August 2005 - BCSS Southampton and District Branch - British ...

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 1British Cactus & Succulent SocietySouthampton & District BranchNewsletterAugust 2005Branch SecretaryD & M Corina79 Shirley AvenueShirleySouthamptonHampshireSO15 5NH(023) 80779057Newsletter EditorVinay Shah29 Heathlands RoadEastleighHampshireSO53 1GU(023) 80261989vvshah@clara.co.ukEditorial................................................... 1Announcements ....................................... 1Last Month’s Meeting............................. 2Plants of Interest........................................... 2Argentina 2004............................................. 2Table Show – July ........................................ 6Branch Committee Meeting.................... 6The Peyotes of Big Bend - Where areThey Now?............................................... 7Forthcoming Events .............................. 10Next Month’s Meeting........................... 10EditorialThe past couple of months have been a busyperiod for the Branch, with us havingparticipated in a number of shows and displays.Later this month, we will take part in theSummer Garden Show at Romsey, and thismarks the final show and display of the year.The dry weather at the start of July has beenreplaced more recently with a rainy spell, whichis just as well since many of my outdoor plantswere beginning to suffer from lack of waterduring the dry period. It’s amazing how greeneverything looks after a couple of weeks ofsustained rain.In my conservatory, it is mainly the non-showysucculents such as Haworthias and Adromischuswhich are currently in flower. By comparison,the orange flowers on a couple of Aloes lookquite strinking. A couple of cacti (Notocactusand Rebutia) have been in bloom during the lastweek and there are buds forming on Borzicactus(Cleistocactus) samaipatanus.AnnouncementsOur stand at the New Forest and HampshireCounty Show attracted a good deal of interest.The wet weather meant it was a rather muddyevent (on the 2 nd day, quagmire might have beena better description!), but there was a goodturnout of people, and over the three days ourplant sales were at a similar level to last year.We had been allocated a bigger area this yearand this meant that there was more space behindthe sales table. Our display won a gold award –pictures can be seen on the branch website.An Open Day will be hosted by the Corinas’between 3pm and 5pm next Sunday (August7 th ). The idea of an Open Day is that a memberof the branch opens their greenhouse/collectionto other Branch members, so this is effectivelyan opportunity to view someone else’scollection. It is also a chance to have aninformal chit-chat with other members outsidethe confines of our monthly meetings. Maps areavailable from the front table.Our next major event will be the SummerGarden and Flower Show, which is due to heldat Broadlands (Romsey) on the weekend of 20 thand 21 st August. On the Saturday, the event willbe used to host the Zone 11 Show (showschedules are available from the front table).Then, in the evening, the Show will be brokendown and the show plants will be replaced witha conventional display. Branch members whocan spare time on either day would be welcomeIf you are going to help, you can use the backentrance (@ Romsey Rapids) – just follow thesigns for exhibitor car parking.After good sales at the Southampton Festivaland the New Forest Show, we have run out ofour stocks of cactus seed! If you find yourplants have set seed, please collect these andpass them on to Ivor Biddlecombe.The June issue of the BCSS Journal is in theprocess of being sent to the printers and itshould be posted to members within a couple ofweeks.Finally, it is sad to report that the BCSS VicePresident, Keith Mortimer, passed away lastweek.

