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Beaucarnea gracilis
They are called Elephant legs because the base of these trees look like one. I found some very old and large individuals, some of them 800 years old. See the last photo for scale. They are desert plants, they store water on the base of the trunk and the leaves are very slender to avoid evaporation.
Biosphere Reserve Theuacan - Cuautitlan in the Zapotitlan Basin.
Spotted on Jan 30, 2015
Submitted on Feb 23, 2015
16 Comments
Thank you Mark and armadeus
Thank you Daniele for the honor.
Magnificent! I'm reminded of the Boabs here in the Kimberley. Thank you for sharing this lovely series Luis :)
...wow it's an Asparagus!!
Ooh almost missed this gem. Great tree and series Luis. Congrats.
Congratulations Luis! Your spotting has been chosen for Project Noah Fact of the Day: "Xerophytes (from the Greek “xeros”, meaning dry, and “phuton”, meaning plant) are plants which have adapted to life in a dry environment, such as desert. Xerophytic plants tend to have similar shapes and structures, all aimed at conserving water. The spectacular Beaucarnea shown below has an enlarged tree trunk for water storage, and narrow leaves to decrease water loss through evaporation. Plants with xerophytic adaptation are also found in alpine and arctic environments, where water is unavailable during periods of frost.
Elephant Leg (Beaucarnea gracilis) spotted in Oaxaca, Mexico, by Project Noah user LuisStevens".
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...
Indeed Dan.
Awesome!
There are thousands of them Lauren.
Amazing Luis! I´ve never seen these! Can´t believe it is found in Oaxaca!
Thank you Neil, I was really impressed when I saw them. They are truly living monuments.
Wow. Great spotting, Luis. I've never seen these before. Not dissimilar to the boabs of Aust. and baobabs of Africa. Different family, but your spotting is no less impressive. 800 yrs is amazing.
Si Nacho, son muy especiales.
Sorprendente, como si fuese vegetacion de otro mundo!
They really are Ava, and there were hundreds of them.
Spectacular!