LIVING FENCES
General Overview
Barbed wire is liberally used to control grazing animals,
but property lines are often demarked by living fences. Some
species used in fences are also planted to create windbreaks
to control erosion. Living fences and windbreaks provide important
habitat for insects, birds and small mammals, and provide
a range of benefits to property owners.
 A
Few of the Key Species Often Found in Living Fences
Porotillo (Fabaceae family, Erythrina smithiana)
This tree is endemic to Ecuador. It is generally small, though
long-lived ones can be sizeable. The leaves are made up of
three large spade-shaped leaflets, each on a long stalk. When
the tree is in flower, it has few leaves. Clumps of slender,
pod-shaped, fuschia-red flowers leap from the background like
intense brush strokes, especially when a living fence is viewed
from above. Larvae of numerous types of tiger moths and silk
moths feed on this plant. Like other legumes (peas and beans),
porotillo enriches the soil because bacteria that live in
its roots “fix” nitrogen, making it bio-available
to other plants. Within the fairly narrow range of altitude
in which it is found, porotillo establishes easily. A flowering
porotillo is a good place to look out for hummingbirds, the
plant’s pollinator. This tree is also sometimes planted
for shade amongst coffee trees.
   Agave,
mejico or penco (Agavaceae family, Furcraea andina
and Agave americana)
The green-coloured Fucraea, which is native to the Andes,
grows abundantly between 1000 and 3500 m (3300 and 11,500
ft). The powdery blue-grey Agave americana is an introduced
species. It grows on the coast as well as in the Andes. The
two species are very similar in form, with their large rosette
of thick, spiny-edged leaves. The flowers grow on a very tall
shoot that branches out at the top; a creation that would
look at home in a Dr. Seuss children’s book. The plants
flower at about 10 years of age, and slowly die afterwards.
Both types of agave are sometimes grown on stone fences topped
with earth, because their roots help hold the rocks together.
Both species, but especially the Furcraea, are also common
on the arid hillsides around the valley. They help control
erosion, and enrich the soil. At one time, the fibres were
used for spinning, and the leaves were used to wash clothes.
The flower buds are still sometimes pickled for eating. A
sap is also collected from the Agave americana, in a hole
cut in specific leaves before the plant flowers. This liquid
(mishque) is consumed fresh, or fermented for tequila. Larvae
of the giant skipper butterflies bore into agave stems.
 Century
plant, flor de novia or peina de indio (Agavaceae family,
Yucca guatemalensis)
The flor de novia, which is in the same family as the agaves,
is cultivated on both the coast and in the Andes. The white
flowers of this small, spikey-leaved tree grow in a striking
clump at the top. In some parts of Latin America, they are
eaten in salads. The genus name of the flor de novia is Yucca,
but this plant has no relationship to the food plant cassava
(which is also known by the common name yuca).
Datura (Solanaceae family)
While not a structural part of living fences, the large, trumpeting
flowers of this woody vine (which is in the same family as
tomatoes and potates) can sometimes be seen spilling over
a stretch of shrubbery. The scent of its flowers is particularly
pungent at night. The medicinal and hallucinogenic properties
of the leaves, flowers and seeds of datura have been used
since pre-Inca times.
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