A Tableau of Obscenities in the Matorral: Rare Scrub Plants of Nuevo León

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:05]Welcome to another episode of Crime Pays of Botney doesn't. It's kind of windy.

[00:00:09]Hopefully you can hear me. We're about 2 hours south of the United States border uh north of Mterrey, Mexico. And we were coming here to look at some other plants. We actually didn't reach our location yet, but the the habit that here just looks so good. I said, "Wow, we got to stop. We're going to check it out. See what we got going on right here." You can see wonderful limestone talis soils, remnants of the western interior seaway. You know, a cretaceous ocean that was common throughout central North America, uh, you know, a little bit before the dinosaurs went extinct.

[00:00:37]Got a lot of good stuff here. And we have a lot of really interesting plants.

[00:00:41]Let's check it out. Of course, you got a sprinkling of of uh tiny garbage just roadside trash. We are right off the road. We'll start right here. We got camoca gregi. This uh incredible shrub.

[00:00:52]Uh the plant known as partridge pee is in this same genus, but it tends to be just a little herb here. Uh the genus camoca turns into a shrub. This thing should be way more common in uh Texas horiculture. I don't know why it's not.

[00:01:05]It's, you know, bit built like a brick [ __ ] house in terms of uh dealing with the sun. Also got uh black brush of course. Vicellia rigidulla. Uh got some opontas. And then we've got this really bizarre uh little euphoria was probably in the genus camise at one point. And you could see there's the sciatia right there. But just a gorgeous plant, man. Look at that opposite leaves, rubbery. There's the sciatia, the inflloresences. They're not they're technically not individual flowers cuz it's the genus Euphoria. They're sciat.

[00:01:39]You can see those green danglers right there. That's the ovary. That's the fruit. Uh and that thing's abundant here. Oh, there's a really nice one.

[00:01:47]Look at that. Oh, we got the gronia, the dog choya as well. You don't want to you don't want to get you don't want to get involved with that, right? And then this this really nice sprinkling of limestone talis over limestone bedrock. Here's a thyima. Let's get a good one. Let's get some of the good thyimas. They're maragold relatives. Oh, there's ancestro cactus hiding inside that shrub right there. And uh that's a nice one. and cyro cactus sheira and look at the thyophila this is microporoides I believe I didn't actually check yet you could see how woolly it is this would go great against the freaking sidewalker and some bleak strip mall you know those little daisy ray petals and of course it smells good cuz it's got the glands and it beneath all that woolly hair that makes it so great at dealing with the heat and growing basically on limestone here in the waveon we're only at like 1,300 ft Right. Rio Grand Valley is at like 300 ft. We're at 1,300 ft. So, we're not that much higher. Um, it's a very pleasant day out though. But, uh, but it still gets pretty hot here. And so, those those hairs enable it to deal with growing in a pretty stressful. You can see it's growing out of limestone. How hot does that limestone rock get when it's baking in the sun? Marold tribe smells incredible. It's got those glands in it. Let's take a look over here at uh one of my favorites. Oh, we got carwinskia.

[00:03:10]This thing is a very common uh plant in the thorn scrub of South Texas. This is one of my favorites though. You can see we got neoloidia canoidia. Now it's a coacha canoidia. Little cactus going off right there. But this is this is one of my faves for sure. This is Caliandra Converta. It's the one of the quote fairy dustards. It's the mimosoid subf family of the pea family for bass. You can see those dainty ass little leaves.

[00:03:36]This thing needs to be grown more. This is This would go great again against the sidewalk. Could see these little erect fruits and then when they're mature, they split open like that, probably somewhat violently shooting the seed.

[00:03:48]Uh, but this thing, we also get this in South Texas, too, but it's just becoming increasingly uncommon with all the habitat destruction. It really likes rocky areas where it can't get shaded out by other plants. Oh, we don't get this. We don't get this. This just is that just the coach canoid. I don't think so. Here we have this cororaphan looking sharper than hell. That's a really nice one. I assume it's a coropan. I don't Doesn't look like a mam. It's got it's got more prominent nipples and uh certainly if it flowers out of the center it's a chlorophyth. If it flowers in a ring concentric ring it's a mammalia. Look at that. Just blended in right with the limestone.

