Agave horrida ssp. horrida

[Gee.S]

Agave horrida ssp. horrida Lemaire ex Jacobi (1864)
Marginatae

A. horrida ssp. horrida

horrida5.jpg (111.25 KiB) Viewed 7188 times

[Gee.S]

RS 001.JPG (98.73 KiB) Viewed 7173 times

[GreekDesert]

beauties!

[Jankol]

From the Hanbury Gardens, La Mortola, Italy.

[Jankol]

From the Jardin Exotique, Monaco.

[bigdaddyscondition]

Here are my two specimens of Agave horrida. Neither has produced an offset yet.

[Azuleja]

Thank you to everyone who posts eye candy in the galleries. I need an emoji of ayooga eyeballs with a tongue hanging out. The plant two photos up looks so great with 'Jaws' nearby. Those two really complement each other. I can just imagine a small dinosaur walking by.

[bigdaddyscondition]

No dinosaurs yet, Azul, but a couple of weeks ago I found a 4-rattle Southern Pacific rattlesnake lounging in the shade on a gravel pile on the north side of my house. We're having a snaky summer here in the Inland Empire, I guess thanks to last winter's rains. BTW, I really like your avatar. My avatar on another forum was my tuxedo cat Winston sitting next to an Agave toumeyana in my yard. But my photo is slightly larger than the file size limit on this forum.

[Azuleja]

Thank you, that's Juliette Lewis. She's a natural born killer. Cool snake sighting, though my heart probably would have leaped out of my chest. It's supposed to be a really big year for them.

[Agavemonger]

Big Daddy--

My one experience with a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake was one day at Allen Repashy's. It was absolutely huge; perhaps as large as they ever get, around four-to-five feet with a long skinny neck, a huge triangular head, and dark brownish-black with what appeared to be fluorescent yellow-green outlined diamonds. We both scared the hell out of each other; I came around the corner of a shed, heard a huge plop as he ejected down off a short wall he was sun-bathing on into a mass of dried leaves, then what sounded like firecrackers going off when he lit up his huge tail for all he was worth. I am lucky I wasn't closer; this was clearly a very old and wizened snake; as large as I have ever seen by far in California. He was more the size of a big Western Diamondback, perhaps four inches in diameter at the thickest. His long thin neck made it appear that he could strike out for three or four feet. These snakes are noted for having really toxic venom, much like the Mojave Rattlesnake. Apparently they are increasing in number and are notorious as "people biters"

When Allen heard about it (he is a herper), he went tearing around in the brush for quite a while looking for it; I think I was on the roof of my car at that point!

A truly beautiful snake, but clearly not one to mess with!

The Monger

[bigdaddyscondition]

Yikes! A neighbor of mine is a PhD herpetologist who, incidentally, stopped by my yard one day, introduced himself, and then proceeded to correctly name every succulent in my yard. He set my mind at ease about just where these critters tend to hunker down (not on my hot hardscape in the sun, for example), and how to spot them as an inconsistent visual pattern on the background--something that doesn't belong. That's ideally when you're still far enough away from the snake that you haven't triggered its rattle warning, which is a heckuva scary sound.

I don't want to hijack this discussion into a buzz-killing Crotalus thread, but perhaps this is a topic we should all have some passing familiarity with.

[Agavemonger]

Yeah, when it comes to rattlesnakes, plant people should certainly be especially aware.

I can't tell you how many times I have had tiny ones coiled up in, or in between, one gallon plants that I was just about to grab. They seem to love everything about nursery scenarios, so be especially careful when rummaging around through a big pile of pots or old lumber. It would be wise to stir up the pile a bit with a long pole before rummaging around in it in order to give a snake a chance to leave, or at least to sound off and let you know he is in there.

Being bit by a rattlesnake is almost always a whole lot worse than most people think; you certainly won't be going back to work in a few hours with a band-aided bite wound. Think extended (and very expensive) hospital stay with the affected extremity turning black and swelling up to the size of a football.

Never ever stir up a rattlesnake; leave them alone if at all possible, especially larger, older ones. Once coiled up and rattling, you are being fairly warned that they are loaded for Bear. If, God forbid, you step on one and get bit, keep calm and get immediately to the hospital; even a few minutes faster can often reduce weeks of agony later.

A head-less rattlesnake can still move around for hours. The head, removed completely from the body, can still bite for a surprising length of time; you have to see it to believe it. Never mess around with a decapitated rattlesnake head.

In the wild, it is best to just flat out leave them alone!

The Monger

[JonG]

Agave horrida

Horrida01-3.jpg (164.8 KiB) Viewed 4137 times

[bigdaddyscondition]

Beautiful specimen, Jon.

[Ferdinand]

My little horrida ( no she's gorgeous) I believe about 6 years old, just pops out for the summer here in South London. She happily takes full sun even straight out of the overwintering, no acclimatising neccessary.
Love the rattlesnake stories on this thread!!

[Gee.S]

Plant from the OP.

[bigdaddyscondition]

Very nice, Gee. You live in a little slice of desert heaven, and I miss the place we used to have there.

Are you going to get some seeds from this specimen? Do you expect them to be viable?

[Gee.S]

Thanks! No clue regarding seed, really. And not that especially interested, truth be told, since clones of this guy continue to find shelf space at BB's and succulent nurseries in the area. This seems to be a favorite of the tissue culture gang.

[Meangreen94z]

Morelos, Mexico. Photographer Bertus Spee

[Gee.S]

A. horrida

h2.jpg (136.99 KiB) Viewed 3277 times

A. horrida

h1.jpg (432.78 KiB) Viewed 3277 times