A floriferous and cold hardy winter growing cactus

[jp29]

Corryocactus squarrosus (sensu lato) is in constant flower during the winter months here:



James

[DaveW]

Evidently it is also variable as to flower colour too:-

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/212319/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ron43]

Corryocactus squarrosus (sensu lato) is in constant flower during the winter months here:



James

Beautiful!

[DaveW]

Saw something similar James in a garden and at a dealers in Chile, only about 8 inches high flowering it's head off, but due to CITES could not bring one home. However it was much thinner so I think it may have been an Erdisia tenicula, not a Chilean native but Peruvian, though Corrycactus and Erdisia's are related anyway and often considered congeneric.

http://public.fotki.com/Grootscholten/p ... ula-3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jp29]

Thanks Ron.

James

[jp29]

Saw something similar James in a garden and at a dealers in Chile, only about 8 inches high flowering it's head off, but due to CITES could not bring one home. However it was much thinner so I think it may have been an Erdisia tenicula, not a Chilean native but Peruvian, though Corrycactus and Erdisia's are related anyway and often considered congeneric.

http://public.fotki.com/Grootscholten/p ... ula-3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you for that information, Dave. I am not at all certain of the attribution of my plant -- there seems to be quite a lot of stem/spine/flower coloration variability for plants of this Genus currently pictured at various places online -- the person who gave me that plant didn't have a name for it, hence the "sensu lato" I appended to the name I gave it after some online research. I envy you your trip to Chile, Dave -- I wish you would give a brief account of it here -- like you did on the BCSS board.

James

[DaveW]

I took 1300 pictures James in RAW format and still have to get around to processing them. The problem is I have to give our BCSS branch a talk on the Chile trip in November so they need processing for my digital projectors format which is too large for posting on these forums, therefore I have to make two different sized copies of them which is time consuming. Will try and post some in future though.

Meanwhile a few Eriosyce (Thelocephala) napina ssp. lembckei to show variation within a population.

lembckei.jpg (98.96 KiB) Viewed 2468 times

lembckei1.jpg (102.37 KiB) Viewed 2468 times

lembckei2.jpg (104.67 KiB) Viewed 2468 times

lembckei3.jpg (104.83 KiB) Viewed 2468 times

lembckei4.jpg (101.18 KiB) Viewed 2468 times

Those conversant with Thelocephala's will note some individuals look white and woolly rather like Thelocephala challensis which comes from not that far away from this locality. Is challensis therefore just a white spined lembckei?

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/e ... teresting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I gather the Keim's who named challensis are now finding seedlings raised from the white spined plants often have reddish spines like lembkei.

[C And D]

I have a pot of 4 of these Eriosyce (Thelocephala) napina ssp. lembckei
They look very similar to the habitat plants No. 4

Slow growers, and not reliable to flower for me yet.
Very fat tuberous roots.

[DaveW]

Yes images one and four are the usual form you find in cultivation, probably as it was the form Ritter originally introduced to cultivation through his sister Frau Winter's nursery in the 1960's. All Thelocephala's have tuberous roots, usually more plant below ground than above, even in seedlings as in my T. nuda below against my thumb shows. Some species have the tuberous root attached directly to the body as in T. nuda, whilst others have a more slender neck attaching it.

nuda.jpg (93.41 KiB) Viewed 2435 times

In habitat the heads are often eaten off by Guanaco's and goats who seemingly are able find those still underground by smell, but if the tuberous root is left they usually regenerate more heads from the root.

[DaveW]

I am told the plant I saw growing in gardens in Chile was Erdisia erecta (sometimes placed in Corryocactus) though it looked slightly different to the plant I grew years ago as E. erecta which I never flowered. A lot of the Erdisia's look similar, apart from number of ribs and how stout the stem is. Keep clicking on "Next" above the pictures in this link for the series:-

http://public.fotki.com/Grootscholten/p ... html#media" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jp29]

Corryocactus squarrosus (sensu lato) is in constant flower during the winter months here .......... James

It has been flowering daily for over a month now - here it is this afternoon ..........





James

[george76904]

Whoo great!

[K.W.]

>>>




James

Best wishes from Your friend

K.W.

[jp29]

.......... Best wishes from Your friend K.W.

Thank you K.W. -- April is just around the corner now -- the Arizona desert, and its inhabitants, await you

James

[K.W.]

.......... Best wishes from Your friend K.W.

Thank you K.W. -- April is just around the corner now -- the Arizona desert, and its inhabitants, await you

James

57 days, 12 hours, 8 minutes, until I take off in Frankfurt!
I am so happy, it's almost like coming home!


So happy to see You and Beverly (and the other cacti friends),

K.W.