[00:04:26]Right here we got chaia kunafogia which of course we get this at thorn scrub too. Jatroofa dia also a stunner. The plant list that can be used in these hot areas is extensive. You know, you just got to come to habitat to look for them.

[00:04:41]Look at this nice ainoserious, too. Holy [ __ ] Oh, take it easy. It looks like an ainoserious rea. It looks like one of the lace cacti, right? You got all these cool Oh, there's a philanthis. Let me get that. That's another Texas plant, too. Uh, is that the turner at the fusa?

[00:05:00]Looks like it right there. Passiflues.

[00:05:03]Got that in my yard.

[00:05:06]Man, this Caliandra, man, what a special plant. I love it. We got an ancestro over there. Looking sharp. Oh, here's a Lantana. Lantana Acarathogia.

[00:05:18]Another nice ones. Look at those little pink uh pink. Is it that folia had white flowers? Either way, it's a Lantana.

[00:05:25]We're kind of rushed right now. God, this [ __ ] habitat looks amazing to me. Like it when they put the bedrock right at the surface. Don't you like that when they do that? And it's real thin soils and so it selects for really unique and interesting plants that don't grow anywhere else. Ooh, here's a crime chia ramoscissimma parasitic or hemiparasitic rather. You can see it's got chlorophyll. It's green, so it's got chlorophyll. It's doing a little bit of its own photosynthesis, but it's stealing from nearby plants. It's tapped into nearby plants. Holy [ __ ] What the [ __ ] is this? Oh, is that over to What is this?

[00:05:57]And then beneath the forest theiraa olive family oolaci you could see we got a wonderful specimen of accordia runsinata going off. I love this plant.

[00:06:06]Definitely needs to be in cultivation.

[00:06:07]More giant pink flowers as a sunflower family. Nice little spot to hang out if you're a lizard or a snake too. God I I just can't get over how much better the habitat is in Mexico. Look at this cam christrista gregi need to get seeds of this man. That thing is that's a special plant. Look at that. All these shrimps.

[00:06:26]They're all flowering, too. They must have just gotten some good rain. Got the craras, the camoc christristas.

[00:06:34]God damn it. It drives me nuts. This stuff just is not grown enough. And and Texas is destroying all of its habitat cuz it's kind of a death I mean, the whole world's kind of a death cult right now. Let's be honest. But uh the the quote unquote western world, well, you know, everybody I'm not letting anybody off the hook. [ __ ] them all. No offense to them, right? Look at the talis, though. Look at this tapestry of wonderful rock. That caliander is just incredible. Oh. Oh, what is this? This This is a Castila. This looks like maybe this is Castile Texana. It doesn't look like Castila erecta. The fruits are much larger. The leaves have a different texture to them. It's still got those uh very spiny stems, right? Especially turning its uh stems, its branches into thorns. There's the leaves. Yeah, this does not look like the erect. It's either a different ecotype of erecta or a different species. Castila texan. It's right from the the family of the crucifixion thorn plant. A lot of plants get called that simmerase, but it's got conspicuous fruits for bird dispersal.

[00:07:29]Those red fruits. God, the [ __ ] habit that here is just, it's so nice. It's so nice to be in a place that's not totally destroyed and [ __ ] in the ass. Do you know what it's like to be in a place where the place itself is not [ __ ] into the ass with American consumerism and commercialism? It's God, it's just incredible. You should really try it sometime. Very hard to do, especially if you're in the eastern half of the United States. There's a palifoxia right there. Wonder what that is. Texon.

[00:07:54]Yeah, they all kind of look the same. I like them, but yeah, I'm not going to lie. They all kind of look the same, right? Oh, we got another Dia. What is this? Righty eye or James Eye? I forget.

