Calibanus hookeri
Habitat:
Calibanus hookeri is native to Northcentral Mexico ( areas of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi), growing in dry mountainous habitat.
Description:
Calibanus hookerii forms a clobose caudiciform base which stay for an half of its lenght outside the soil; this caudex is woody and warty and presents furrows and scars and a fissured brownigh-grey bark. It can produce branched lateral stems, and presents numerous crowns of leaves from its top; these leaves are thin (only 2-3 mm wide), up to 90 cm long (in short, grass-like), arched down, blue-green in colour. : The Calibanus is dioecious (there are male and female plants) or rarely some plants are hermaphrodite. Calibanus hookeri blooms in panicles of rigid flowers usually 25 cm long (but that can get up to 100 cm long), in a colour that can be greenish/creamy-white to purplish pink.
Cultivation:
Calibanus hookeri is a very hardy plant, which can be cultivated both in containers and dry gardens. When grown in pots (which have to be big and shallow, but that need to be changed almost never), it needs a porous, fertilized potting medium (add substratums like pumice and perlite): it prefers a rather acidic soil. Put it outside during summer; during winter, it can tolerate up to -15°C. When grown outdoor it needs good air circulation with no humidity and heavy soil with excellent drainage. It needs moderate water during its active growth and little water once established.
Propagation:
Propagation is exclusively done by seeds.
Curiosity:
Calibanus hookeri owes its name to Sir William J. Hooker (1785– 1865), British botanist that was the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
