March10_2010

Botanical Glossary - Home - References Cited

Photos - L-R - A section of Irrigation Canal with a gate on it to divert water to a farm on the hillside - looking southwest along El Rio Valley.

A Dasylirion plant with a relatively young flower spike growing. These spikes usually measure a good dozen or so feet in height before blossoming. Dasylirion Wheeleri (Desert Spoon or Common Sotol) growing in front. The Dasylirion is a flowering plant native to arid environments of northern Mexico, in Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern United States, in Arizona, New Mexico and in Texas all the way east to the edge of the Southwest in Austin. It is a moderate to slow-growing evergreen shrub with a single unbranched trunk up to 40 cm thick growing to 1.5 m tall, though often recumbent on the ground. The leaf blade is slender, 35-100 cm long, gray-green, with a toothed margin. The leaves radiate from the center of the plant's apex in all directions-(spherical). The flowering stem grows above the foliage, to a height of 5 m tall, and 3-6 cm diameter. The stem is topped by a long plume of straw-colored small flowers about 2.5 cm long with six sepals. The color of the flower determinate the gender of the plant, being mostly white colored for males and purple-pink for females plants. The fruit is an oval dry capsule 5-8 mm long, containing a single seed.

A small flood runoff bridge designed to divert cascading runoff water from the hill above so it won't damage the irrigation canal - you can see the gully starting behind and the the left, leading up the hill to the shoulder of Mount Picacho. During monsoon season, the water will will rush down in torrents and try to undercut anything in its path.

Photos - The first canal bridge is a pipe strung between two cement pylons - This bridge is about half way between San Sebastian and the Powerplant (irrigation canal diversion/branch) east along the El Rio Canal.

Photos - Frames left and right: Looking east along El Rio Valley and the irrigation canal nearing sunset time. If you look closely at frame right, in the center of the frame, you will see one of the cement pylons shown in the above row of photos.

Tillandsia Brachyphylla (Airplant) on the branch of a tree. The Tillandsia family contains the greatest number of species in all the genera. They are widely found through Texas, Mexico, Central America and South America. They are primarily epiphytic (not needing soil to grow in) and only a few species are terrestrial. In desert areas where there is no rain, some plants are designed to glean moisture from fog patches, while other species can be found growing on powerlines or tree branches in rainy areas. Some species grow best at high altitudes, while others thrive at sea level. The flower shapes and colors of the Tillandsia range from bright and colorful to exquisite or gaudy. Leaves can be wide, narrow, bayonet-like, woody or succulent.

Click here for more photos of Vista Hermosa, El Rio Valley for this day.