Ten inches of precipitation or less) have allowed plants to evolve structures that reduce water loss and retain moisture. To reduce surface areas that would lose hard-earned moisture in the scorching sun of the desert, cacti have switched from leaves to spines. Cacti use their green stems to carry out photosynthesis while storing water in their fleshy pads and stems. Another characteristic of cacti is their vividly colorful blossoms.
Cacti are not seen in White Sands National Park’s shifting dunes, but they are common in the brushy areas as you approach the monument. Other resilient desert plants, such as the New Mexico agave and the succulent lechuguilla, can be found in this typical Chihuahuan Desert setting. These plants have large, thick, green leaves that resemble short, thick spears with sharp barbs. Additionally, the thick, leathery leaves prevent water from evaporating.
The most prevalent species of cholla in New Mexico is the cane cholla, sometimes known as tree cholla. It is an eight-foot-tall tree-like cactus with prickly, cylindrical, fleshy stems that, when dead, reveal a latticed wooden skeleton. The spines are intricately barbed and challenging to pull from flesh. It stands out due to its size, which might resemble a shrub or even a tree, its silhouette, and its persistent yellowish fruits. In the late spring or early summer, this species blooms. The blossoms are magenta or purple. The fruits, which resemble cones and are golden in color with a depression at the wide end where the flower once existed, are frequently mistaken for flowers. All winter long, the plant keeps them.
The term “cane cholla” refers to a species of dead plant whose lovely woody skeleton is frequently used to make canes, furniture, and other keepsakes. The thorns can be fashioned as fishing hooks or sewing needles. Calcium levels in cholla buds are high. Native inhabitants of the area consumed the fruit raw, stewed, dried, and ground into flour.
The strawberry hedgehog, also known as the claret cup cactus, is mostly found in the Tularosa Basin to the north of the dunes. Late April brings out the stunning crimson chalice-shaped flowers that give the claret cup cactus its name. Large clusters of the cactus are covered in these vivid flowers, making it simple to identify. With older individual plants growing up to five feet in diameter and more than 75 stalks, the cactus can grow to enormous sizes. Some of the tastiest fruits produced by any desert plant are those of the claret cup cactus. As the fruits grow, they are covered with spines, but as the fruit ripens, the spines fall off.
The desert spoon, often referred to as sotol or the desert candle, takes its name from the spoon-shaped depression at the base of each leaf. The tall, narrow cluster of thousands of tiny greenish-white blooms on this perennial evergreen shrub emerges from a thick cluster of numerous short, spiny leaves. It flowers from May through July. Although the plant looks like an agave, it does not perish after flowering.
American Indians and Mexicans roasted the flower head in a pit for 24 hours before distilling the liquid to create the alcoholic beverage known as stool, which has a colorless penetrating stench and an odd flavor. The stiff leaves are used to create paper, thatch, matting, baskets, ropes, and mats. In dried flower arrangements, the wide, spoon-like base is frequently employed.
One of the most common agaves, lechuguilla, is the emblematic plant of the Chihuahuan Desert. Its 1-2 foot tall, succulent, yellow-green rosettes have numerous suckers. It flowers from May through July. Thick, leathery leaves feature hooked teeth along the borders and a stiff spine at the apex. Similar to its sibling, the century plant, the lechuguilla needs 1215 years to accumulate enough food to produce the enormous flower stalk, which develops incredibly quickly to reach a height of 15 feet. The stalk is flexible and unbranched, so it frequently bends when it is laden with buds or blooms while maintaining a steady, beautiful arc. A dense mass of yellowish or purplish blossoms covers the upper portion of the stalk. The stem eventually dies after generating blooms and seeds.
The leaves’ toxic liquid has been employed as arrow poison, a fish tranquilizer, medicine, and soap. The cordage for bow strings, nets, baskets, mats, sandals, blankets, and clothing was made from leaf fibers. Shampoo and soap were made from roots that had been pounded and soaked in water. Lechuguilla leaves are so pointy that they can pierce the tires of off-road vehicles and harm both people and animals. In Mexico, the plant is still picked for its fiber, which is used to make rope.
A basal rosette that is 6–18 inches high is made up of the stiff, succulent, sword-like leaves with spined points of the New Mexico agave. The leaves are a pale green. After 8–20 years, a 7–10 foot blooming stalk with clusters of yellowish, tubular blooms on numerous lateral branches emerges. The Other Mexico agave only produces flowers once throughout its lifetime (thus the term century plant), after which the original plant dies but is easily replaced by new plants. A typical misunderstanding is that agaves are cactus. They are neither closely linked to aloe, whose leaves resemble those of cacti, nor are they related to cacti.
