February20_2010

Botanical Glossary - Home - References Cited

Photos - Frame left: It is fun to go and explore the area, whether it be in the back yard or into someplace you've never been before. This photo is in the back yard looking at a stack of Daniel's corn stalks. All parts of the corn is used to feed the cows - the cobs are picked when they dry out and the stalks are left standing until they also dry out before the harvest.

Frames right and center: This beauty, Agave Macrantha (Dagger-tip Agave) stands as testament to the beauty and diversity of the agave plant growing wild in El Rio Valley near Vista Hermosa. The Dagger-tip Agave has glaucous-green leaves with spines on their tips. The Latin genus name is derived from the name of the daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes.
The genus contains species of cacti with leaves that grow in rosettes. They flower only once, when very old.
Agave diverts all its energy resources into producing a very tall flowering stalk of creamy-yellow flowers, at the expense of its life. After the flowers have finished blooming, the plant withers and dies.

Photos - Frames left and right: A Stenocerus (Organpipe Cactus) Stenocereus is a genus of columnar cacti from southwestern USA, down through Mexico. Some species are low rambling species, while some are large and erect. The genus now contains species that used to be classified in the genera Hertrichocereus and Lemaireocereus. The genus Pachycereus is also sometimes included. A generally large treelike, columnar Cactus reported to contain mescaline and sterols. Native from the Baha desert to Haiti depending on the species, 3-4-dimethoxyphenethylamine (.01%), 4-hydroxy-3-5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (.01%) . Protect from frost, not cold tolerant.

Center frame: Chained to a peg on the hillside so he won't wander away, this Equus Assinus (Donkey, Burro) The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of priority used for scientific names of animals. However, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature has ruled in 2003 that if the domestic species and the wild species are considered subspecies of each other, the scientific name of the wild species has priority, even when that subspecies has been described after the domestic subspecies. This means that the proper scientific name for the donkey is Equus africanus asinus when it is considered a subspecies, and Equus asinus when it is considered a species.

Photos - Frames left and center: Agave Americana (Century Plant) in the wild. The Agave in center frame has a young flower spike that will blossom soon. The natives sometimes cut the flower spike to use as building materials or for the medicinal properties.

Frame right: A very young, very green Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) outside a rusty sheet metal shack in the village of Vista Hermosa. When ripe and the outer skin splits revealing the inner fruit nodes is the best time to eat this fruit.

Sap, when decocted from the bark contains an alkaloid similar to Hemlock, and is used for the expulsion of tapeworm. The decoction is taken, followed by a purgative such as castor oil or olive oil. The fruit of the pomegranate also has medicinal properties. The rind, when dried has astringent properties and is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery.

The 'Pomegranate' has traditionally been regarded as a symbol of fertility. In India, the pomegranate is upheld for its sacred value. The leaves or flowers are offered to Lord Ganapati, Lord Satyanarayana and Lord Samba on Shree Sankastha Vrata and Nitya Somavara Vrata respectively.

Click here for more photos of Oaxaca Mexico for this day.