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Bizarre giant tree, native to Baja California's slice of the Sonoran Desert, often found with the massive cardón cactus. Known as a cirio here where it's from; the word refers to a candle used in religious ceremonies. Also a couple of populations in the state of Sonora.

Populations on the peninsula range from just southeast of San Quintín (30.4°N) to just northwest of Santa Rosalía (27.5°N), at elevations from near sea level to nearly 1500m. This hyperarid region receives highly variable precipitation, varying from 0 to 20 inches a year historically over the plant's range, typically maxing out as a result of hurricanes which may hit this area in the late summer and also blow down a fair number of trees. Winter rainfall contributes a significant amount as well.

Looks like an inverted carrot, sometimes with high branches in the trunk. Double or triple trunks, or branching at almost any height may also occur, especially after damage to the main stem, which is studded with short lateral branches that carry the leaves, and then spines (which are the hard remnant that's left when the first leaves fall). Individual plants may live to 300-400 years. Plants in habitat over 1m may grow an average of 2 inches a year. White flowers appear at the end of the short lateral branches at the apex once the plant is a decade or more old, giving mature plants a candle-like appearance from a distance when in bloom.

Enjoys lots of sun at a relatively young age and appreciates regular water during the winter and spring when it's in leaf. Drought and/or summer-deciduous, approaching dormant... do not (over)water at this time.

Grows very different in a pot compared to the ground. Natural bonsais in habitat (growing in cracks in the rock or other small spaces) have the same squat, chunky look when their roots are confined. These plants colonize pure mineral substrates in nature and can grow to impressive proportions from a crack in a boulder, presumably over many decades.

Deceptively large, tough, multistemmed aloe with outstanding torch-like flowers in late fall to winter. Very easy to propagate: stick a cutting in the ground, water every 2 weeks, and voila, flowers next season. Will turn funky colors when stressed, often a striking purple while rooting or during drought stress. Requires lots of space or lots of pruning to do well, though it does tolerate confined spaces (still, be prepared to prune). Tends to dominate hybrids, in both habit and flowers.

Very common locally and often a host for the aloe mite during flowering season (cut & trash affected inflorescences immediately).

Like the normal, non-variegated Agave applanata, this is a dimorphic plant. The dwarf juvenile form is flat. After several years it transitions to a medium-sized, erect and well-armed adult.

Longer, greener leaves (particularly in the juvenile form) are a sign of low light. This agave enjoys day-long sun as an adult in our cool coastal climate. It offsets profusely as a juvenile (thus the number of very young plants out there). Propagation is from offsets, not from seed. Slow growing when small.

To get this plant up to landscape size, remove offsets as soon as they appear, provide strong light, and do not allow pot size to limit growth.

This plant is available in the trade under a variety of names, including A. patonii variegata, which it is not (patonii is an old name for parryi).

Large single-stemmed tree aloe to 4-6m tall with outstanding secund flowers (mostly pointing one direction, up, rather than all around the flower stalk) on a multi branched inflorescence in winter. The racemes typically sweep sideways. One of the largest plants of this type, usually with lots of spines on the leaves. Easily confused with Aloe ferox, especially when small, but simple enough to tell apart once it flowers. Very tolerant of drought conditions and poor soil.

Massive, fast-growing, drought-tolerant succulent tree Euphorbia from southeastern Africa. Easy to start from cuttings, also grows well from seed. Think twice about putting it in the ground where space is limited, near structures which may be damaged by falling branches, or where safety is an issue (eg. lots of foot traffic, kids & pets). Old plants may reach 30 feet or more tall.

Here in the mild climate of coastal Baja California, this plant tends to do a little too well, even without supplemental irrigation. As a result of this exuberance it becomes top-heavy and drops branches, requiring attention and cleanup after storms. If you spoil the plant, this problem only gets worse. On the up side, there are always abundant cuttings around to start new plants.

Exercise caution when pruning or handling this plant. Wear gloves and use eye protection when sawing or cutting. Like other Euphorbias this plant contains a fairly noxious sap. Some people seem immune to it, others can develop a nasty rash, especially when the skin is broken. The spines of this plant are not much of a threat on their own, but can be fairly dangerous combined with fresh sap.