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 2Last Month’s MeetingPlants of InterestGlenn had originally volunteered to bring insome Plants of Interest for this meeting but hadphoned Margaret Corina to say that he wasgoing to be late for the meeting. MargaretCorina therefore filled in at the last minute. Shementioned that she could have chosen severalbulbs and cycads and other unusual plants fromher greenhouse but had decided to stick withsome conventional succulent plants.We started with a collection of Faucaria plants.These mesembs are commonly known as“Tiger’s Jaws”. They are relatively easy to growand have yellow flowers which open in latesummer or autumn. The plants varyconsiderably, from being tuberculate, havingspots and teeth to featuring none of these. F.boscheana has white edges, and teeth down thesides. Margaret’s her plant was 15 years old andwas still within a 4 inch pot. Other speciesMargaret had brought along included F. tigrina,F felina, and F. tuberculata.F. longifolia cv. minima had been bought fromUhlig at the National Show. It was in a 2 inchpot and according to Margaret, it wasn’t likelyto ever need more than a 3 inch pot. She hadalso found a couple of attractive hybrids atFresh Acres – these had pink teeth, and the backof the leaves were marked with pink and whitestripes.Next were some Glottiphyllums, with Margaretattempting to illustrate the smallest and largesttypes she had. The smallest growingGlottiphyllum is probably G. pygmaeum, andthe largest one she owns had been obtained fromIris Palmer. Although unnamed, it might be G.nelii or G. oligocarpum, or perhaps a crossbetween these two species.Next was a summer flowering Conophytum - C.minusculum ssp. aestiflorens. This forms ¼ inchpurple flowers which bloom before the newbodies emerge. The featured plant had around30 heads, each only a few millimetres across.Delosperma sphalmanthoides stays compact andsmall. It is very tolerant and grows all year, justneeding to be splashed with some water fromtime to time. It covers itself in purple daisyflower from the end of April to May.Rabiea albiflora is a geophyte with a tuberousroot. The leaves of this genus tend to be coveredin little bumps and they are worth looking outfor. Rhombophyllum rhomboideum has yellowflowers which have orange backs. The leaveswere angular and white-edged.Finally, we saw one of David Corina’s plants -Aloe thompsoniae. It comes from the Transvaaland has the virtue that the plant and flower spikeremain compact. It flowers at a small size andneeds some water all through the year. Theflowers are orange.Argentina 2004Pete Down and Geoff Card presented this talk,featuring their trip to Argentina last year. Thetrip was held in association with a number ofother BCSS members and enthusiasts, and oncein Argentina they were due to meet some localswho would lead them to the cactus sites worthseeing. Geoff explained that they were due tostart at the capital, Buenos Aires, and then weredue to travel north-west towards the Bolivianborder along the base of the Andes mountainrange.The trip had an eventful start. After waiting inthe check-in queue at Heathrow, they were toldthat due to fuel shortages and strikes their flighthad been cancelled and they would now have togo via Rome. They eventually transferred toMilan and then found that this would only getthem to Sao Paulo in Brazil, where they wouldhave to catch another flight to Buenos Aires.Going through customs in Brazil, Geoff noticedPeter running past him in the other direction. Itturned out that Peter thought he had lost hispassport, but it was eventually found in a trouserpocket! At Sao Paulo, they had to wait 2½ hoursfor the flight to Buenos Aires.After all that excitement, they were glad to getto their hotel. The next day, they moved on toMerlo. The following day, one of theircolleagues (Brian) was taken ill and had to betaken to hospital with a suspected stroke. In theevent it turned out to be a heart attack and hehad to be left behind. Since Brian didn’t haveany insurance, none of the airlines wereprepared to fly him back home. Eventually hehad to have an operation in Argentina.Fortunately he has since made a full recovery.Peter Down then took over the floor to showsome slides from their trip. He mentioned that

