ASDM: Agaves in the snow

New Year’s Day in Tucson started out with a bang: a dusting of snow in the foothills and mountains! I will never forget driving over Gates Pass that morning:

There was less snow at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM), but still enough to make a place I’m fairly familiar with look new and different.

In my previous post I showed you how the Desert Museum protects its tender cacti. This post is all about agaves—agaves in the snow. I think agaves are great at any time of year, but a coating of that white stuff from the sky makes them look extra special.

Octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana)

Octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana)

Agave colorata

Agave chrysoglossa

Agave chrysoglossa

Agave americana

Agave palmeri, a highly variable species

Agave palmeri

Agave shawii

Agave shawii subsp. goldmaniana

Agave pelona

Agave pelona

Agave parryi var. huachucensis

Agave parryi var. huachucensis

Agave parryi var. huachucensis

Agave parryi var. huachucensis

Agave parryi var. huachucensis

Agave parryi var. couesii

Bloomed out Agave murphyi

Agave zebra

Agave cerulata (not sure which subspecies)

Agave cerulata subsp. nelsonii

Agave sobria

Agave subsimplex

Agave deserti

Agave gigantensis (named after the Sierra de la Giganta in Baja California Sur)

Agave gigantensis

Agave gigantensis and teddy bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii)

Agave gigantensis

Agave gigantensis

Agave chrysantha (best guess on my part; no label)

Same agave from the other side—the snow had already melted there

Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoria-reginae)

Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoria-reginae)

Agave × arizonica, a naturally occurring hybrid between Agave chrysantha and Agave toumeyana var. bella. This a compact agave perfect for a shallow bowl like this one near the Ironwood Terraces Restaurant

Hybrid between Agave bovicornuta and Agave colorata (plant 1)

Hybrid between Agave bovicornuta and Agave colorata (plant 2)

Hybrid between Agave bovicornuta and Agave colorata (plant 2)

Agave colorata

Agave colorata

Another Agave colorata, this one getting ready to flower

Agave bovicornuta

Some of these agave species are fairly tender, such as Agave bovicornuta, Agave shawii and Agave gigantensis (all hardy to 25°F), but the low that night was around 28°F so they were fine.

UPDATE: This post lists the cold tolerance of 120 agave taxa. The same list can be accessed from the “Agave Cold Tolerance” link in the menu bar at the top of any page.

RELATED POST:

2014 Desert Trip index