Nolina Parryi is the botanical name for Parry Nolina, an attractive associate of well drained, granitic, rocky slopes near the Keys View exhibit of Joshua Tree National Park, in the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Specimens not displaying 10 foot tall inflorescences could be bypassed as tufts of long grass. The genus Nolina is casually referred to as Beargrass, with approximately 28 accepted species.
The towering stalk of Parry Nolina boasts white flowers in Spring months. After which, some of its up to 65,000 seeds can be observed, enclosed within translucent gold, papery, pod like fruits. Easily dislodged by wind, many travel no further than the foliage beneath. Often mistaken for a type of Yucca, the similar looking, but more flexible blades of Nolina are not as dangerous. An accidental tussle with a Yucca has potential to cause serious lacerations or puncture wounds, while Nolina is likely only to impart a few scratches.
The full endemic range of N. Parryi extends to other parts of California close by, but does not usually appear beyond the states borders. Occurences have a variable appearance, from no more than a single small patch of foliage, to multiple, large trunked entities over 6 feet tall. Clonal rosettes, sometimes called pups, can grow from underground horizontal stems, known to botany as rhizomes. The larger organisms garbed with a magnificant marcescence are a transfixing pleasure to behold, giving an effect reminiscent of a dwarf California Fan Palm. Parry Nolina is sometimes referred to as Giant Nolina, it grows the largest, and competes in the highest elevation, of all Nolina Species.
No comments:
Post a Comment