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 3Argentina is a very large country, some 3000miles long. While they were travelling, they sawenormous fields of wheat and soya. On a map,he pointed out their route to get to the mountainsand on to the Bolivian border would take themthrough Cordoba. In response to questions fromthe audience, he mentioned that most of theroads were tarmac, and the party was travellingin a coach which could accommodate up to 25people.Buenos Aires is a very modern city, withdifferent quarters around the city. An aerialview showed a section of the main road manylanes wide. There were some pictures of dancerspracticing the tango. We also saw some of thelocal members of their expedition. Willy Smithwas their main guide, and they were alsoaccompanied by Fabian (a University botanist)and a seed specialist Raul, whose wife Lidia wasan English teacher.Peter mentioned that they were there at the endof September/start of October, which isspringtime in the southern hemisphere. Two orthree weeks later might have been better to seethe flowers on the cacti. However, they stillencountered plenty of things they hadn’t seenbefore. A Commelina bush was covered inmagenta flowers, and we also saw a shot of aflowering tree, rather like a cherry.Their first succulent was a Jatropha of somesort. Lobivia aurea was one of the first cactithey saw. As the name suggests, it has a yellowflower. Gymnocalycium stellatum was in bud,and we saw Gymnocalycium achirasense. Apicture of a cultivated version of this speciesshowed white/pink flowers. An Opuntiareminded Peter to comment that these were tobe found everywhere during the trip and it wasimportant to wear tough shoes. Harrisiapomanensis was 2 feet tall but was still a youngplant. It had a nice new shoot emerging.Peter said there were masses of bromeliadseverywhere. The featured plant had yellowflowers. The leaves of some have very nastyteeth along the edge, and in some instances theycan be just as dangerous as cacti.We saw a small Trichocereus candicans, andwhat looked like goat droppings was actually alumpy Tephrocactus articulata. We also sawGymnocalycium ochoterenai, with 7 buds.Tephrocactus articula v. papyracantha had longpapery spines and was growing in the shelter ofa bush. A cristate Gymnocalycium was carryingsome buds, but it was hard to identify thespecies. An example of Gymnocalyciumacorrugatum looked very brown and unhealthy.Peter commented that it was very dry in someareas.Pyrrhocactus bulbocalyx is difficult to grow incultivation, but these plants were 6-7 inchesacross and high. Another specimen was a foothigh. These were growing in full sun.Trichocereus strigosus forms enormous clumps,although each individual stem is only 6-9" high.We saw Geoff standing next to a Trichocereusterscheckii which was 15 feet tall. The altitudeat this location was around 8000 feet, and therewere many Trichocerei, Opuntias andGymnocalyciums amongst the scrub. In habitatEchinopsis leucantha can get to 3 feet tall andhave spines 4 inches long. We also saw a largeGymnocalycium saglionis out in the open.Between San Juan and La Rioja is the ParqueProvincial Ischigualasto, a National Park whichhouses a natural science museum (Museo deCiencias Naturales). This location is famous fordinosaur remains and some interestingweathered rock formations. Here, they alsofound Denmoza rhodacantha, 2 feet high andwith erect tubular red flowers. It is very slowgrowing in habitat. Peter has some in hiscollection which are a few inches high but thereare no signs of them wanting to flower yet.The next shot showed a “field of balls” – whichconsisted of circular rocks around 8 to 15 inchesin diameter. There was a formation called “TheSubmarine” and various Trichocerei weregrowing near this. Down in a valley there weremore plants which were out of bounds. Theyweren’t allowed to get close to these, but Fabianreckoned the plants were a hybrid of T.terscheckii and T. strigosus. Another rockformation which was called “The Mushroom”was some 40 feet high! There were also somered rock cliffs, making for some stunningscenery.A distant view showed 5 vicunas which werehard to spot against a grey cliff. These animalsare not domesticated but they are used toproduce the most expensive wool in the world.We also saw Soehrensia (Echinopsis) formosawith buds. There was a clump of the bromeliadAbromeitiella which looks rather like aminiature haworthia. There’s a claim thatParodia chrysacanthion often grows in amongst

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 4this bromeliad, but they didn’t find this to be thecase in this instance. They also came somedwarf Opuntias (Tephrocactus) some of whichhad nicely coloured spines. They also found aclump of Trichocereus spachianus with a dozenheads, and another clump with over 50 heads.Next was a picture of the whole group next to asign marked "Londres". This was taken nearBelén, in the province of Catamarca. There waslots of colour in the hills around. Cereusaethiops only gets to 2 feet high but there was anice blue colour on the new growth. They alsofound Acanthocalycium thionanthum and A.glaucum which was indeed a glaucous bluecolour. They also found a giant (18 inches x 12inches) specimen of Gymnocalycium saglionis.One of their stays was at the Quilmes RuinsHotel. This was the site of an ancientcivilization. Peter mentioned that it was worthnoting that the best beer in Argentina was alsocalled Quilmes. The people in this area have athing about “faces” and we saw severalexamples of murals and wall paintings featuringexaggerated faces. There was also a buildingwith cacti growing on the roof. We also saw apicture of their hardworking