Also a well-behaved container plant, will need to be periodically restarted. Flowers attract great swarms of flying insects.

Stumps may branch at the base to form new plants. Plant is self fertile and produces lots of seed, so volunteer seedlings are not uncommon underneath.

Sun-loving, rock-dwelling native of NW Baja California's Pacific coast (also found in near-coastal locations and on Todos Santos and Coronado Islands). The only part of the plant that you usually see is the tuft of inch-long gray/green/blue/brown leaves, but mature plants can grow a (relatively) extended stem beneath, covered by dead leaves and dry flower stalks. D. attenuata survives on coastal fog and winter rains in a place that has very little water otherwise, but no temperature extremes either.

Of the various "finger" Dudleyas I've seen, this one has the smallest leaves (though low light conditions will stretch them out in a hurry, and individual clones may vary). Will flower and branch profusely when doing well. Very easy to start from cuttings in winter. A small cutting will grow to fill a 6" pot in about a year here in its native climate. Flowers are open (flat) and may be white or pale yellow, with a pale pink nectar guide.

The generally smaller, whitish-flowered northern form of D. attenuata (orcutti) may be found in older publications as a species. The large, rosette-forming D. brittonii (white and green forms) grows in many of the same coastal and near-coastal locations. Natural hybrids between the two species do exist (D. x semiteres, which may also be a hybrid with D. candida) and have an intermediate phenotype. Toward the northern part of its range D. attenuata also grows with other Dudleyas.

D. attenuata (like many Dudleyas) is frequently misidentified in pictures. It also can look dramatically different depending on growth conditions. Should be grown in very strong light (up to day long sun) for best color and form.

Well armed, medium-sized, usually offsetting agave. A variable species. Endemic to Baja California, extending north into Southern California, where its numbers are more limited. The northern ssp. shawii is generally smaller and found in coastal areas with a mild, often foggy climate, while ssp. goldmanniana (better suited for desert gardens) occurs further south and ranges inland, where it is hotter and drier. Similar-looking species found elsewhere include A. gentryi, A. montana, and A. salmiana.

Rainfall in NW BC (about 5-10" a year) occurs in fall through spring, mostly in winter. Summers are dry, but temperatures are limited to about 90°F/32°C in the maritime zone. Flowering generally starts in late fall in habitat and continues through the winter. The inflorescence of the northern form is about 6 feet tall, branched, and starts out covered in large purple or green bracts. The flowers are bright yellow. Plants die after they flower but frequently offset and thus can survive for a long time as a clonal colony.

In cultivation this plant can be fast-growing (1-2 years to gallon size) and quite tolerant of extended drought when established. It is fun to grow from seed because of the variation in spines, margins, size, age to offset, etc. This diversity is evident both within and between populations.

Allow plenty of extra space in the garden as many (not all) plants offset profusely when they are prospering, giving rise to a very attractive, fiercely armed clump over time. Individual rosettes may grow to about 3 feet wide but clumps can be a few times this size. Clumps can be divided in order to start new plants; rootless offsets may root within weeks and start growing again.

"Hercules" is a hybrid between two large tree aloes (barberae x dichotoma) and has the potential to get truly huge, with pink flowers like the former and the textured trunk of the latter. It responds to regular water but does perfectly fine here with zero supplemental irrigation (months-long summer drought every year). Withholding water (which I would recommend) tends to favor the dichotoma phenotype. Plant is extremely tough and tolerates difficult growing conditions. Can be forced to branch profusely by decapitation near the top (leave several healthy leaves below the cut) and cuttings can be rooted.

Original species spelling venefica invalid because it does not mean the right thing in Latin... should be venenifica (poison-making) as the Latin word for poison is venenum not venum. The abbreviated spelling would translate to "vein-making".

This plant is a (highly poisonous) shrub in the landscape after many years, but it makes an excellent container plant, given good drainage and lots of light. It loses its leaves in the winter and flowers while leafless in the spring. The flowers are tiny and the sexual parts are very shy.

