Algarvean Daze

I have been scrolling up and down your pictures many times, as they are just so beautiful and (surelly also it has to be a good camera) such lovely spots.

 

Mira, my dear friend, so lovely to hear from you.

It is a camera from the year 2000, an old Kodak 4800 Zoom 3.2 picked up for on e-Bay for �£35 about four years ago. DaveW had one of these and always thought it a good camera and his daughter has his now. T'other half has bought me attachable lenses for it (zoom, wide angle, +7 and +10) but I haven't got to grips with them yet. :(

 

I went back to Praia Grande, Ferragudo, today, in the drizzle as I needed to identify a couple of plants, one of which I still haven't but hopefully someone can assist here.

A nice grouping of Bamboo, Agave variagata and Ricinus communis (Castor Oil Plant, which aren't looking particularly good this year) ...



An Opuntia ficus-indica in bloom ...



Agarves/aloes I can't pinpoint ...







Another lovely grouping, this time of Phoenix canariensis (Phoenix Date Palm), Agave variagata, Agave attenuata 'Nerva', the unidentified Aloe with red flowers, intermingled with Geraniums ...



The impressive Dombeya wallichii,, The Tassle Tree of Madagascar, also known as the Pink Snowball, which I previously wrongly identified ...





These pink pompoms are 15-18cm across ... I have taken several cuttings as the seedpods are not formed yet as they bloom November-February.

 

Somely lovely shots Lol, the third pic, the plants around the Agave look like Carpobutus or Mesembryanthemum, the ones that grow wild on the cliffs around Bounemouth and IOW(?).

 

Hottentot figs :D
Strange name.

 

Great shots LoL

 

Yes, it is the Hottentot Fig ... it gets that name because its fruit is fleshy and fig-like.

The beach edges and cliffs are just covered with it all along the southern and western coasts, in both the C edulis (yellow) and C acinaciformis (purple), all very pretty when in bloom, especially if mixed.

 

It even grows as far east here as Folkestone and probably right round to Ramsgate but will it survive in my garden,... no way. :D

 

Maybe you weren't neglecting it enough, pete. Considering these plants live mostly in sandy, rocky, poor soil locations (well, perhaps not in the UK), certainly never get fed and watered only when God decides they will ... makes you think.

I did take one clump back to the UK one year but it only lasted one winter for me. I haven't planted any here because the garden is too small and I fear it will take over like the Aptenia has, but at least it's a much smaller version.

 

Its just too cold in the winter.

 

I dont see any aloes in the last group of pics LoL, mostly agave of various types, the 5th one down, with the rope and the rock appears to have an echiveria in the foreground.

 

Oh, pete, I say agaves/aloes .. you know me, a bit dense at times. :D

Oh, the little red-tinged fella, he was really cute and had just flowered as you can see ... small enough to uproot, about 20cms (slap hands, LoL). The one above it is intriquing ...

Maybe a few of you guys need an expedition here identifying all the trees, shrubs, succulents, wildflowers, etc ... every season of course ... but then I'd have no questions to ask and the chatterbox would be no more.

 

The one above looks like an agave to me, not sure which though.

 

Calling Agaveman ... are you here to do some ID please ??????

 

Hmmm,
The Agave in the first 2 pictures is a.americana var medio-picta

The 3rd picture looks like a plane old a.americana but the 4th picture is interesting.

It looks like an americana in leaf shape and form from the detail in the photo but the coloration is all wrong. It's far to yellow /green rather than a glaucus blue / green which is what a standard americana should have (with evidence of banding horizontally across the leaf).

The only time I've seen and agave this colour is after they have been subject to extremes of heat for a decent period when they tend to stay a yellow colour until they get water and the temperature moderates. They then return to there usual colour.

When was this photo taken LOL?

The a.attenuata looks live var. 'Nova' (I've not heard of a 'Nerva') which is slightly more blue than the standard plant.

The rest look like americanas to me.

One problem with agave identification is that one species can look very much like another and often you can only tell for sure when the plant flowers which is which. Another is that they hybridize very easily.

If I'm wrong then these are my excuses in advance
:rolleyes: