe.

Last updated: August 11, 2020

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