Eastern gamagrass, a distant relative of corn, is a deep-rooted native plant valued for its stabilizing properties on the banks of streams, as well as for forage in fields. Stabilizers are one of two basic categories of riparian plants that naturally work in succession<\/a> to fix a sandy bank. There are colonizer plants that spread out near the water\u2019s edge, sending out shallow roots. They prepare the way for the stabilizers with stronger, deeper roots. Stabilizers, which can be grassy or woody, help dissipate the erosive flow of the water and collect sediment to incorporate into the bank and hold it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We visited recently with Furse at the Woodway site, a popular boat launch for paddling on the bayou. Like the gamagrass, Furse, a member of Troop 55<\/a> of the Sam Houston Area Council<\/a>, has grown in the last two years. Now a high-school senior, Furse says he is interested in a potential career in biology. Excellent! We need more scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t just the gamagrass that had flourished. The area was a stunning garden, jammed with useful grasses, forbs, woody plants, vines and trees planted by nature, including the flowing bayou itself, most though not all of them native, many of them edible and medicinal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a partial list of the plants and trees we noted besides gamagrass:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flowering boneset<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ragweed, giant ragweed, or horseweed<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wild cowpea<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trailing wild bean<\/p>\n\n\n\n Big Bluestem<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beggar\u2019s ticks<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wild grape vine<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morning glory (tievine)<\/p>\n\n\n\n False nutsedge<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knotweed<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnson grass (invasive)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canada goldenrod<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prairie tea (croton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas lantana<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coffeeweed<\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas sage<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hackberries<\/p>\n\n\n\n Loblolly pines<\/p>\n\n\n\n Willows<\/p>\n\n\n\n Live oaks<\/p>\n\n\n\n SC<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Furse-Woodway.jpg\")
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