Back to the UC BG at Berkeley; Deserts of the Americas

We're back to the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley and wrapping up our visit in one of my favorite parts of the garden, the Deserts of the Americas. Here's a view looking down on some of the plants, from above in the Southern Africa section...

Gorgeous agaves, yucca and cactus await, but oh, what's that at the base of the sign?

A dryland fern! Cheilanthes fendleri (Arizona)

I'm thrilled to now have a small 2" pot of this fern from Illahe Rare Plants, thanks to my friend Tim Batog who shopped the HPSO Fall PlantFest and grabbed one for me (and one for himself, of course). Yay!

Nice opuntia, "big" doesn't even seem to cover it.

I was thrilled to see this planting of Agave stricta (Mexico) was still looking good, it stands out in my memory from my previous visits (2009, 2014).

I couldn't tell from this vantage point, but it looked like perhaps one of the many had thrown up a bloom spike.

Yep! Once I made it to the other side of the planting I could see the bloom spike origin much better. 

Dasylirion leiophyllum (Mexico)

Something strange was going on in the center of this Agave parryi var. huachucensis (Arizona).

Could it be the beginnings of a bloom spike? That purple blush is odd but beautiful.

Maybe Agave filifera? (I didn't see a label)

Ferocactus glaucescens (Mexico) with Cheilanthes lindheimeri (Arizona)

Mammillaria compressa (Mexico)

Aren't they gorgeous!?

This patch of wavy agaves (labeled as Agave sp.) is another strong memory from previous visits. I believe they're Agave celsii var. albicans. I couldn't decide which photo I liked better, so you get them both.

Hechtia texensis (Mexico)

In the background is Deuterocohnia brevifolia (Argentina) and the fern is Myriopteris myriophylla (Argentina).

Have they grown over rocks? Or are they shaping themselves into these odd mounds?

My plant has bloomed but I've never managed a decent photo, this one isn't too bad.

Espostoa melanostele ssp. nana (Peru)

With moss and lichen!

Oreocereus leucotrichus (Peru)

I think these are all Puya venusta (Chile)

Cleistocactus buchtienii (Bolivia)

I love the rock they used in this part of the garden.

And this made me laugh...

I mean I know it just sort of moves itself around but...

These next few photos are from the Mexico/Central America section, first the Cloud Forest and then the Pine/Oak Woodland. Phlebodium pseudoaureum (Costa Rica)

Agave atrovirens (Mexico)

There is absolutely no way to convey how ginormous this agave is, definitely one of the largest I've ever seen.

Nolina sp. (Mexico)

And more Agave sp. (Mexico). Wow... it was so good to get back to this garden again.

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