Strangler Fig, Part Dos*

You might have seen my earlier post about Strangler Figs.

When I traveled to Belize this spring, I got a chance to see those strangler figs in action! Deep in the jungle, among the Mayan ruins, are many trees slowly being swallowed up by the relentless aerial roots of strangler figs creeping downward to earth from their canopy cradles and devouring their host trees in the process. These are the plant worlds’s woody boa constrictors, smothering and suffocating the life out of their nursery trees as they engulf them on their way to solid ground.

This is the end result, a majestic tree with a trunk and roots resembling a waterfall poured down from an azure sky and leafy green canopy above, its roots cascading over a rocky pedestal.

Strangler Fig

Here is what it looks like along the way, a baby strangler fig’s roots slowing snaking their way down an unsuspecting palm tree’s trunk, enveloping it:

Strangling Fig

Strangling Roots

Until the roots hit terra firma and slither out in all directions.

* English is the official language of Belize — it was formerly a British colony, just like us. But Spanish is widely spoken, just like home, and Creole and various Mayan-derived dialects are also used.

Flora & Fauna in Belize

Well, I was lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic vacation in Belize a few weeks ago (which helps to explain the long period of time between my posts). It was much too short, but otherwise perfect. Of course, I can’t help but take pictures of plants, even amid the worthy distractions of snorkeling, swimming, eating, drinking lots of rum punch and lounging / napping (in between eating / drinking). This is just a small sampling of what I got to see — and taste — there.

There are so many Coconut Palms on the beach that you can actually just pick one up, knock it hard against the trunk of the tree, and start sipping the coconut water right out of it on the go (so much better than a Big Gulp). These are “custard” coconuts. Once you break it open, the delicious, soft meat is best eaten with a spoon. You do have to watch out for coconuts falling out of the trees; a guy in the hammock next to me had a very near miss and almost got beaned right on the noggin when one of them came crashing down out of the fronds.

Coconut Palm on the beach

Another Coconut Palm growing through a deck

Banana (or Plantain?) riverside

Red Mangrove along coast of Ambergris Caye

Banana Orchids growing on Red Mangrove along the river

Wild Orchids (blurry close-up)

Snake Cactus on Red Mangrove

Tillandsia (Air Plants) growing wild among the Mangrove

Russelia equisetiformis (Firecracker Plant) growing like crazy

Heliconia at Lamanai

A Strangler Fig at Lamanai

We got to see a few of the local critters, too.

Nymphaea (Water Lilies) with a "Jesus Bird"

Tiny Crocodile on a log

Spider Monkey watching us watch him

BIG Iguana

Goat Love

In Southern California, April is the month when I am woken up nearly every morning by the buzzing of a relentless swarm of weed whackers. I am lucky enough to live in a hilly neighborhood with great views (and great neighbors). There are a lot of undeveloped tracts of land too steep to be practical to build on. This is where the weeds grow waist, or even shoulder, high — even more so this year thanks to the delicious amount of rain we had this winter. It takes only a few weeks for the verdant hills to relapse into tawny tangles of matted dead grass, also known as “fuel.” Fire season, no joke in these parts, is soon upon us. Around this time, the regular four-legged inhabitants of the hills in our urban-wildlife interface — the coyotes, raccoons, skunks, gophers and feral cats — are joined by other four legged creatures with beards. The goats are back! For years, the Getty Center has hired goats to clear dry brush on the steep hillsides in tony Brentwood. And this year, Laguna Beach has doubled its number of goat helpers in their effort to rid the hills of flammable material close to homes and businesses. The Los Angeles County Fire Department has even published a list of goat contractors on their website, for anyone who wants to give this a try on their own “estate”. There are 23 goat herders listed from as far afield as Colorado and Arizona (but most are from California, all up and down the state). Goats are industrious and hungry, with excellent footing on precarious hillsides that heavy equipment cannot reach. The best part is, they are quiet! I’ve never been woken up at 7 a.m. by the sounds of goats munching on weeds.

Here are pictures of my personal favorite goat, Penelope. She does not have to earn her keep like her working cousins do. She gets by in life by her sheer cuteness and shares a home with a horse, a cat, four chickens and two humans just a 10 minute drive from Downtown Los Angeles (no, she doesn’t live in the house, but yes, she thinks she should). Maybe I’ll invite her over next year for a little buffet on my back slope…..

Penelope strikes a pose for the camera

An Obscene Mushroom Appears

This mushroom (two of them) popped up in a client’s garden last week. It was quite startling to see it. I reached down to pluck it out of the ground with a bare hand and I got slimed. I happen to have a friend who is a mycologist. Here is what she had to say about this uninvited guest:

“Your friend is lucky to be visited by a noble member of the stinkhorn, phalloid fungi.  Name is Phallus hadriani (Hadrian’s phallus).  Another near species is Phallus impudicus, but the photo on the right shows the characteristic blush of pinkish-purple that differentiates it.  The stinkhorn fungi are really remarkable – they mostly grow in tropical forests, where it’s dark and moist.  They’ve developed a great method of spore dispersal – get the flies to do it for you.  So, the slimey green mass (gleba) on the top, has a powerful, fetid stink which attracts flies.  The flies get the stuff, full of spores on their legs and feet, fly away, and you know how fastidious flies are (always cleaning their legs), and thus disperse the spores well away from the parent.

“Tell your friend if she’s lucky, she might get another fruiting of the stinkhorn in another few months (when it’s warm) or next year.  Not to worry, it won’t hurt her vegetables or soil or any resident dog or cat, not poisonous.  In fact, in China, they cultivate the thing and eat it when it’s still in the egg stage (before the phallus rises).  Assume it’s a developed taste.”  Well, you won’t find it on my Thanksgiving menu!

Penelope

Penelope is my friend’s pygmy goat. I cannot stand how cute and friendly she is! She lives with a horse, four chickens, a cat and two humans about 10 minutes away from downtown Los Angeles. She seems pretty happy with this whole arrangement.