Re: Southern Mexico Plants in bloom
David, I guess that Mexico's dry season is their cold season....... is that
right?
Margaret.
Margaret and Peter Moir
Olive Hill Farm
Margaret River, Western Australia.
www.wn.com.au/olivehill
----- Original Message -----
From: david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com>
To: <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 5:56 AM
Subject: Re: Southern Mexico Plants in bloom
> Hello all,
>
> Just thought Iwould share a few highlights of my
> current trip in the states of Vera Cruz,Chiapas and
> Oaxaca, Mexico. This season is about two to three
> months into their dry season, and is still abundantly
> in bloom, compared to chilly and wet San Francisco!
> The range of micro climates here is simply incredible,
> and many plants seem to be locally endemic, often in
> quite restricted areas. The diversity of Tillandsias
> alone in small pockets is quite amazing, with many
> being restricted to just local outcrops of rock.
>
> In the drier deciduous scrub forests that abound on
> southern Mexicoīs west coast, the Tabebuia chrysocarpa
> and T. rosea are in full bloom, as is Cocholspermum,
> Gliricidium(Mexican Lilac), and many vines; several
> Bignonias, Petrea volubis, a vine with papery bracts
> somewhat like a wisteria in the Nycatinacea(sp?)
> family, (sorry I donīt have my notes with me and am
> hazy on the spellings), and several species of
> Plumeria(alba?) and Jatrophas. We have also seen
> several new to me species of Caesalpinia which are
> quite showy in full bloom, but with no mature seed. I
> would love to be able to return in early March and get
> seed of all the things we saw currently blooming, but
> will have to hope that Gary Hammer does it for me!
> This has been just the trip to get over those winter
> blahs of San Francisco, and discover things about
> plants I thought I knew! It has been a revelation to
> discover that many echeverias grow epiphytically on
> trees here in cloud forest conditions, and that
> Tabebuias have to endure a 6 month dry season here,
> and grow in quite hot and dry conditions. We have
> also seen numerous shrubby Bauhinias here, (which
> arenīt in the trade), as well as things that used to
> be more common in southern California, (such as
> Combretium,(sp?), a flowering vine with grevillea like
> flowers in a double brush formation of a vivid burnt
> orange coloration.
>
> It is also interesting to see things in the wild for
> the first time, such as Plumeria alba growing with
> Palo Verde Trees and Cactus and Tillandsias, on the
> face of rock slopes in dry desert at 5000 foot
> elevations in Vera Cruz state. One of the trip
> highlights was collecting seed for a fairly hardy
> Chamaedorea plumosa palm which Gary Hammer has
> introduced into the trade, and is locally grown as a
> garden plant in a small town in Chiapas state, and
> doesnīt appearto have really caught on with palm
> growers yet, but is fully hardy in coastal California.
> We didnīt have to hike for this one, as almost every
> garden in the town had some, as the leaves are used
> for funerals...
>
> Well, that is about all for now, time to get out and
> explore the town of Oaxaca, before heading back to
> Orizaba and then on home to Berkeley...
>
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