Foliage Follow-up - 1/12

I wasn't going to post this time. But once I heard a soft rain falling on the skylights, and took in that incredible scent outside, my mood changed. Enjoy a rarity: rain drops on plants (though not all is foliage).

Blackspine Prickly Pear / Opuntia macrocentra:

"Cristiani Spineless" Prickly Pear / Opuntia -----, ala Dave Ferguson. But not all things considered "spineless" are harmless:

This cactus has vicious glochids, and this Cristiani is 1/2 Sicilian:-) But that's all for the spiky plants...

Green Mormon Tea / Ephedra viridis:

The moisture rolled right off of those green stems; a number of plants here did that, for whatever reason.

Speaking of moisture (.05" of rain), I'm glad we have 40's and higher humidity. The foothills are nicely washed off, rejoicing:

Did I say "that's all for spiky plants"? Of course there's more! And they look as good with rain drops on them as snow.

Desert Prickly Pear / Opuntia engelmannii selection from large-padded ones common between T or C and Socorro:

Most pads are 10-14" in size. Unprotected, these took last winter better than many O. engelmannii native right nearby. Weird!

Beargrass / Nolina texana:

Texas Sotol / Dasylirion texanum:

Or is that Desert Candle / Dasylirion leiophyllum? Not sure where the grower collected the seed, so it's your call!

Blue or Gray Sotol / Dasylirion wheeleri:

That is quite a favorite, tough plant for landscapes, Abq area to El Paso, and many other Desert SW cities. It is native to rocky hills in central NM, then deep into northern Mexico.

Others call it Desert Spoon, and some scientific publications call it Wheeler's Sotol. Though some scientists are quite stodgy and rather unteachable, others are not. And the few Wheelers I've known have always been fun and interesting people!

And of course, there's a alcohol distilled from this sotol! It's the state drink of Chihuahua, New Mexico's neighboring state across the border; I'm told that Dasylirion wheeleri is most common one used.

Big Bend Agave / Agave havardiana:

 

Beaked Yucca / Yucca rostrata:

A side note. Some of the foliage above, adorned with rain drops, has a bluish or grayish cast. That's a mechanism to help conserve moisture, which many plants have, where clouds, rain, and humidity are rare.

The latter is why I posted today!

And also because Pam digs foliage - here