The flowers, leaves, stalks or basal rosettes, and sap of the agave plant are all edible. Its damaged leaves provided a paste from which paper might be made. Its juice was either drunk straight up or fermented into the powerful drink pulque. Its leaves provided homes with an impenetrable thatch. The thorns on the end of its leaves were used as pins and needles. Bowstrings, brushes, cradles, nets, slings, shoes, skirts, mats, rope, thread, baskets, and snares were all made from the fibers. Shampoo and soap were both made from the fresh root. To create mescal or tequila, early Europeans distilled the juice.
All of the Southwest’s deserts contain ocotillo. This plant is not a member of the cactus family, despite having sharp spines and living in a desert, which give it a cactus-like appearance. Hummingbirds rely on this plant as a major source of food in the spring (April/May), when hundreds of vivid red tubular flowers swarm the terminals of the branches. The branches explode with leaves after spring or summer rains; throughout the rest of the year, photosynthesis takes place under the stems’ gray bark. It is a plant with a very long lifespan that can reach 200 years.
The only practical way to prepare ocotillo is as a fresh bark tincture. The tincture proved effective for treating symptoms brought on by fluid congestion. Other use include reducing fatigue by taking a bath in water that has roots or blossoms that have been crushed. The roots and blossoms of the ocotillo were utilized by several Indian tribes to stop the bleeding from fresh wounds. Ocotillo is also used to treat urinary tract infections, varicose veins, sore muscles, and coughing. For waxing leather and as an adhesive/waterproofing agent or varnish, gum resin from the bark was utilized. Sometimes sharp stems are planted in the ground to create living barriers.
The purple prickly pear typically grows in bunches that are 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. This cactus resembles a shrub in many ways. In the chilly, dry winter months, the huge leaf pads take on a purple tint. The pads have broad, brown spines all over them. Late spring brings out yellow flowers with red centers and oval fruit that can grow to be 1.5 inches long. The deep purple pads are quite interesting. The pads have a lighter blue-grey hue in the summer. Bright yellow fruit is produced by blossoms that are up to 3 inches in diameter. The purple variety of prickly pears contains fewer, if any, spines than many other varieties. Its subtle jasmine aroma is utilized to draw nocturnal insects to it.
Mexican and Mexican-American cuisine includes prickly pear cactus. Older plants are too hardy; only the young plant is consumed. Additionally, prickly pear cactus is employed in medicine. Prickly pear juice is a component of jellies and candies. Additionally, adobe mortar has been strengthened using its juice.
Stem elongation is a strategy used by soaptree yucca to stay above the moving dunes. Late April brings forth the big, cream-colored blooms on stalks of this yucca. Since American Indians used the majority of the plant’s parts, the yucca serves as a sort of “store in the desert. The tender flower stems are a good source of vitamin C. Like a potato, the flower pods can be roasted or boiled. The leaf fibers were used to create coarse textile, sandals, baskets, matting, rope, and other items. For the purpose of making soap to wash hair, blankets, and carpets, the roots were cut and cooked.
The Torrey yucca is a perennial evergreen that can grow up to 310 feet tall, while it typically grows to a height of 20 feet. The trunk frequently has branches. On the upper part of the stem, the flower head can reach a height of two feet. The bell-shaped, 23-inch-long, creamy-white or purple-tinged flowers bloom from March to May. The rigid, straight leaves with an 11/2 to 2 inch long, pointed spine at the end. The leaves are 2 to 4 1/2 feet long. Around the stem, the leaves extend outward. This plant serves as a nesting location for roadrunners and great horned owls.
Native Americans dried and ground the pulpy fruits of this and allied shrubby species into meal for use in the winter. They also ate the fruits raw or roasted. Ropes, mats, sandals, baskets, and textiles were all manufactured from the coarse fibers of the long leaves.
Succulents—does Costco carry them?
Succulents are always a good idea, especially if you don’t have a green thumb. The low-maintenance plants come in a huge variety of forms and hues, such as bear paw succulents, mermaid succulents, and pink rose succulents. Well, Costco has what you need if you want to expand your collection of succulent plants. Succulent 3-packs with the cutest planters are available from the wholesaler.
What are the succulents at Ace Hardware priced at?
another Davis resident Sue, whose garden I visited a month ago, gave me a call yesterday to inform me that our neighborhood Ace Hardware store had received a fresh shipment of succulents. Naturally, I had to see for myself, and I have to admit that these plants are attractive and diverse.
Our neighborhood Ace Hardware store purchases its succulents from Lone Pine Gardens, a tiny specialized grower in Sebastopol in Sonoma County, as opposed to big box stores like The Home Depot or Lowe’s. Their selections go far beyond the norm and frequently contain unusual, difficult-to-find plants.
Prices are quite affordable, averaging $1 per inch of pot size (plants in two pots cost $1.99, three pots cost $2.99, and four pots cost $4.29). Another key benefit is that the majority of plants come with plant tags, allowing you to know exactly what you’re purchasing.
