Botany Photo of the Day

In my mind, I referred to this plant as “the plant so big, it requires two photographs to capture all of it”. Not really, of course – at a height of up to 6m (20ft), it is quite possible to take a photograph with the entire desert agave in the frame. However, one has to do it from so far away that it doesn't look like much (or at least my attempts failed), considering that 5/6 of that height is the slender flower stalk. So, I'm only able to share a photograph of the inflorescence, in this case from an individual that was only 3m or so high.

Fortunately, other sites have photographs for you to examine. The Living Desert in Palm Desert / Indian Wells, California shares not only a few photographs of the rest of the plant, but also has an excellent factsheet on desert agave. The superb CalPhotos has thirty photographs of Agave deserti for you to peruse. I also love the illustrations of Agave deserti via the Flora of North America entry for the species.

On a different subject, this photograph was taken in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I note with concern that there is a movement afoot to erect a major powerline through the park.

Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photograph of Nancy Rotenberg and Michael Lustbader at Natural Tapestries. Much to admire in the photo galleries! Not only did I find the nature galleries wonderful, but I also enjoyed this series of photographs of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.