Now, here's a real waste...the stately agave (not the blue agave where we get tequila)...this one sat in our front yard for the last 14 years and was fairly large when we bought the place. It sat there all those years quietly turning C02 into 02 and sheltering lizards. Then in the first couple days of April, my wife linda noticed unfolding events..so I started snapping pics every few days:
day 1
day 3
day 6
day 14
day 21
day 28 (note height next to that 8 ft 2x4!)
day 40
finally started to get interesting!:
and by day 45, it started to put out 'arms' of flowers:
..and the saga continuess...it will put out several yellow flowers, candelabra-style:...then it will die...little wonder, given all the energy the thing put into putting up that stalk, which I estimate at over 20 ft, given the relative height to that 8 ft 2.4! Seems Mother Nature could have just informed this poor plant that it only needed to put those flowers up about a foot..then go on living...
It says on the 'net that at least certain of the agave are pollenated by bats...possibly, Nature is using an approach similar to that used by some to receive airmail?
Last edited by john elder on Mon May 26, 2008 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yep...it will finish with those flowerings, hopefully get fertilized...then turn brown and fall over...when you consider the number of ATPs burned in making that stock in that short of a time, you can imagine there can't be much energy left to keep going. i'll keep posting as things move along.
Well, the beast is still spreading his wings on July 1, 90 or so days after this saga started!
I had thought the flowers had come out about as much as they were going to...hard to see what's up when it's 20+ ft above your head. From the looks of things, there's still more opening to come!
Ah what a joy this nostalgia thing Steve! The first time I have heard or seen the words "recapitulation" and "phylogenetic" used in a sentence since a bio class I had a hundred years ago. De ja vu all over again huh?
Bad Bob
Well, it has now been 4 months...if memory serves (yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen!), momma cat would be having her kittens by now. As you can see, our agave flowers at the bottom, which matured first, are now dying and the blooms...along with the bees and the hummingbirds..have proceeded to the top. Not sure what the evolutionary advantage is in doing it that way, but that's what happened:
Aha! Lots happened with a little sun today...everybody got pregnant!
Looks like almost every flower on that plant has gotten pollenated...the seeds get dispersed because the stamens turn into "helicopter blades" that send the seeds spinning as they leave the plant...no wonder there's so many of those plants all over San Diego County!
Soooo, I guess at the end of the day, having a 20 ft stalk increases the dispersal area for the seeds, eh?!
the large flower spike of Agave chiapensisFour major parts of the agave are edible: the flowers, the leaves, the stalks or basal rosettes, and the sap (called aguamiel—honey water). (Davidson 1999)
Each agave plant will produce several pounds of edible flowers during the summer.
The leaves may be collected in winter and spring, when the plants are rich in sap, for eating.
The stalks, which are ready during the summer, before the blossom, weigh several pounds each. Roasted, they are sweet, like molasses.
During the development of the inflorescence there is a rush of sap to the base of the young flower stalk. In the case of A. americana and other species, this is used in Mexico and Mesoamerica in the production of the beverage pulque.
The flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By distillation, a spirit called mezcal is prepared; one of the most well-known forms of mezcal is tequila. In 2001 the Mexican Government and European Union agreed the classification of tequila and its categories. 100% Blue Agave Tequila must be made from the Weber Blue Agave plant, to rigorous specifications and only in certain Mexican states.
The leaves of several species yield fiber: for instance, Agave rigida var. sisalana, Sisal hemp, Agave decipiens, False Sisal Hemp. Agave americana is the source of pita fiber and is used as a fiber plant in Mexico, the West Indies and southern Europe.
When dried and cut in slices, the flowering stem forms natural razor strops, and the expressed juice of the leaves will lather in water like soap.
The Natives of Mexico used the agave to make pens, nails and needles, as well as string to sew and make weavings. In India the plant is extensively used for hedges along railroads.
Agave syrup (also called agave nectar) is used as an alternative to sugar in cooking.
When dried out, the stalks can be used to make didgeridoos.
Hey John, let me know when you want to make some didgeridoos. While we are at it, my doctor told me in addition to my regular meds some hemp would be a good supplement if smoked. I would offer to make you a nice weaved sweater, but I am kind of busy trying to figure out what a didgeridoos is...Richard
