Friday, December 21, 2018

Boyce Thompson Arboretum Fridays, Part 3

For today's third installment of our visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum we'll walk the Chihuahuan Desert trail...

What do you think that is in the tree? Is it a nest?

Or epiphytic growth?

There are gonna be a lot of Opuntia in this post. You've been warned.

Looks a little like a movie set, it's so perfect.

OMG! So many fruit!

Mesquite, a woody legume...

The label on this fine specimen said Palma China, Yucca filifera. Yet the Mountain States Wholesale Nursery site says Palma China is actually Yucca decipiens. Hmmm....

Agave funkiana bloom.

Agave salmiana var. ferox

Opuntia show time! This one is Opuntia streptacantha, the only one I can give a name to...

Agave time, if I got the correct label this is another A. salmiana var. ferox.

The plants look like a really thin leaved Agave, but I can't ID it.

I don't know why, but the word Organillo makes me burst out in laughter. The plants are pretty cool.

Don't you just want to hug the teddy-bear Cholla?

If we ever house shopped in the desert SW I think I'd be looking for mature Opuntia trees as much as I'd be looking at the house itself. You can transplant a large Agave or Yucca but these babies, I just don't imagine it happens.

Of course a huge Saguaro or two would be nice too. If we're dreaming.

Hey, I know that one! Agave ovatifolia.

Okay, that's it for this week's segment. Come back next Friday for the grand finale! (weeks one and two can be found here).

Weather Diary, Dec 20: Hi 56, Low 40/ Precip .11"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

20 comments:

  1. It does look like a movie set. Oh, those huge opuntias. One can always dream. A few years ago, I saw a six foot tall and wide opuntia on craigslist free to anyone who would come and dig it up. I talked with Jerry at Jungle Fever and he said that by the time it got dug and transported, it would be in many pieces and the digger would be covered with glochids so I passed.

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    1. Ya that’s pretty much what I figured, a disaster in the making.

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  2. I had no idea Opuntias got to be tree-like entities eventually; their solidity makes for appealing contrast with mesquite and palo verde. What a treat this intense sunlight is on the darkest day of the year!

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    1. I’m glad you enjoyed the sunlight, I did too! All that blue sky...

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  3. You laughed at Organillo, I thought Agave funkiana was a really good name! I don't believe I ever saw Opuntia sporting such a huge trunk. The huge Saguaro is astonishing too.

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    1. Oh you’re right, Agave funkiana is good!

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  4. It's a remarkable arboretum to be sure. Even though it was probably hot as hell, I expect you were in heaven.

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  5. I didn't know mesquite had such big beanpod thingys. Those enormous Opuntias covered in fruit are rather magnificent.

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    1. I saved a handful of mesquite pods from my in-laws old tree in Truth or Consequences, NM. They’ve got a great “rattle” to them.

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  6. I've never seen Opuntias the size of trees. Nor one loaded with so much fruit that I did not recognize what it even was until you id'd it. Spectacular plants.

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  7. We were there in April, so it's interesting to see how much further along things were for blooming. Must have been HOT out there on the Chihuahua trail! Hope to get there again this year when we visit our AZ friends.

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    1. It was, I brought an umbrella for shade, but don’t think I used it.

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  8. What a gorgeous garden. I hope I get there some day (not in the summer, though!).

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    1. Ya, about this time of year would be perfect.

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  9. I am impressed with your ability to wander around Phoenix and environs in summer. When I lived in Arizona Phoenix was visited in summer only if I had to fly somewhere, and was otherwise avoided. I had a very involved and detailed plant to visit the area in this upcoming January, but I shelved it til next fall. Boyce is on the list !

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    1. Well at least we had the place to ourselves! I do hope to go back someday when I can take some of the longer trails around the perimeter of the garden, and not fear heat-stroke.

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  10. Thank you for this. Just strolling through the photos made me feel warmer. I enjoyed all the plants, but especially the blooming Agaves.

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  11. having read so much about the Arboretum we will be sure to visit there next time we are in Phoenix-although it is likely to be summer! I think it's witches broom in that tree. Or at least what we called it in England. Merry Christmas to you, your family and all the best for the New Year.

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