This species is closely related to other highly toxic West African succulent Euphorbias, including poissonii and unispina. It may be difficult to resolve the members of this group.

Attractive hybrid between A. ocahui and A. attenuata. Nice blue color with red margins. There is a green version of this plant ("Green Glow") though the blue version sometimes goes green on its own. Offsets sparsely. Cold sensitive. Drought tolerant. Looks best in full sun.

Variegated forms of this plant include "Snow Glow" and "Sun Glow," which have whitish or yellowish variegation respectively.

Attractive small glaucous hybrid between A. macroacantha and a purple-spotted Manfreda (thus the name Mangave). Retains the shape of the former and the spots of the latter. Grayish-bluish purple in full sun. Does not get as large as macroacantha or offset nearly as often. Best color and form in strong light. A wave of axillary branching may follow the appearance of an inflorescence, and these new rosettes can be used to start new plants.

The former genus Manfreda has been lumped with Agave since this hybrid was created, thus the correct botanical name for it is now Agave.

There historically were two versions of this rosette succulent, a powder-dusted bluish white one and a powder-free pale green one. Different looking but the flower is almost identical so they were lumped. Both white and green forms are found in northwestern Baja California distributed along the immediate vicinity of the coast, roughly from Rosarito to Puerto Santo Tomás. This location has an exceptionally mild, often foggy climate with dry summers and wet winters.

In cultivation and in nature, these plants obey a natural cycle of summer dormancy and winter growth, so they will look quite different depending on the time of year. They like excellent drainage (they grow on almost pure rock in habitat) and will do well in a surprisingly broad range of containers, being dwarfed by smaller ones and exuberant in larger ones, as long as they are provided strong light. Very drought tolerant (months of summer drought is normal in habitat).

Here in habitat they flower from early winter through early summer, roughly, depending on water availability. Small, tubular flowers borne in clusters above the plant attract hummingbirds. Will grow a stem (covered in dead leaves and flower stalks) over time. Normally solitary, especially the white northern form (ie. only from seed), but there is a green-leaved population toward the south of the plant's range which branches dichotomously and forms impressively large clusters over time. Individual rosettes of either form can easily be grown from short-stemmed cuttings.

This plant is self-seeding in my container garden. Seedlings can be reliably transplanted when they are thumbnail-sized and can grow to full size within about one season. To collect the seeds (very fine, <1mm): wait until the entire inflorescence is brown (down to the last flower) and then cut it at the base, and shake inverted for a couple of minutes over a white plate.

The white form of D. brittonii may look vegetatively similar to D. pulverenta, but its flowers are different (among other ways greenish yellow, not red). D. brittonii can be one of the parents of the naturally occurring hybrid D. x semiteres, along with D. attenuata orcutti. The green form of D. brittonii may be difficult to resolve from D. ingens, which grows further to the south, especially when not in flower.

Recently (March 2023) the green plants formerly called D. brittonii have been given two new names. The powder dusted plant is still called Dudleya brittonii but the green ones are called Dudleya (Dudleya reidmoranii) or Dudleya (Dudleya josedelgadilloi).

There are various subtle differences between the two new green species, but the most obvious way to tell them apart is by looking at the orientation of the flowers on the inflorescence. Racemes pointing downward indicate reidmoranii and racemes pointing upward indicate josedelgadilloi. Geographically these forms overlap with each other and with brittonii, but only the white brittonii is found exclusively toward the north of their range, in an area centered around La Mision.

https://bioone.org/journals/ma...

Stick-like succulent that can grow to be a large tree in permissive climates (beware, cold sensitive!). Easy to start from cuttings but handle with great care as the sap is a nasty irritant (use gloves, sharp tools, eye protection). Needs strong light to do well... will stretch and droop in low light. Like other tree Euphorbias it will drop branches during strong wind events. Old trees run an increasingly high risk of falling over under their own weight.

It also does surprisingly well in containers, and the stick-like juvenile form can be grown as a miniature. There are orange and red versions of this plant (common name "Firesticks") which have much more ornamental appeal and do not usually grow beyond the size of a large bush.