BajaNomad - Century Cactus and El Nino

Century Cactus and El Nino

BajaTed - 10-12-2015 at 08:50 AM

The giant flower stalks on the Century Cactus in North Baja are starting to sprout 3 and 4 flower stalks @ once :?:

, never seen that before. I think the cactus know El Nino is coming to Baja

BTW, the most spectacular sunset on Sat. I was waiting for my green flash and got a light show that reminded me of the 70's

durrelllrobert - 10-12-2015 at 12:25 PM

Last year I had two blooming at the same time here in Punta Banda.They reached more than 12 feet before the plants died. This year I have anothere starting to grow at a rate of 6 to 8 inches a day.

David K - 10-12-2015 at 05:56 PM

Bob, I hope you don't mind, but the hurts my neck! LOL

Click on your photo on Photobucket, and then click on Edit to orient the photo and snaz it up too...

BajaRat - 10-12-2015 at 09:52 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaTed

The giant flower stalks on the Century Cactus in North Baja are starting to sprout 3 and 4 flower stalks @ once :?:

Probably just Fucushima fall out to blame

bajabuddha - 10-13-2015 at 04:22 AM

They are incredibly beautiful cact OOPS !!! I mean AGAVE, for the botanically sensitive..)

, but man, what a pain they can be... we have tons (literally) in this area for landscaping, and when they do finally bloom it's the end of the line for the plant. Those trunks are very dense, wet and heavy, and are designed by nature to fall over to spread their offspring around; but when they do fall, fences or anything in their way is subject to a rude awakening. The carcass of the plant and its' stalk are huge and difficult to discard; I'm talking chainsaw here. I had a neighbor who, to save our mutual fence, tied a rope to the stalk of his and pulled it over with his pick-em-up truck; he learned the hard way to use a longer line next time; put quite a dent in the roof of his pride and joy.

Love to see 'em....... in other people's yards. :biggrin:

[Edited on 10-14-2015 by bajabuddha]

wessongroup - 10-14-2015 at 09:32 AM

"6 to 8 inches a day."

Not bad

Brings meaning to "watching it grow"

Plants are an interesting bunch ... since they can't move for necessities ... the ocean is an exception

BornFisher - 10-14-2015 at 09:43 AM

It`s not a "cacti". It`s an agave!!!!

BajaBlanca - 10-14-2015 at 08:56 PM

with the blue sky background -truly spectacular photo!

dtbushpilot - 10-14-2015 at 08:59 PM

Great photo, they look like giant asparagus before they bloom...

bajabuddha - 10-14-2015 at 09:15 PM

After researching my mistake, I noticed they are actually semi-related to the asparagus family; sorta like us to Lucy....

I doubt the stalk would go well with my mayonnaise/ginger/curry dip though.... :bounce:

BornFisher - 10-14-2015 at 09:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

After researching my mistake, I noticed they are actually semi-related to the asparagus family; sorta like us to Lucy....

I doubt the stalk would go well with my mayonnaise/ginger/curry dip though.... :bounce:

Well the agave root has been a food staple for centuries with the Baja natives. They dug pits to roast the roots and probably would have enjoyed your dip along with their recipes. Heck we should try it someday!!

Whale-ista - 10-15-2015 at 11:27 AM

Great photos. I love spotting these on my travels.

Yes, they are a traditional food for humans and wildlife. And this is a good overview of difference btwn cacti and agaves.

"Agave. There are at least ten species of the genus agave (pronounced ah GAH vee) in Southwest United States. Agaves are a large group of rosette-forming succulent plants. They are usually short-stemmed, although some species can form stems up to 3 feet high. Agaves are mostly native of Mexico, though some are found wild in the United States and the West Indies.

Agaves were one of the most important plant groups for Indian tribes, second only to yuccas. They were a major source for both food and fiber. Agave fibers were used to make many needed items such as brushes, bowstrings, nets, slings, shoes, rope, and thread. Leaves were first soaked, then pounded to release their fibers. The fibers were next dried and then combed to separate the threads. Almost all parts of the agave, leaves, flower, stalk, blossoms, and seeds, can be eaten. Agave leaves were collected and roasted in pits. But uncooked, the leaves of some agave species are poison. Indians of the Chihuahuan Desert used the juice from the lechuigilla (Agave lechugilla) to poison their arrow tips.

The century plant, also called desert agave, spends most of its life as a rosette, a cluster of basal leaves. Characteristic of other agaves, its flowering is delayed. But in this case, it could be as long as thirty years - - but not even close to its erroneously labeled century. When it does flower, the stalk erupts from the center of the rosette and grows at an astonishing rate, two and one-half inches each day, until it reaches five to fifteen feet in height. The plant then blooms for several weeks and then dies. The plant's death is largely due to expending its supply of water and plant food resources to grow the flower stalk. Therefore it has to die, but not before its flowers have been pollinated and up to 65,000 seeds have been propagated.

The century plant is an enormous food and water source for desert life. During the driest months of the year, its leaves are often the only water source for many bighorn sheep. The yellow flowers that bloom May to July when few other plants flower provide nectar for hummingbirds and insects. The plant provides food for the caterpillar of giant skipper butterfly, and carpenter bees make their home by tunneling into the pithy flower stalk."

Source: www.eduscapes.com/nature/notcacti/index1.htm

bajabuddha - 10-15-2015 at 12:00 PM

Agave (US: /əˈɡɑːviː/,[1] UK: /əˈɡeɪviː/,[2] Anglo-Hispanic: /əˈɡɑːveɪ/[3]) is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies (see semelparity). Some species are known by the name century plant.[4]

In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the subfamily Agavoideae of the broadly circumscribed family Asparagaceae.[5] Some authors prefer to place it in the segregate family Agavaceae. Traditionally, it was circumscribed to be composed of about 166 species, but it is now usually understood to have about 208 species.[6]

Just a few more than you thought!! ...From Wikipedia re: Agave

wessongroup - 10-15-2015 at 01:45 PM

What "plants" give .. is amazing

and the colors in that photo are "nice"

[Edited on 10-15-2015 by wessongroup]

BornFisher - 10-15-2015 at 04:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by wessongroup

What "plants" give .. is amazing

yeah, like this agave----

Agave tequilana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tequila agave

Agave tequilana, commonly called blue agave (agave azul) or tequila agave, is an agave plant that is an important economic product of Jalisco, Mexico, due to its role as the base ingredient of tequila, a popular distilled beverage. The high production of sugars, mostly fructose, in the core of the plant is the main characteristic that makes it suitable for the preparation of alcoholic beverages.

The tequila agave is native to Jalisco, Mexico. The plant favors altitudes of more than 1,500 metres (5,000 ft) and grows in rich and sandy soils. Blue agave plants grow into large succulents, with spiky fleshy leaves, that can reach over 2 metres (7 ft) in height. Blue agaves sprout a stalk (quiote) when about five years old that can grow an additional 5 metres (16 ft); they are topped with yellow flowers.[2][3]

The stalk is cut off from commercial plants so the plant will put more energy into the heart.[4]

The flowers are pollinated by a native bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) and produce several thousand seeds per plant. The plant then dies. The shoots on commercial plants are removed when about a year old to allow the heart to grow larger. The plants are then reproduced by planting these shoots; this has led to a considerable loss of genetic diversity in cultivated blue agave.

It is rare for one kept as a houseplant to flower, but a 50-year-old blue agave in Boston grew a 30-foot (9 m) stalk requiring a hole in the greenhouse roof and flowered in the summer of 2006.[5][6]

durrelllrobert - 10-17-2015 at 11:41 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaRat

Quote: Originally posted by BajaTed

The giant flower stalks on the Century Cactus in North Baja are starting to sprout 3 and 4 flower stalks @ once :?:

Probably just Fucushima fall out to blame

Since Doug let the word Fuc*shima go through you must be special Rat.
Doesn't wpork for me.

Mexitron - 10-17-2015 at 12:32 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

They are incredibly beautiful cact OOPS !!! I mean AGAVE, for the botanically sensitive..)

[Edited on 10-14-2015 by bajabuddha]

Next time let the dead agave dry out completely. When dessicated move to an open area. Wander down to the beach and get some mussels. Place the mussels into the leaves of the agave and set it on fire. Cooks mussels perfectly, serve with butter. And no plant to haul off.

Mexitron - 10-17-2015 at 12:35 PM

We tried some agave stalk with our dinner a couple years ago, pretty good!

[Edited on 10-18-2015 by Mexitron]

bajabuddha - 10-17-2015 at 01:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Mexitron

Errrm, that's a little hard to do in Baja (southern part of), New Mexico, especially when the whole stalk is all the way across your driveway. Good idea though; would cooking a Cottontail work as well? Lots of those in the yard, and Gordoniz too.
:lol:

bajagrouper - 10-17-2015 at 03:38 PM

Where I have a place on mainland Mexico the locals wait for the center stalk to get about a foot high and cut it off at the bottom of it, roast it and eat it. Roasting brings out the natural sugars...

They then scoop out a hollow in the center and cover the cut with a piece of plywood and put a rock on top,after about a month they open it up and there is the liquid Agua Miel or Honey Water which can be consumed that way or fermented and made into Pulque..The agave produces agua miel for over a month but you have to keep the wood on top of the cut or animals will drink it at night..

Bajahowodd - 10-18-2015 at 04:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by durrelllrobert

Quote: Originally posted by BajaRat

Quote: Originally posted by BajaTed

The giant flower stalks on the Century Cactus in North Baja are starting to sprout 3 and 4 flower stalks @ once :?:

Probably just Fucushima fall out to blame

I
Since Doug let the word Fuc*shima go through you must be special Rat.
Doesn't wpork for me.

It's not Doug, but the software that edits this stuff. Just guess he wants to maintain a PG site.