Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hackberry shows up everywhere along the Rio Grande, and it does more than just look pretty. The berries feed songbirds and small mammals through the leanest parts of the year. This part of South Texas is home to roughly three hundred butterfly species, and much of that biodiversity traces back to plants like hackberry, which hosts caterpillars for the American Snout, the Hackberry Emperor, and the Tawny Emperor. In a landscape stretched thin by drought, hackberry keeps going. It tolerates poor soil, low water, and heat that pushes out less resilient plants.
Hackberry shows up everywhere along the Rio Grande, and it does more than just look pretty. The berries feed songbirds and small mammals through the leanest parts of the year. This part of South Texas is home to roughly three hundred butterfly species, and much of that biodiversity traces back to plants like hackberry, which hosts caterpillars for the American Snout, the Hackberry Emperor, and the Tawny Emperor. In a landscape stretched thin by drought, hackberry keeps going. It tolerates poor soil, low water, and heat that pushes out less resilient plants.