[00:08:03]And then there's a palif fox. Yeah, you can really see what's going on with members of the genus of the family asterac whereby a single what looks like a single flower is actually composed of many individual flowers. Each one of those black anther tubes corresponding to an individual five lobed five pedled flower right got mandilla lenujenosa too which I grow in my yard there's the distinct bullhorn fruit the opposite leaves and then siphon-like beautiful jasmine smelling white funnel flowers that are pollinated by moths when it does germinate there's another nibbled on aerial carpus triionus too right the donkeys are doing it I blame the donkeys god damn it got salvia texanado kind of looking good here. Look at that with all the hairs, the style poking out of that hooded purple coral. Look at all the hairs on that chalky mint green stem.

[00:08:52]You got long hairs on the kaisers and then tiny little hairs giving it a silky texture uh to the stem. Then Houstononia rubra as well growing next to the thyophila. All right, coffee family ruby. You got the four petals kind of looks like uh it kind of looks like a little uh one of the little flaxes or something. Oo, Parkinsonia Texano. One of my favorites. I got one of those in my yard. It's about 15 times the size though cuz it's a you know it's a easier environment to grow in since I water occasionally. Yeah, it looks dense in a loyia macrocia with the pink with the pink flowers.

[00:09:29]Looks uh Oh, there's hibiscus marianus right in there.

[00:09:36]What else we got? Man, that foresty area and gustafo. You got to get some of that going. That's really nice. And look at all these wonderful little native grasses too, right?

[00:09:47]Little little desert grasses. Lots of aristas and budaluas.

[00:09:54]Who is that? Is that neolyia or I can't tell. Looks like it or coacha.

[00:10:01]And then we go up a little bit and expect as we go up we'll see more of the cool little dimminionive cacti that like to hide. Oo, Mexamealva Philippines.

[00:10:10]There's a great one. Look. Oh, it's got it's in flower, too. Got this in my yard. This thing This is a great species, man. I saw one yesterday in La Estanuela uh in Montter Estanuela Park that looked like this that I thought was this, but it was huge. I forget the name of it. It's a [ __ ] dope plant though.

[00:10:27]I'll put it in the captions. Oh, we got a little flax as well. Yeah, but that one I saw in LA last, it's another purple malvet. It's a It's a very It's a micromic. Very localized. Oh, look.

[00:10:39]Little flocks going for lepodoptrine pollination. How about that? Oh, that's a nice color combo with the flocks. See that? The flocks and a chromeia. Two great colors together. Very nice with the smattering of calccarious rock and lychans uh beneath all of it. Oh, what is this little uh some little nick tag bohav or something?

[00:11:00]Oh, what's that? Is it looks like a cororaphan? That's coropan macrome. You know, I get too excited. I just I just start mumbling. just comes out all just genera. Just just word salad of uh plant names.

[00:11:14]Where's the Texas tortois though? They should be out. Oh, look. There's a It's polygalola or they changed the genus name to something. Polygalaces the family. The little white flowers over there. Oh, they gotuploi here too.

[00:11:27]Baraginaci.

[00:11:29]What the again? Is this Lipia or Turner?

[00:11:32]I need to get better. I think that's Lipia. I confuse them. But and then there's Delia Poganthther going up. But look at this, man. This is a cool one.

[00:11:39]Moth. It's got to be pollinated by tiny moths or maybe little tiny flies. Also get that in South Texas, but it's somewhat rare.

[00:11:48]Beautiful colony of uh chromaria ramosissimma with its pink orchid-like flowers. And then we got a little cacttoid bastard hanging out right there.

[00:11:59]Look, I mean, I guess it could just be coacha, but it looks a little bit different. It's got those central spines and then a net of uh radial spines and prominent tubacles. Could be uh corophan as well. Central spines, radial spines.

[00:12:13]Take note.

[00:12:15]More salvia texana.

[00:12:17]Such a stunner.