driver, Jorge.Originally, they had started off with 2 driversbut one was prevented from driving because hislicence was out of date so Jorge had to handlethe rest of the trip on his own.There were lots of Trichocerei around the hotel,and we saw photo of a flower on one of these.An Acanthocalycium in the undergrowth washard to photograph. There was nice spination onan Acanthocalycium thionanthum. There werealso lots of Parodias around but it wasn’t as easyto spot these because the stems were small (aninch across and two inches high) and were alsoobscured by scrub. Parodia microsperma ssp.horrida had yellow flowers and another old one5-6 inches long hanging down from a cliff edge.Gymnocalycium spegazzinii was buried in thesand. Some of these had dark spines and othershad masses of spines pressed against the body.We saw another view of red rocks and then atourist trap – where a family had a baby llama.Of course, everyone wanted a photograph withit. There were more examples of the faces. Apicture of a Trichocereus skeleton showed thevascular bundles which strengthen the mainstem. This skeletons is used by the locals forvarious items, as a substitute for wood. Therewas a nice form of Gymnocalycium spegazziniwith a brown body and white spines which hadbeen potted up in a fancy pot by one of the stallholders.We saw Geoff posing near a large wine vat at acafé. At one of these there were also a lot ofAloe plants. At another the aloes had a yellowflower (someone from the audience suggestedthis could have been a Bulbinella). A picture ofthe sky was clear blue, with hardly a hint of anyclouds. They also came across Rebutiawessneriana. In cultivation we can get Rebutiasinto nice clumps, but in the wild they are usuallysmall, with just a head or two. They also foundthis species growing in an epiphytic manner ona tree, along with a Cleistocactus. Cleistocactushyalacanthus looks similar to C. strausii andhad horizontal pink flowers. They came acrossa sign saying “Private Property - do not takecacti etc.” but they did not see anyone around toenforce this. Here they found an enormousGymnocalycium saglionis 2 feet across whichhad formed a ring of flower buds along its top.Near the village of Purmamarca in Jujuyprovince, they found Gymnocalycium saglionisssp. tilcarense and in the valley abovePurmamarca, they found Parodia stuemeri,growing high up on a cliff and covered in greydust which made it hard to spot.After the mid-meeting break,.we carried on withsome more shots of Parodia stuemeri growingin rocks and Parodia microsperma ssp. horrida.A photo of a spiny Gymnocalycium spegazziniwas washed out because it was taken with flash,but there was no option since it was quite darkunder the scrub.At the village of Purmamarca, they again foundthe facial features on buildings, with windowsand doors painted to resemble eyes and a mouth.In the local church, the furniture such as thepews, alter, and lectern were all made fromcactus "wood". There were some pictures of thesiesta hour at the local market, with thestallholders enjoying a nap. There was also a potstall with some very nice pots. A picture of thenative population showed how they tended toresemble the original Indian population in thisnorthern part of Argentina.A cactus garden in a local park at Tilcaracontained Pyrrhocactus umadeave which was 9inches across. A tree was dropping red berriesand some of these had landed on the top of thecacti. They also found Parodia chrysacanthion

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 5here, with a yellow flower on top. These are oneof the first Parodias to flower each year. Theflower is quite small. They also saw aCleistocactus hyalacanthus in flower. AtTilcara, a blonde haired musician was playing ainstrument like a banjo which in the old dayswould have been made from the shell of aarmadillo, but now is made from wood. Alsotaken at Tilcara was an artistic shot ofTrichocereus pasacana in flower, with a hazybackground.At the Bolivian border near La Quiaca, theyfound Oreocereus celsianu, the “Old Man of theAndes” with stems 3-4 feet tall. One of theseplants was in flower. A photograph of a circle inthe sand was trying to highlight a tiny plant inthe centre of the circle. This was none other thanYavia cryptocarpa, which is a new species, firstdescribed in 2001. The plants are small and veryhard to find in dry conditions since they tend tosink into the ground. The Argentinians havecollected seed from this species and have sent itto various approved nurseries to help propagatethe plant. The next slide showed a group ofthree plants and this was followed by a slidewhich Fabian had sent him, of a Yavia plantbearing a light magenta flower.Parodia maassii occurs over a thousand milerange and hence varies considerably. We alsosaw orange flowers on Tephrocactus bolivianus- 50 or 100 years ago this location would havebeen in Bolivia, but that country has seen itsborders contract over the last century as variousneighbouring countries have