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Page 4 - Arizona II My next place to visit was the Prescott area. I should have left more time to explore this region, and collect Agave parryi var. cousei and more A. mckelveyana. Opuntia chlorotica here went up to about 5,800', and the plants were still in the 5-6' tall range. This is also where Gentry found a toothless A. parryi, but I forgot to stop and look.
A compact form of Agave chrysantha near Mayer. These plants had very nice banding, and, except for the more closely spaced teeth, looked much like the A. deserti plants that are found just miles to the west.
Driving north and east, I found A. parryi growing in lush grassy areas in open forest near Stoneman lake. This was in a rather cold area, at about 6,500'.
...lots of them!!
These nice plants are probably too large to be var. cousei.
I had to show this picture because of the toothy shadow created by the Agave!
Also in the same spot, a spiny Opuntia with very large, yellow pads. I was surprised to find something other than O. phaecantha that high up - I guess this would be a form of O. engelmanii. Then I drove towards Payson, where A. parryi is ubiquitous. Crossing the Mongollon Rim I found a lot of cool oaks.
I think this one might be Q. arizonica or Q. dunnii. I collected a few acorns from it.
I saw this small cactus around Payson; I'm not certain what species of Opuntia it is, but it somewhat resembles O. macrorhiza.
Another plant I wanted to collect, Yucca elata subsp. verdiensis. But by the time I got to where they grow near Snowflake, it was dark. The following morning I drove down towards Young, looking for the highest and most northeasterly Agave parryi and Dasylirion wheeleri I could find. I climbed up a hill by the side of the road (el. 6,150') and found both of those plants, as well as Echinocereus, Opuntia engelmanii, and (surprisingly) O. chlorotica.
Agave parryi with Opuntia chlorotica north of Young, AZ at 6,150'.
Dasylirion wheeleri in the same spot.
One of the Echinocereus that was growing with them. It is difficult to key out members of this genus to species, but this plant closely resembles E. fendleri.
Another nice Echinocereus, this may be E. engelmanii or possibly E. apachensis.
These large Nolina microcarpa also grew on the same hill.
I started to see these Opuntia imbricata a little lower down, just north of Young.
The drive south from Young was spectactular, with many nice forms of Agave parryi like this one.
Another Agave parryi south of Young.
Going south from Young, I saw Agave chrysantha which grows up to about 5,700' on south facing slopes in the Sierra Ancha Mountains. This Agave species deserves more attention than it usually gets, I think.
Gentry reports intergradation of A. chrysantha with A. parryi in this area - indeed some of the plants looked intermediate between the two. A. toumeyana subsp. bella also grows in this area, but I did not have time to go looking for it away from the road.
There is no shortage of Dasylirion wheeleri in this part of Arizona. |
