Nolina erumpens, the foothill beargrass,[2] mesa sacahuista,[3] or sand beargrass, is a member of the subfamily Nolinaceae of family Asparagaceae, native to New Mexico, Texas and adjacent regions of north Mexico.[1]

Description

The 2-2.6 feet long, 0.8 inch wide longitudinally grooved leaves of N. erumpens grow in wide tufts, and are sharp and serrated on the margins with loose-hanging filament-like appendages. The inflorescences are club shaped and rarely grow longer than the leaves, and bear numerous tiny, cream-colored flowers.[3] The plant flowers in the late spring and early summer and the flowers attract ants, wasps and bees.[4] Fruit is capsule-shaped and thin-walled.[4]

Cultivation

Nolina erumpens is extremely rare in amateur private collections but may be found in some botanical gardens among collections of succulent plants.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Nolina erumpens". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 416, 418, Mesa sacahuista, Nolina erumpens (Torrey) S. Watson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 14: 248. 1879.
  4. ^ a b Morey, Roy (2008). Little Big Bend : Common, Uncommon, and Rare Plants of Big Bend National Park. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. p. 39. ISBN 9780896726130. OCLC 80359503.
  5. ^ Complete Encyclopedia of Succulents by Zdenek Jezek and Libor Kunte