pinched land fromafter various disputes. It can also be found withyellow or red flowers. Lobivia longispina wasabout 6-8 inches across, and had spines 4 incheslong. Lobivia ferox was almost obscured in amass of dark spines.Following a picture of Ian Robinson (a BCSSmember from Wales) we saw a spinyAustrocylindropuntia weingartiana. Opuntia(Puna) subterranea pulls itself right into theground and looks like a small headed plant.They dug one out, which showed the massivetap root. They also found Rebutia pygmaea, butthe plants were small, with only two or threeheads as most. We saw what a beautiful plant itmakes in cultivation when bearing pastel pinkflowers.Pictures of some wild llamas reminded Peter ofan incident at the Quilmes Ruins hotel.Everyone had gone to bed, but their driver hadwanted a word with the hotel staff. As he madehis way to the front, he was attacked by somellamas in the porch! Apparently they make verygood shepherds and are very defensive ofanything of which they are put in charge.At a high point in the Humahuaca Pass, Peterhad taken a photo of a sign stating “3780maltura sobre el nivel del mar” which meant 3780metres (11700 feet) above sea level. The viewsaround here were spectacular.They found an attractive red-green bromeliadand Echinopsis (Lobivia) aurea. They alsofound Parodia microsperma of which there areabout 50 subspecies, if you’re a splitter. Theyalso found clumps of Blossfeldia liliputana inamazing condition, with dozens of ½ and ¾ inchheads. This was apparently growing just 10 feetfrom the side of the road. The plant iswidespread in this area but difficult to grow wellin cultivation. There are jungles near here as thegeography causes moisture to be deposited fromclouds which roll in from the Pacific coast. Theyalso found the golden spined Soehrensia bruchiiand the columnar Trichocereus schickendantziigrowing amongst grass on cliffs and highterraces.At a mountainside market, there were manyhandmade products including balaclavas madefrom the wool of local animals. In a valley witha stream of water at the bottom, there are manyepiphytes growing in the trees. There were somebig bromeliads here, with leaves 2 feet long, anda pink flower. We saw other bromeliadsgrowing on bushes and on trees. A floweringtree was some type of Fuschia or Thalia.The next slide featured a large spider, with a 6inch long pen near it for scale. The audienceasked whether the pen had been carefullyplaced or just thrown down there! It looked likethe spider measured at least 4 inches across itslegs.On the way home, they passed a “forest ofcardones” which is Spanish for candelabra. Thisterm is generally applied to plants which growin groups – the specific plant may be different atdifferent locations. We saw an exceptional andvery ancient Stetsonia coryne which wasprobably several hundred years old. The base ofthe trunk was a metre across. Some of the plantsbore white/pink flowers.

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 6The talk ended with a view of Cleistocactusbaumannii. The plants appeared variable andthey found different spine colours. These plantsare quite rewarding with their red flowers.I think everyone would have found this talkinteresting. It’s always good to see plants inhabitat and to compare them with our plants incultivation. And it was also good to see some ofthe scenery and aspects of local life.Vinay ShahTable Show – JulyThere were 9 entries in the July table show.OpenCacti –EchinopsisGroup(1) B BeckerlegPygmaecereusbylesianus(2) G FinnLobivia maximilianaSucculents –Aloe Group(1) B BeckerlegAloe erinacea(2) J RoskillyAloe pegleraeFor those who want to study further, thefollowing links may be of use. Willy Smith’swebsite features pictures of plants, many ofwhich are probably the same ones that Peterdiscussed during his talk.Willy Smith’s Websitehttp://www.cactusargentina.com/index.htmlhttp://www.cactustours.org/Other Argentinian Tourshttp://www.cactusexpeditions.com.ar/index.htmIntermediate(3) R Courtney (3) J RoskillyLobivia arachnacantha? Aloe sinkatana(1) B Beckerleg (1) B BeckerlegLobivia spiniflora Aloe erinacea(2) G Finn (2) -Lobivia ancistrophora(3) - (3) -Ivor BiddlecombeBranch Committee MeetingA committee meeting was held at the Corinas’on 18 th July.An updated BCSS membership list had beenreceived. There were 75 names on the list, ofwhom 62 had renewed their subscriptions thisyear.The branch dinner went well, although therewas some comment that perhaps Friday is thebusiest day of the week for restaurants andperhaps not the best choice of day for us.Our recent displays and shows at Whitely,Southampton Festival, and Hilliers Arboretumwere discussed. Preparations and a manning rotafor the New Forest Show were also discussed, aswere arrangements for the Zone Show/Displayat Romsey in August.Quotes had been obtained for a new pin badgefor the branch. Stocks of the previous badge ranout some years ago. The design beingconsidered is a slight variation of the previousdesign.