[00:12:20]I could just keep going, man. I'm I'm feeling it now. This is nice. You don't get habitat like this in Texas. Been hammered by drought and then [ __ ] bag developers and the politicians they own.

[00:12:33]So, we're getting up into the hills now and uh yeah, there's lots of donkey activity, I see. But you've got this sandstone everywhere. You got calccarious rock and then you've got this sandstone which I'm going to have to I got to take a piece. So, let me get take a rock with you. Right. Very interesting.

[00:12:50]Wonder what exposure that's coming from.

[00:12:52]Obviously, it's above whatever we're on.

[00:12:55]up in those hills there. Yeah, these these are really nice for cacti when you get these exposures of strata of bedding planes. I would assume this is cuz the cacti Yeah. See, there you go. They love growing. Is that a mam or what? Looks a little bit stressed out. Doesn't look like the happiest, but it's it gives them a really nice little niche to grow in where not a lot of other stuff can uh can uh thrive. You got these these uh little veins of calsy or something that have gotten in between the sandstone wild gardens. Oo, nice. Aino agave strriata. Formerly agave strriata hooking up. That thing's really common, too. They're hard to grow. Very uh very prone to rot. Hard to germinate from seed, rather. I got a little seedling that's like 2 years old. The rest all died. They got too wet. They just rotted away during the cool wet season. And then we got neoprelia integraogia, which for some reason doesn't get into Texas.

[00:14:01]It's in the willow family. It's a drought tolerant member of the willow family. Probably very important uh thorn scrub plant. You can see those hairs on the leaves kind of at pressed. Nice chalky mint green color. Small tree.

[00:14:14]Probably gets a lot bigger in cultivation.

[00:14:17]I have no idea why that uh why it isn't in Texas. Maybe it was, you know, before the ice age. What do we got here? Oh, it's that same coropant again. Look at that flock. That's a nice That is a nice flock, man. It's a nice looking. Hey, you look sharp. You look good. And of course, we got Texas pimmen diasporos tena. Slightly uh recurved leaf margin.

[00:14:39]See how it's kind of prominent like a little lip. And then of course that lovely smooth bark that it gets.

[00:14:47]God, there's just Salvia Texana everywhere. This feels more like West Texas than it does South Texas. It's because of the elevation.

[00:14:55]1500 ft elevation. Magical things start to happen. The higher up you go. Woo. Is this a mana hut? Oh [ __ ] It appears to be. That's pretty cool. Is that manahut subspa? I did not expect to see that.

[00:15:11]This is this is a floristic affinities of that Corpus Christi area. You got the uh camoc Christrista Gregi and this manut too. What the [ __ ] And it's in flower, too. Let's all gaze at the uh at the flowers of uh of this manut. Yeah, you can see there's a fruit back there.

[00:15:28]That's nice. Holy [ __ ] So, this is wild to see, right? Lots of floristic affinities with that rare spot in the Corpus Christi area where both of these plants grow. And both of these are exceptionally rare in the United States.

[00:15:41]We got the camoca greg which I already told you about growing with aloysia. But this manhat subspicada I did not expect to see here. Right. This is exceptionally rare plant. I think it's critically endangered listed as critically endangered in Texas. Right.

[00:15:56]Euphoriac rubber family related to manahad escalantis which is a uh what yuka is the plant known as yuca. Look at how tiny the leaves are in the carwinsky right there. It's wild. You can see how there's a fruit right there. explosively the hiss and fruit rubbery texture to the leaves. Two species of manahide in Texas walker and then this one subspecada but you can see it's forming a nice little colony here. There's one over there too grown with Caliandra chia and uh lipia aaranthopolia got the black brush savvia taxana everywhere just a [ __ ] lovely habitat that hasn't been destroyed by American consumerism.

[00:16:34]But uh but why why are there why is this grow here? And then also the only place in the United States is near the Corpus Christie. What's so special about the Corpus Christi area that it uh it's the only place that occurs in the United States today. Pretty weird, bizarre, strange to think about. Really cool. Let's keep going. Let's keep going up this hill. Massive colonies of ao agave strriata. And here here's a little bench someone made. How long ago? How long ago did that person create this bench? Oh, look at that. It kind of is.

