Plant Flowers example essay topic
392 words
The Cereus eriophorus var. fragrans, more commonly known as Fragrant Prickly-Apple, is an endangered cactus as of November 1, 1985. John K. Small, of New York Botanical Garden, discovered this succulent cactus. It was found to have occurred in coastal hammocks from Merritt Island, Brevard County south to the St. Lucie River. This rare cactus has only been identified on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, which borders the Indian River or on spoil islands in the Indian River. There are now only eleven small areas in the eastern St. Lucie County where this columnar cactus is known to live. A solitary tree cactus, the Cereus eriophorus var. fragrans, tends to grown from two to four feet tall, occasionally reaching 15 feet. The roots of this plant are tough, gristly, and shallow. It grows flower buds - usually one cm long, white, and hairy - two months before flower growth.
These nocturnal flowers are scented, white or pink and have numerous petals. These flowers mostly bloom in May, and fruiting from May to October. Cereus eriophorus var. fragrans enjoys partial shade and grows on dry sand soil in terrestrial areas, most of which have been disturbed oak-red bay scrub on dry sand dunes. It was found to grown in space once occupied by cabbage palmetto, sand live oak, Chapman oak, myrtle oak, red bay and stopper.
It has been found to live in areas where water capacity, fertility and organic matter are all extremely low. The areas where it lives original vegetation has been altered by bulldozing, and most of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge was cleared during the 1880's for pineapple plantations and still has to regain its previous level of diversity and productivity. This cactus reproduces sexually through vegetative reproduction. There are two distinct peaks in which this plant flowers, one with flowering starting in April and peaks in May, the second are minor peaks in September and October. After these peaks take place, fruiting begins mainly climaxing in May and a little in September. The way that the seeds are dispersed in uncertain, but birds do help in the spreading of these seeds as well as rodents, and these plants tend to grow close to the drip line of other plants, signifying avian seed spreading.