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 7The Branch will be hosting the Zone 11 Quiz atthe November meeting, and DavidNeville/Vinay Shah will be responsible forsetting the questions. Catering arrangements forthis event were also discussed.Vinay ShahThe following article is from Ian Acton. He has alsogiven me a copy of the referenced article on PeyoteIntoxication which was published in a NCSS Journalin 1952.The Peyotes of Big Bend -Where are They Now?Imagine Wild West country where ColonelDavid Crockett had died in the siege of TheAlamo. Both were real, although not in themanner glamorized in the John Wayne film. Theheavily restored ruins of The Alamo are now amajor tourist attraction in downtown SanAntonio, whilst the mortal remains of ColonelCrockett rest in peace in Acton cemetery. This isBible-belt America (and all that goes with it) aswell as the home of George W Bush, but Ireckon you will have heard enough about thatalready from the media.The Rio Grande River, which forms a naturalborder between Mexico and Texas, flows in agenerally South-westerly direction towards theGulf of Mexico until its path is blocked by theChisos Mountains. It then makes a diversionaryloop southwards through what would otherwisehave been Mexico before turning back to followits logical course to the sea. America therebygains a large slice of the Chihuahuan Desert inan area known as Big Bend National Park(although on the map it looks more like a U-bend). Had the river turned the other way andflowed Northwards around the mountains, TheAlamo might already have been situated inMexico making the siege unnecessary, not tomention the effect on more recent Americanpolitics!The Big Bend National Park authorities claim tohave the largest number of naturally occurringcactus species of any area in the United States.Casting my sceptical ‘lumpers’ eye over theofficial check list, I would reduce the number toperhaps in excess of forty distinct species plussome varieties. This is still an impressive figure.For instance, I would seriously question whetherthe depth of the depression in the growing pointis sufficient evidence to distinguishEpithelantha bokei from the more usual E.micromeris, or that the altitude at which theygrow is sufficient to warrant two varieties ofMammillaria heyderi. The differencesbetween Opuntia engelmannii and O.phaeacantha are confused at best: is one avariety of the other or is it the other way round,or are they really distinct? In addition, there arenine species of other succulents about which Ihave no such doubts.There are vast geographic and climaticdifferences over this area. River level is about1,500 feet falling gently towards the West, andsummertime temperatures are consistently over100°F with maxima reaching 120°F in the rivergorge. Our lodgings were at 5,400 feet abovesea level (one mile is 5,280 feet), and there wasovernight frost on the car. Yet we foundavehavardiana, Mammillaria heyderi and flatpaddedOpuntias growing up to about 7,000feet. Granted these were not pristine specimens,but they had survived to reach some size andhad flowered. Rainfall is erratic here, and itusually comes in torrents. There had been onesuch cloudburst just before we arrived, whichcaused flash flooding. We saw cactus plantscompletely submerged in water just like pondweed. The local paper reported that a womanhad been swept away and drowned whilst tryingto escape from her stranded car. By the time weleft, there were only some deep (seriously deep)patches of mud which had been washed down.Who knows what seeds were waiting for theopportunity to germinate there?Agave havardiana is the signature plant of theNational Park. The grey-green toothed leaveswith terminal spine resemble Agaveamericana, but the similarity between thespecies ends there. This is a very compact plantonly about one-quarter to one-third of the size ofits cousin, with much more densely packedleaves. It does not have the annoying habit ofproducing offsets from underground stolons, nordoes it produce adventious plantlets from theinflorescence. However, it does appear to setviable seed. One wonders why such a desirableplant does not appear in cultivation over here?Another Agave hereabouts is A.lechuguilla.This offsets freely, and dies backalmost equally freely, producing large moundsof herbage. It has little merit for cultivation.Other Agave-related species include Dasylirion

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 8(Sotol), Hesperaloe parviflora, Nolina(Beargrass), and three species of Yucca. Theresidual scarlet flower spikes on theHesperaloe plants suggested they must havemade a spectacular sight earlier in the season.Fouquieria splendens (Ocotillo) is aborderline succulent, but worthy of mention. Ithas long thin spiny stalks which, regardless ofseason, respond to rain by producing fresh greenleaves and brilliant scarlet flowers within a fewdays. It then returns to complete dormancy untilthe next precipitation.Flat padded Opuntias were everywhere andcould not be missed. The official check listclaimed eight different species plus varieties. Iam no expert, but many of these looked thesame, and I have alluded already to theconfusion in nomenclature which existed inlocal publications. One very distinct species wasO. macrocentra (purple prickly pear). Thisturns conspicuous and rather attractive purplecolour when stressed by drought and/or cold.The pencil-thin stems of Opuntia leptocauliscarried formidable central spines up to abouttwo inches long which I have not seen oncultivated plants over here. They also carriedclusters of bright red fruits which are not seenover here either. The Americans have theannoying habit of giving vernacular and ofteninconsistent names to everything (such as“Texas nipple” for Thelocactus), and they callthis the Christmas Cactus. Perhaps it did looklike a holly bush to the early settlers, althoughpersonally I would hesitate to cut branches tomake a wreath for the front door!!Reference books consulted before our departuresuggested that the most interesting species ofcacti were likely to be found on limestoneoutcrops overlooking the river. The geologicalmap looked like the proverbial technicolourdream coat. In practice, we found complexgeology consisting mainly of various shalesalong nearly two hundred miles of river bank.Where should one start looking? Thinking backto England, subterranean water courses areusually associated with limestone, and an areamarked on the map as Hot Springs seemedworth a try. Furthermore, it was accessible by avehicle track. Luck was with us. We found athree mile stretch of limestone outcrop, andsuddenly we were in cactus heaven.Our five-star find was undoubtedly Ariocarpusfissuratus. These flat topped plants grow flushwith the surrounding gravel, and are very wellcamouflaged. Fortunately November was theirflowering season, and showy magenta flowersone to two inches across revealed their location.We then realised we had been actually walkingon non-flowering plants growing in the path.They were tough; contrast this with how wecosset them. Looking at our photographsafterwards showed several variations in thearrangement of the areoles, such as straight andspiral lines, staggered lines, diamond patterns,and so on. Thankfully no one has thought to callthese by different varietal names. Yet!The only other cactus normally in flower here atthis time of year is Mammillaria pottsii. Themaroon flowers were constricted by the densespination, and became quite tatty looking by thetime they had forced their way through andopened. Mammillaria lasiacantha grows herealso, but produces its flowers conventionally inspringtime. Close relatives of Mammillariaincluded several Coryphantha, Escobaria andThelocactus bicolor. None were in flower,and it was difficult to tell them apart in theirshrivelled state at the end of the dry season. Afew carried terminal red fruits, in contrast to thering produced by the Mammillarias. Thesefruits are eaten by small desert creatures,ensuring that the seeds are deposited andhopefully germinate some distance from theirparents. This prevents over-crowding whilstensuring genetic variation for the future.Ferocactus (Homalocephala) texensis madeclumps of up to three or four heads, whilstFerocactus (Hamatocactus) hamatacanthusgrew to football size before becoming slightlycolumnar. Somehow we expect these plants tobe easy to grow because of their names, butseeing them alongside Ariocarpus in thishabitat makes one realize they are perhaps moretender and fickle than first thought. Perhapslosses from our own collections should beexcused?We found one of the other succulents growingin this area and nowhere else. Euphorbiaantisyphilitica made low bushes of leaflesspencil-thin grey stems, more like onewould expect to find on the Africancontinent. I felt no reason to test the alludedpharmacological properties of this plant. Thereis no doubt it would have worked in a perverse

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 9sort of way, as the sap of all Euphorbias ispoisonous to humans.Advance reading had promised Lophophorawilliamsii (Peyote) around here, but we failedcompletely to find any. One flora published in1984 recorded that Lophophora “formerlycovered thousands of acres, but (is) now raredue to overcollecting.” Another published in1989 reported that “in the past this cactus wasvery common but with the advent of the crazefor hallucinogenic drugs, it has become scarce.”The National Park check list dated 1998recorded that it had not been seen “in recentyears”. One cynic suggested, with perhaps morethan a grain of truth, that plants may have beenremoved deliberately by over-zealousofficialdom who perceived them as narcotic.I must confess to having purchased five habitatcollected plants from a Dutch nursery inabout 1968. These were the days whenmoribund imported plants were consideredfashionable and won prizes at shows. TheConvention on International Trade inEndangered Species (CITES) came into force in1975 putting an end to such practices.The complete Lophophora plant resembles aparsnip, with a substantial tap root and only thetop showing at or slightly above ground level.The plants I obtained had been chopped off justbelow the soil line leaving only the tops. Theyproduced a few wispy roots around the cut edge,but never regenerated their tap roots before theinevitable demise. However, propagatedmaterial still survives in a juvenile form asclusters of small heads. This is characteristic ofmany plants propagated from small pieces ofvegetative material (for example, single joints ofSchlumbergera or Zygocactus), and callsinto question the validity of the varietycaespitosa.The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute islocated about a hundred miles North of BigBend. This boasts the most complete collectionof Chihuahuan Desert plants, including cacti andsucculents, assembled anywhere in the world. Ifound no reason to doubt this claim.Most of the Opuntias and other succulentswere grown outdoors. As the garden is situatedsome distance from, and a couple of thousandfeet above the river, the more tender plantsneeded the protection of a crude but effectiveplastic shelter. We saw proposals for a newcactus display pavilion to be located close to theinevitable visitor centre. Hopefully this will notmean a display of large and coarse plants for thebenefit of the tourists, with the real gems hiddenbehind the scenes as happens with so manybotanical gardens.This was a vast collection of plants grown in allsorts of containers on slatted wooden benches. Ithad obviously been arranged systematically tostart with, but as some sections expanded theyhad overflowed into any space availableelsewhere. All this added to the interest andquaintness of the place, as you simply did notknow what you were going to find next.Ariocarpus agavoides, A. fissuratus,Mammilaria plumosa and M. pottsii were inflower as this (November) was their appointedseason. The flowers on M. plumosa hadopened wide and were not sulking as they oftendo on cultivated plants. Our attention was drawnto a large plant of Ferocactus latispinuswith an out of season crown of perhaps a dozenmagenta flowers. This was an interesting changefrom the usual pale yellow flowers of thespecies of Ferocacti which we manage toflower over here. F. latispinus is a handsomeplant even without flowers having a single flat,wide, recurved central spine marked withprominent cross banding.The very wide range of forms within speciessuch as Mammillaria elongata, M. prolifera,etc., was most noticeable. One variation simplymerged into the next. It was impossible todifferentiate where one ended and the nextbegan, yet the plants at either end of the rangewere undeniably different. Where would the`splatters' propose to draw their boundariesbetween varieties in these circumstances? Acollection of Astrophytum myriostigma hadvarying densities of white scales, varyingnumbers of angular to plump ribs, etc. Someeven had diminutive spines. What does thismake of the varieties nudum, quadricostata,etc.? I accept that Astrophytums hybridizeeasily, especially in cultivation, but wherewas the genetic material to produce spineshere?There was no attempt anywhere in thiscollection to attach varietal names to plants.They were all simply, but accurately,identified with their specific name andcollection data. I admit to being an unashamed

BCSS Southampton & District Branch – August 2005 Newsletter Page 10‘lumper’, and this only reinforced my views. Isuggest that all botanists should visit acollection such as this before rushing into printwith yet more new names.It was noticeable that Lophophora williamsiiwas missing from this collection. The staffconfirmed that it was regarded as a narcoticdrug, and hence possession was illegal. Theyadmitted they knew of private collectors whohad specimens. Apparently the technique was tolabel the plant with a fictitious name: Texanpolicemen are taught to read but not torecognize plants.Next Month’s MeetingOur next branch meeting will be held onSeptember 6 th and will feature Paul Klaassenwho will be talking about South AmericanCacti. Paul has said that he intends to use hiscomputer and digital projector to give this talk.The September table Show will feature 3 Cactiand 3 Succulents. Please note that members areallowed to submit more than one entry in any of theclasses, and that points will be earned for each placedentry.Lophophora williamsii, known as “peyote” tothe native Indians, contains mescalin and anumber of other hallucinogenic alkaloids.Before the influence of missionaries, the Indiansfollowed a religion which incorporated thepractice of chewing dried peyote buttons. Theensuing hallucinations were supposed to foretellthe future. The peyote cult was described insome detail in the (then) National Journal wayback in 1952. The author suggested that thereligious connotation was perhaps an excusefor recreational drug use. There is no doubt thatpresent day American officialdom takes thesame view, and that Lophophora williamsiimight now be extinct in habitat.Ian ActonForthcoming EventsSun 7 th Aug Southampton Members Open Day @ The Corinas, 79 Shirley AvenueFri 19 th Aug Isle of Wight Open House @ Robin & Joan Goodredge’sSat 20 th Aug Romsey Zone 11 Show + plant sales @ Summer Garden ShowBroadlands, RomseySun 21 st Aug Romsey Display + plant sales @ Summer Garden Show,Broadlands, RomseyTue 6 th Sep Southampton “South American Cacti” – Paul KlaassenFri 16 th Sep Isle of Wight “Deserts of the South-West USA” – Malcolm PymSat 17 th Sep Portsmouth “Mesembryanthemums” – Suzanne MaceTue 4 th Oct Southampton “A Walk on the Wild Side – Part 2” – Eddy HarrisSat 8 th Oct Portsmouth Portsmouth & District Autumn Show – Christ Church Hall, WidleySat 15 th Oct Portsmouth “Cacti of Ecuador” – John HughesFri 21 st Oct Isle of Wight “Plants and Things Around the World” – Jean EllisBranch website: http://www.southampton.bcss.org.uk?2005 British Cactus & Succulent Society - Southampton & District Branch