[00:17:05]Is that just any aantis?

[00:17:09]It's a wonderful construction though.

[00:17:11]You know, you could tell someone put a lot of care into it, you know, to sit here for a long ass time, maybe before the road was there, uh, to watch for whoever might be passing by. And I bet all the same plants were here as well.

[00:17:23]The camoca strata cordia bossier. Look at that. Ao agave. This thing's incredible, man.

[00:17:36]God, I love spiny plants. How the [ __ ] does some people not like spiny plants?

[00:17:40][ __ ] pansies. You shouldn't live You shouldn't live in the Borderlands region. Neopanglia integrafogia. That willow family member right there.

[00:17:48]Wonderful tree. Oh. Woo. Nice winds. And we got a new agave. We haven't seen this down below. This is agave univita it looks like or loantha whatever they're calling it now. Spicate influesence.

[00:18:00]That just means it's a spike. the the flowers uh it doesn't branch. They're directly uh attached to the inflloresence. There's no pedestal.

[00:18:11]You can see form a nice little colonies.

[00:18:13]That's a mean one. I like that spot in San Antonio where you got these all over the freeway right right near downtown.

[00:18:18]Same species. So you can see it gets a little thicker with the legumes. We got havaria palins black Russian whatnot. We also have hesper aloe, hesper aloe, however you want to pronounce that, it doesn't matter. It's uh Latin's a dead language growing with the upuploator on either side. There's the flowers. This actually gets used a lot in horiculture various hybrids species. This doesn't look like parva folia or was it parva flora what whatever the one that's common in in you know strip malls in Texas. One of the few natives they actually use. Uh so this species it doesn't look like fifera either cuz it's a little too big. But whatever it is, it looks like it's going for a combination of moth, uh, hummingbird, maybe probably some bees, too. Very glous waxy stem.

[00:19:02]Just root it right right into the sandstone there. Just just roots breaking up the bedding planes. Oh, we got a Malpigatious bastard. Malpigia is the family. Is that aspicarpa or gelfimeia? Actually, I'm going to go with galfimeia.

[00:19:19]Really unique flowers. Get this in South Texas as well. And you got a big uh tuberous uh root in the ground. Oh, it's windy up here. This is Havaria pelins, which uh smells incredible when it flowers.

[00:19:32]Really another really common plant in South Texas. Well, in at least in uh gardens I plant. This is interesting.

[00:19:40]Substrate. What happened here? Get these like pillows forming uh forming the base of this uh this one this one layer. This doesn't make any sense. I guess this would be the bedding plane there that it's been cooked a little bit. Maybe there's been some diioenesis.

[00:20:00]Now we got habiscus marianis growing off too. Mike heap grows a ton of these.

[00:20:05]Sells tubes of them for like four bucks.

[00:20:08]No idea why somebody dug here, but it's a nice chance to check out what's going on. Uh just beneath uh well, not the soil, but beneath the rock layer. just conglomerate conglomerate rocks. Maybe there's a little bit of actual bedrock there as well. Stuff just uh or more alovvium more I should say. It's a more appropriate term. God damn, there's some nice stuff here. Now, this is nice up here.

[00:20:35]This is really nice.

[00:20:38]This habitat, these these bedding planes of the limestone.

[00:20:43]Yeah. What is this? What is this?

[00:20:46]Reichmbbaki. What is that?

[00:20:50]Beautiful.

[00:20:53]It's just a lot of the same.

[00:20:58]It looks great though.

[00:21:01]Lychans, das, whole bunch of nice stuff on a ground. You like nice stuff? I like nice stuff. Guess I'll end it there.

[00:21:10]God, it smells incredible.

[00:21:13]Oo, dainty little aster. Anyway, that's all I got. Have a rest of your day. Go [ __ ] yourself. Bye.