DianaT
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One of Nature's
very interesting and uniquely designed seed pods.
[Edited on 7-20-2012 by DianaT]
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Ken Bondy
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You have the BEST eye!! Very nice!!
carpe diem!
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Bondy
You have the BEST eye!! Very nice!! |
And you my friend, are far too kind! 
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bacquito
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Great photo!
bacquito
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DianaT
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Bacquito,
Thank you very much.
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Osprey
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D, just in case you don't know the legend of the Devil's claw:
They say the plant planned that unique torture devise, that diabolical manacle in such a fashion as to become a permanent bracelet just above the hoof
of a cow. The legend says the dagger sharp points wear puncture wounds in that unprotected tissue, cause infection that leads to incapacity and
sometimes death of the animal.
As the carcass of the cow decomposes, the seed pod spills open its cargo which grows anew in natures richest compost. Forgive me if I'm covering old
ground for you.
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woody with a view
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i never heard that one! thanks for the lesson!!!
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BajaBlanca
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neat pic !
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
D, just in case you don't know the legend of the Devil's claw:
They say the plant planned that unique torture devise, that diabolical manacle in such a fashion as to become a permanent bracelet just above the hoof
of a cow. The legend says the dagger sharp points wear puncture wounds in that unprotected tissue, cause infection that leads to incapacity and
sometimes death of the animal.
As the carcass of the cow decomposes, the seed pod spills open its cargo which grows anew in natures richest compost. Forgive me if I'm covering old
ground for you. |
I really like that story---that is great. Thanks for sharing it. The only thing I had been told about these from our plant researcher friend is that
they have been around for a very, very long time and were designed for very large hoofs of the large land roaming animals that are not extinct.
But the story is much for interesting.
[Edited on 6-24-2012 by DianaT]
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woody with a view
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that thing reminds me of a thorn that grows along beach in Pto Escondido, Oaxaca. the Nahuatl word for this area was Zicatela, meaning “place of large
thorns." nobody knew about these back then, so we'd be sprinting across the 350 degree sand as it melted the skin off our soles and then land on one
of those evil thorns that were shaped like a peace sign with 2 inch daggers on the 3 points.
they weren't everywhere, but there were enough to make you cringe as you started running. kinda like the sea snakes down there, but that's another
story....
[Edited on 6-24-2012 by woody with a view]
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
that thing reminds me of a thorn that grows along beach in Pto Escondido, Oaxaca. the Nahuatl word for this area was Zicatela, meaning “place of large
thorns." nobody knew about these back then, so we'd be sprinting across the 350 degree sand as it melted the skin off our soles and then land on one
of those evil thorns that were shaped like a peace sign with 2 inch daggers on the 3 points.
they weren't everywhere, but there were enough to make you cringe as you started running. kinda like the sea snakes down there, but that's another
story....
[Edited on 6-24-2012 by woody with a view] |
I would like to see a picture of one of those---they sound vicious!
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captkw
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plant things
HOLA,I can atest to fact that they grab your ankles because I have had to pick them off many,many times in BCS
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Mexitron
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Beautiful Diane! The plant's name is Proboscidea parviflora, related to trumpet vines and penstemons.
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ecomujeres
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Wonderful photo Diana. One of my favorite plants (in a very long list ). On
my forays in washes, I've often looked down to see what was catching in my boot laces, only to find a fruit or two caught in them. I have noticed that
the fruits act like tumbleweeds as well -- I've found a number of times large concentrations of the fruit, obviously blown up against an obstacle
(like a bush or a small dune formed around a clump of grass).
Seed dispersal is cool. As the fruit progressively splits open, it releases its seeds over a period of time but a number of seeds are held tightly
deep down in the cleft and aren't liberated until much later, like the plant is hedging its bets and giving an animal or the wind time to transport
its seeds far away and perhaps save them for better germinating conditions. The seeds are camouflaged, and look like tiny bits of charcoal or bark.
Mexitron: for the area around Asuncion the species would be Proboscidea althaeifolia. Some very current refs have it still in the Unicorn Plant
family, Martyniaceae, while others want to place it in the Sesame family (Pediliaceae)
Wiggins and a flora list for Vizcaino Biosphere reserve have that species present in the area. The refs have P. parviflora occuring much farther
north and extensively in mainland Mexico and AZ +, though I have collected a variety of it in the Comondu area.
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DianaT
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Debra,
Somehow I missed your explanation---thanks it is interesting to read about the seed dispersal and you and Mexitron can decided parviflora or
althaeifolia, I will stick with the simple name of Devil's claw. 
This one was in the Santa Clara mountains.
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ecomujeres
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Diana: did you by chance go to the Sierra Santa Clara with Chris and a group of others (Alan, Sula) recently?
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ecomujeres
Diana: did you by chance go to the Sierra Santa Clara with Chris and a group of others (Alan, Sula) recently? |
Nope, but we sure enjoyed the group when they were in BA --- great people.
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rts551
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ecomujeres
Diana: did you by chance go to the Sierra Santa Clara with Chris and a group of others (Alan, Sula) recently? |
One of the group flew into Punta Abreojos--lost. But that is another story
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by rts551
| Quote: | Originally posted by ecomujeres
Diana: did you by chance go to the Sierra Santa Clara with Chris and a group of others (Alan, Sula) recently? |
One of the group flew into Punta Abreojos--lost. But that is another story |
Glad you were there!
[Edited on 7-5-2012 by DianaT]
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Neal Johns
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Devil's Claw is used by many Native American tribes for the black in woven baskets.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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