An arid paradise in a true desert: the desert botanical garden in Phoenix, Arizona

摘要

There are very few cities in the world where succulents form the majority of the plants used to beautify sidewalks, road verges and medians. Phoenix in Arizona, the Grand Canyon State of the United States of America (USA), is such a city and it mustbe close to the top of this list as it boasts a bewildering array of succulents in amenity and general horticulture. In this city in the arid southwestern parts of the USA, large trees of Carnegiea gigan-tea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose (saguaro) are encountered along roadsides, together with many other species of cactus as well as Hesperaloe parviflora (Torr.) Coulter (red yucca), true yuccas, such as the typical variety of Yucca brevifolia Engelm. (Joshua tree), and numerous species of Agare L., such asA. americana L. (century plant), A. vilmoriniana A.Berger (octopus agave) and A. desrmettiana Jacobi. The streets of Phoenix are a particularly beautiful sight in spring and early summer when the rosettes of H. parviflora with their thin, grass-like leaves and white leaf marginal threads send forth lax, but strikingly beautiful, intensely bright pinkish red inflorescences that can reach a height of up to 1.5 m.