Random plant event: Leuchtenbergia principis flower

Although the husband and I had just been to my ex-workplace last Saturday, and I bought stuff then, I had a rare case of non-buyer's remorse with this particular plant.


Its name is Leuchtenbergia principis, and its coolness may not be immediately apparent: to the uninformed, it looks just like a somewhat disheveled Agave or Aloe of some sort, one where all the leaf tips have gotten damaged somehow.

But when's the last time you saw an Agave that could do this?


It turns out that this is actually a cactus, and this is an example of convergent evolution, hence the cactus-like flower. The crazy dead bits at the ends of the "leaves" (or what would be leaves if this were an Agave; they're actually just part of the stem like everything else) are what pass for spines. They're not sharp at all. They aren't even stiff; they're roughly the consistency of dried grass. Maybe a little tougher than dried grass.

As plants age, they're supposed to grow a fat, woody stem. The root is said to be thick and "parsnip-like:" for the time being I'm taking everybody's word for that. They're slow growers. I haven't heard much about what they're like to grow inside, but what people have commented have all said that they're fairly easy.

Leuchtenbergia principis is a native North American, from North Central Mexico (also the stomping ground of many Agaves, so perhaps it's less convergent evolution and more peer pressure), and is the only species in the genus Leuchtenbergia. Its closest cactus relatives are in the Ferocactus family, and it can hybridize with Ferocactus to form crosses called Ferobergia, which actually pretty much look like what you would expect, though depending on the particular Ferocactus, you may get things that look more like one parent or the other.

Originally, I wasn't interested so much, but I took a picture anyway, 'cause flowers are pretty. Then I got home and tried to figure out what the plant was, for the picture, and as I read about it I decided that it was cool enough to go back for. At the very least I didn't think I'd ever seen one for sale before. So I called them on Monday and asked them to save it for me, and then picked it up on Wednesday. Which I think was a good call. Right?