By Ann Tansey – Adromischus herrei is a succulent from South Africa (Little Namaqualand) that has a thick rootstock. It has oval-shaped leaves that are dimpled. This species varies in leaf texture color and can be red-brown or green, for example. A. herrei is a small succulent shrub …
By Chris Deem – In Morocco, near the port city of Agadir, stands a house of stone and a stone courtyard. From there, you can smell the acrid waters of the North Atlantic. In the courtyard, there is a stone path and an elaborate fountain. All of the plants there are of native origin …
By Jonathan Watt – Aeonium is a genus of succulents native to the Canary Islands. These island are located off the coast of North Africa inthe Atlantic Ocean. Aeoniums are endemic there, but have enjoyed a wide distribution because their growth habit is so unique. …
By Bob Williams – The agave is a great gift to mankind. It grows large and requires little care. This plant has a wide variety of uses: medical, as a food source and as a source of a hemplike fiber. “The agave, in short, was meat, drink, clothing and writing materials for the Aztec! Surely, never did Nature enclose in so compact a form so many of the elements of human comfort and civilization!” …
By Eric Driskill – Agaves are found in Central America, Mexico, the arid western United States and the West Indies. Members of the genus can be found growing from sea level to an elevation of more than 7,000 feet. Members of the genus Agave have been used by the …
By Chris Deem – When a star like our sun has used up its supply of hydrogen, its core will begin to shrink. Now powered by the nuclear reaction of helium as it slowly dies, it will for a while become a majestic sun, a red giant. Tonight, an agave and a scorpion continue on separate …
By Pam Schnebelen – Most agaves are from Mexico, but their native range includes parts of the southern and western United States, and dips into central and tropical South America. They are cultivated in warm areas around the world as sources of food, fiber, alcohol and medicine. …
By Sheri McCann – I was pleased to go home with the February plant specimen, Agave attenuata. It is a species of agave from the family of Asparagaceae. It is also called the lion’s tail, swan’s neck or foxtail because of its curved stem, which is unusual among agaves. …
Text and Photos By Jerry Dultz – My husband, Gene, and I were recipients of the August meeting attendance prize plant – Agave macroacanthus, blue. It is now transplanted on our front porch. My history with the family Asparagaceae isn’t the best. It begins with yuccas. Over 25 years ago, yuccas were taking over what I called my prickly pear garden. It was years before I would learn …
By Debra Gerber – Agave macroantha, aka black-spined agave, originates in the south-central Mexican states of Oaxaca and Puebla. Its native habitat is a rocky, arid and semi-tropical setting. With a winter hardiness of 20 to 25 degrees F, it thrives as a landscape planting in U.S. …