Big Bend National Park

Trail Marker 13

Century Plant (Agave scabra) in bloom. This hardy plant blooms only once during it's entire 20 to 25 year lifespan. It dies as soon as its seeds have matured. The Apache Indians and early Mexicans used the Century Plant for a variety of uses: the plant's starchy heart was roasted and eaten, its fibrous leaves were used for making rope, its juice was used for wound dressings and cough syrups. Mexicans today distill tequila from some species of the Century Plant.

Trail Marker 14

Several Sotol plants grow together near the base of a Pinyon Pine. Sotol (Dasylirion leiophyllum) is common on the mid-elevation slopes of the Chisos Mountains, as well as on the desert lowlands. Both modern Mexicans and the early Indians distill a strong alcoholic drink, sotol, from the juices of this plant. Humans use the plant's bloom head for food; it's flavor is similar to that of raw cabbage. The sotol heads are also popular forage for deer and cattle.

This is a young Lechuguilla plant (Agave lechuguilla). Lechuguilla, like it's larger relative the Century Plant, blooms only once and then dies. Lechuguilla is an important source of textile fiber in northeastern Mexico; brushes, house insulation, rope, and twine are all made from this hardy plant's fiber. Mexicans produce soap and shampoo from the roots of the Lechuguilla.

This plant's roots are embedded in the rock cracks of the rhyolite it's living on. Over time, the roots will enlarge the cracks and help turn the rock into soil. This process of erosion is known as biological weathering.

It comes as no surprise that the Prickly Pear Cactus thrives in the desert and lower mountain slopes of the Big Bend. Prickly Pears are well adapted to arid environments, with flat pads that conserve water in dry times. Animals browse on the prickly pear fruits which grow in the spring. People use the fruit to make "cactus jelly".

Trail Marker 16

This Century Plant bloomed and died long ago. Its bloom stalk measures 14-15 feet tall, a typical height for a Century Plant bloom. When a Century Plant blooms, its stalk grows at a rate of as much as a foot a day. Once its seeds have matured, the plant dies.