Despite my efforts to be more cautious in my purchasing decisions—considering the number of plants I already own and the limited space I have—I couldn’t help but acquire three new additions, two of which are listed below.
Here are my most recent purchases:
If the echeverias post from yesterday whetted your appetite, I found some stunning 3 specimens at Ace:
When is the best time of year to buy succulents?
Although they enjoy the heat, succulents actually grow more slowly in the summer. It can be challenging for newcomers to water them during the intense summer heat.
Winter presents additional challenges for people who are new to cultivating succulents because the frigid temperatures can harm or even kill them.
You will discover that most places have a better selection and healthier plants if you shop for succulents in the warmer (but not the warmest) months because there is a higher turnover of them then and the supply is always fresh.
Succulents grow best in the spring and fall, so now is an excellent time to buy them. It offers you a chance to become accustomed to their care before the onset of either the extremely hot or extremely cold weather.
Succulents can be found in Albuquerque?
Numerous annual succulents thrive in this environment as well. For a brief period of time, Mesembryanthemum species (Mesembs) like Dorotheanthus put up a good show.
Cacti are they succulents?
What distinguishes a succulent from a cactus? The only plant that can survive in a hot south window, where the light shines through the glass intensified, is a cactus. Any plant that stores water in juicy leaves, stems, or roots to resist recurring droughts is considered a succulent. Some people accept non-fleshy desert plants while others exclude plants with flesh, such as epiphytic orchids (yuccas, puyas).
Cactus is merely a type of succulent that can hold moisture and is classified separately from other succulents (cacti is the plural form of cactus in Latin) (Cactaceae). On the other hand, not every succulent is a cactus. In addition to being close relatives of the pointsetta, geranium, lily, grape, amaryllis, crassula, daisy, and milkweed, succulents are members of approximately 40 botanical families that are distributed throughout the world.
The name “cactus” derives from the Greek word “kaktos,” which means “spiny plant.” The ancient Greeks used this word to describe a species that was actually an artichoke variety rather than a cactus. 2000 years later, Linnaeus, who classified plants, gave a family of plants with distinctive characteristics like thick stems that served as water reservoirs, prickly or hairy coverings, and few, if any, leaves the name Cactaceae.
Cacti are simple to spot. They rarely have leaves because they have to work so hard to stay alive. They have stems that have been altered into cylinders, pads, or joints that store water during dry spells. Skin thickness lowers evaporation. For defense against browsing animals, the majority of species have bristles or spines, but some lack them, and others have long hair or a woolly covering. Large and vibrant flowers are the norm. Fruit may be both edible and colorful.
Every cactus has leaves when it is still a seedling. Additionally, some plants briefly produce tiny leaves on their new growth each spring. The majority of cactus progressively lost their leaves as shifting climatic patterns transformed native environments into deserts, evaporating too much limited water into the dry air. They switched to storing the water that was available in their stems. To adapt the size of their evaporation surfaces to changing conditions, many may modify their shape. When moisture is abundant, ribs that resemble an accordion can extend; when there is a drought, they can contract.
The majority of succulents, such as aloes, hawthorias, crassulas, and echeveria, originated in environments with less harsh conditions than cactus, such as those with rainy seasons followed by protracted dry seasons. They all have leaves. Their leaves gradually grew fattened by water-storing tissues and covered in a waxy or horny substance that lessens evaporation from the surface to help them get through the dry spells.
From Canada, through Central America, the West Indies, and south to the chilly regions of Chile and Patagonia, the cactus (Cactaceae) family can be found (southern end of South America). The largest collection may be in Mexico, but there are also a large number in the western deserts of the United States and at higher elevations in the Cordilleras of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.
The majority of succulents are native to milder, semi-desert regions of the planet (Mexico, South Africa). Some (such as sedums and sempervivums) are native to cooler regions where they thrive on sunny, rocky ledges and slopes. Although there are many succulents around the world, not all succulents are desert plants. They can be found on mountains, in jungles, and next to bodies of water. Succulents can be found in semi-arid parts of North and South America, Asia, and Africa, but many also live in rain forests. Succulents can be found in the mountains where they can survive inclement weather, strong winds, and poor soil. Aeonium is a succulent native to Africa, the Canary and Madeira Islands; Agave is a succulent native to the Americas; Aloe is a succulent native to Africa, the Mediterranean, and Atlantic islands; Cotyledon is a succulent native to semi-arid regions of Africa; Crassula is a succulent native to mostly Africa; Dudleya is a succulent native to coastal California and Mexico; Faucaria is a succulent native to South Africa; Sempervivum: North Africa, Asia Minor, and Central and Southern Europe.