Thanks. Wish I could go and see it. Dee On Fri, Mar 13, 2020 at 9:22 AM <vkmyrick@pacbell.net> wrote: > Was there a photo included in the email? I couldn’t find it. Val Myrick, > Sonora, CA > > > On Mar 11, 2020, at 8:30 PM, oooOIOooo via pbs < > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > > Today I saw an enormous mass flowering of Hesperocallis undulata along > Interstate 10 in eastern California, west of Blythe. There are hundreds of > thousands of plants in synchronous flowering. Ford Dry Lake is north of the > highway in this map view: > > > > https://wego.here.com//… > > > > The site is between Desert Center and Blythe, about halfway between Los > Angeles and Phoenix. It is about 3-4 hours from Los Angeles and 2 1/2 from > Phoenix. The Beehive Ditch, crossed by I-10 and signed, was approximately > the center of the population. There is a sign for an exit to Ford Dry Lake > for hiking. It would be an easy day trip this weekend for people in metro > southern California or Phoenix. > > > > The highway cuts across a gentle sandy slope from the higher south down > to the dry lake to the north. The plants are growing all along this slope. > There are fewer on the south (higher) side of the highway; quite a few in > the very wide median between the northbound and southbound lanes; and a > very large number to the south of the highway, growing as far as my vision > permitted me to see. I did not stop so I don't know how close they grow to > the salty dry lakebed. In some areas the plants are separated by 2-3 meters > in either direction, and in other areas there are at least 10 plants in an > area of about 3 square meters. I would estimate there are hundreds of > thousands of plants flowering, maybe more if the plants grow all around the > dry lake. > > > > The population extended for close to ten miles along the highway. To the > east, the population gradually thinned out, but to the west, the terrain > rises, and the plants stopped abruptly. > > > > This plant has a vertical spike with sessile white flowers arranged in a > spiral, rising from a sparse rosette of narrow, smallish, grayish green, > thick and wavy leaves. They appeared to be close to a meter tall. Most > plants had one inflorescence, but many had 2, 3 or even 4 inflorescences. > All seemed to be at the same stage of flowering. The bottom few flowers had > finished and the next rank of flowers above this was open. I don't know how > long an inflorescence of this lasts, but they probably opened within the > last few days to one week. > > > > I have driven past this spot many hundreds of times in the past 40 > years, at all seasons. I have never seen even one spike of this plant here. > I didn't even know it is here. In Arizona it occurs sporadically in desert > washes, or immediately adjacent to them. There are rarely more than a dozen > plants in one area. The vast number of plants was an immense surprise. > > > > Last winter/spring this area had more rain than this year, and the > general flower display was even better. But there were no Hesperocallis > last year. There are trails at Ford Dry Lake, and a weather station visible > from the highway. I will try to look up the weather data. I wanted to post > this as soon as possible. > > > > The climate here is almost as hot as central Arizona in summer, and can > get near freezing in winter. Rain is sparse on average and very erratic, > mostly falling in winter. Summer rain is rare but can be torrential. A few > years back the eastbound bridge over the Tex Wash just west of here was > washed out during a summer thunderstorm, causing severe traffic problems > for months. > > > > Graduate students reading: Go camping this weekend! This is a great > opportunity to get data for papers on pollinator studies, flower studies, > and a chance to return over the next few weeks to study seed development. I > don't think much is known about the pollinators of this plant. > > > > Now speaking as a gardener, I have tried many times with seed from many > sources to sprout this plant, always unsuccessfully. If the plants flower > now, the seed will ripen during a very hot time of year. The seed is flat > and black, like many Agave, Albuca, Hippeastrum and Yucca. There may not be > any rain this summer, and even if there is, it will be sparse, and > evaporate rapidly. When do these seeds sprout? There is little chance of > plentiful water until next winter. Do they lie on the surface of the soil > until then? Or do seeds expect a fair amount of summer water? Is this an > ancient population stranded as the climate warmed and dried? The Sonoran > Desert has had repeated warming and cooling cycles since the last Ice Age, > with regions alternating between hot, dry desert and cooler, moister > juniper savannah. However, now this plant is only found in the low desert. > > > > I am not familiar with DNA work done with the plant, but... given its > habitat, spike inflorescence, succulent gray-green sessile white > short-tubed flower, and rosette of succulent long leaves, I wonder whether > it's really an Agave? > > > > I will try to return this weekend, and in the future, with a camera. > > > > Leo Martin > > Phoenix Arizona USA > > Zone 9? > > > > Sent with [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com/) Secure Email. > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…