Re: Southern Mexico Plants in bloom
- To: Peter and Margaret Moir
- Subject: Re: Southern Mexico Plants in bloom
- From: d* f*
- Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 16:53:52 -0800 (PST)
--- Peter and Margaret Moir <olivehill@wn.com.au>
wrote:
> 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
Margaret,
Most of Mexico is dry in the winter months, and the
weather is generally cooler, and the mountainous
southern parts can even get frost occasionally, when a
severe cold front pushes all the way down past the
USA. Apparently that is what is happening at the
moment, as it has definitely gotten cooler these past
two days, and is even raining unseasonably in Oaxaca.
Here in Orizaba where I am at the moment, it generally
can rain all year round, as the weather is more
influenced by the Gulf of Mexico weather, but it is
also generally drier this time of year. The real
rains here come in summer; June, July and August on
into September. The hottest months tend to be either
just before the end of the dry season, or again at the
end of the wet season. I guess the easiest way to
think of it is that it is almost exactly opposite a
mediterranean climate. Given that this is the case,
it is interesting to see so many of the same plants
doing equally well in both climates, Jacaranda and
Chorisia being two examples. Another small tree that
looks quite abit like a Plumeria when not in leaf is
Senecia praecox, which is also called Palo Loco here,
because trees side by side can have some in bloom,
some in leaf without bloom, and others without leaves
or blooms. The canary yellow blooms really stand out
in the dry scrub thorn forests where you see them.
Another visually stunning small tree is the White Tree
Morning Glory/Ipomoea arboreus, which can also exhibit
the same behavior as Palo Loco(Crazy Tree). The ruins
at Monte Alban are named for this tree, and I wish I
lived in Los Angeles and could grow this one, as it is
simply stunning, and very well adapted to warmer
mediterranean climates...
> ----- 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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>
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