Subject: help

From: Tyfani <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 13:34:58 -0600

I am in my first year of Community College and have a few questions for 
an environmental biology lab that I have looked all over for and am 
having a very hard time finding, if anyone can answer any of these 
questions please email me with your insight at [email-masked]  
thanks a ton!!

	-Octopus Cactus(native to Sonora, Mexico): when the tip of this 
cactus touches the soil it produces another plant.  Is this asexual or 
sexual reproduction?(isn't this asexual)?

	-Agave:succulent?(yes?)  What part is adapted for water 
storage?(leaves?)  Is it annual or perennial?(perennial?)  Is it a 
cactus?(no?)

	-Ocotillo: flowers are long, red, tubular, and borne out on the 
ends of the whiplike stems(flagelliflory).  They are designed to attract 
a particular pollinator, who is it?

	-What is a desert tree(other than the Mesquite) which belongs to 
the Pea family and also produces edible pods and seeds?(one has 
chlorophyll in it's bark)

	-Mammillarias are small inconspicous cacti that are often easy 
to overlook.  Despite their inconspicous nature they produce brilliant 
red colored fruits which are quite easy to see.  Why are the fruits so 
conspicuous?

	-Which mammal is very important in the pollination of of the 
Organ Pipe Cactus and later in the dispersal of it's seeds?  

	-Tesota, a desert tree with very hard dense wood that will sink 
in water, blooms in May with lavender flowers and sometimes the effect 
is quite spectacular, to what family of plants does this desert tree 
belong?

	Thank You very much for your time!

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From: [email-masked] (Victor Engel)
Date: Thu, 05 Sep 1996 04:30:48 GMT

>sexual reproduction?(isn't this asexual)?

I'm not familiar with the plant, but I can't imagine how it could be
sexual.

>storage?(leaves?)  Is it annual or perennial?(perennial?)  Is it a 

Correct.

>a particular pollinator, who is it?

Sounds like hummingbird fodder to me.

>chlorophyll in it's bark)

Sorry, can't help you here.

>red colored fruits which are quite easy to see.  Why are the fruits so 

Because the fruits of their grandparents were, and their parents
survived.

Seriously, though. I have a mammillaria (are you sure you spelled that
correctly?) that I grew from seed. Mammillarias are short plants with
breast shaped (and sized) growths covered in spines. The small fruits
are produced below the spines and doubtless require the aid of an
animal (me, for example) for dispersion. I never would have seen the
small fruits had they not been brightly colored. No, I did not eat
them.

>Organ Pipe Cactus and later in the dispersal of it's seeds?  

This would be several species of bats, I think. Same with agave.

>is quite spectacular, to what family of plants does this desert tree 

Never heard of it.
>	Thank You very much for your time!

-----------------------------------------------------------
Victor Engel                                   Vector Angle
[email-masked]                           [email-masked]
http://the-light.com         http://www.onr.com/user/lights

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From: Tyfani <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 1996 12:32:14 -0600

Tyfani wrote:
> 
> I searched some more and this is the only one that I cannot find.  On my paper
> some of the question was cut off by her xerox machine and I think that it says,
> Ironwood, but am not sure I know that it is something wood, anyways the question states:
> Ironwood? also called Tesota, is a desert tree with very hard dense wood that will sink
> in water.  The tree blooms in May with lavender flowersand sometimes the effect is quite
> spectacular.  To what family of plants does this desert tree belong?

	Please email me at [email-masked] if you know the answer to this.  Thanks!

---

From: Tyfani <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 1996 12:26:52 -0600

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From: [email-masked] (Rusty Mase)
Date: Thu, 05 Sep 1996 13:45:03 GMT

>spectacular.  To what family of plants does this desert tree belong?

There is no listing for tesota as a common name at the "master site"
for official plant names:

USDA, NRCS 1996.  The PLANTS database;
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA  70874-4490 
http://plants.usda.gov/plants/totselec.html

But a search for tesota turns up the following result:

_Olneya tesota_ Gray  desert ironwood  Fabaceae

Rusty Mase