- Sweet Palm - (1)
.Scientific Name: Nopalea Cochenillifera
.Popular Names: Sweet Palm, Urumbeta
.Family: Cactaceae
.Category: Shrubs, cacti and succulents
.Climate: Equatorial, Mediterranean, Semi-Arid, Subtropical, Tropical
.Origin: North America, Mexico
.Height: 0.9 to 1.2 meters, 1.2 to 1.8 meters, 1.8 to 2.4 meters, 2.4 to 3.0 meters, 3.0 to 3.6 meters, 3.6 to 4.7 meters
Urumbeta is a plant well adapted to the dry climate, like many cactus. Its stem is cylindrical and the branches are the flattened, fleshy and oval, popularly known as "palms" and scientifically for "cladodes." These branches are responsible for photosynthesis of the plant, as the leaves are reduced to small and sparse thorns, absent in some varieties.
This adaptation reduces the perspiration of the plant, which can withstand the lack of water longer. Its flowers appear all year round, but mainly from September to March, and are firm, orange, rosy or red and with numerous pink and long stamens.
Urumbeta is a rustic plant, suitable for isolated planting or in groups, as well as in renques, becoming a very defensive fence when used with specimens with thorns. Its beauty and uniqueness is evidenced in stone gardens. It can also be planted in large vessels, with the substrate covered by little stones.
Curiosity: Young branches and fruits are marketed and consumed as a vegetable in Central American countries. Urumbeta is also used as a food for the growth and reproduction of "cochonilhas" which provide a valuable red industrial dye, and is also recognized for its important forage value in the feeding of ruminants in arid and semi-arid climates.
- Sweet Palm - (1)
.Scientific Name: Nopalea Cochenillifera
.Popular Names: Sweet Palm, Urumbeta
.Family: Cactaceae
.Category: Shrubs, cacti and succulents
.Climate: Equatorial, Mediterranean, Semi-Arid, Subtropical, Tropical
.Origin: North America, Mexico
.Height: 0.9 to 1.2 meters, 1.2 to 1.8 meters, 1.8 to 2.4 meters, 2.4 to 3.0 meters, 3.0 to 3.6 meters, 3.6 to 4.7 meters
Urumbeta is a plant well adapted to the dry climate, like many cactus. Its stem is cylindrical and the branches are the flattened, fleshy and oval, popularly known as "palms" and scientifically for "cladodes." These branches are responsible for photosynthesis of the plant, as the leaves are reduced to small and sparse thorns, absent in some varieties.
This adaptation reduces the perspiration of the plant, which can withstand the lack of water longer. Its flowers appear all year round, but mainly from September to March, and are firm, orange, rosy or red and with numerous pink and long stamens.
Urumbeta is a rustic plant, suitable for isolated planting or in groups, as well as in renques, becoming a very defensive fence when used with specimens with thorns. Its beauty and uniqueness is evidenced in stone gardens. It can also be planted in large vessels, with the substrate covered by little stones.
Curiosity: Young branches and fruits are marketed and consumed as a vegetable in Central American countries. Urumbeta is also used as a food for the growth and reproduction of "cochonilhas" which provide a valuable red industrial dye, and is also recognized for its important forage value in the feeding of ruminants in arid and semi-arid climates.