Hybrid Claret Cups from Orogrande, NM 2014

[hegar]

Hello Cactus Friends,
here is the latest edition of the annual field trip our local club takes to Orogrande, New Mexico. This is - to the best of my knowledge - the only location in the world, where there is a wide-scale genetic exchange between the claret cup (Echinocereus coccineus var. rosei and other members of the genus. Most likely those plants contributing to the resulting diversity of hybrid cacti are the Texas Rainbow (Echinocereus dasyacanthus) and the New Mexico Rainbow (Echinocereus viridiflorus var. chloranthus), with the former being most likely to cross with the claret cup. As a result, there are now mostly claret cup hybrids to be found with either the features of the claret cup being prominent or those that more closely resemble the characteristical spines the Texas Rainbow cactus.
The claret cup produces smaller, but more numerous blossoms, which last longer than those of the Texas Rainbow (about one week). They also remain open day and night. E. dasyacanthus blossoms are more showy, but last only two to three days where I live. I was told by one of our local cactus club members, that the hybrids resembling the Texas Rainbow do have flowers that do last longer than those produced by the "pure bred" E. dasyacanthus. The flower color can be very variable, ranging from almost white to pink, orange and red. Even multicolored flowers are possible (see my avatar of a hybrid Texas Rainbow from Orogrande, New Mexico).
Well, without further ado, here are the first images. I am starting with scenery photos and plants that are not cacti. After today's posting I shall place images of only cacti on this thread.

Harald

[hegar]

Here is the first batch of images.
The first picture shows the common creosote bush. After a rain the aroma of this plant in the cleansed desert air is something very special and noticeable.
The next image is that of a Yucca baccata, I believe. This plant is also known as the "banana yucca".
Another plant that is sometimes confused with a yucca is the "sotol", scientific name Dasylirion sp. It has long, strap-like leaves with vicious teeth along their edge. I have seen those leaves used in Mexico to hold straw broom material together, interlocking the teeth like velcro.
The next images are those of a pretty Agave with the name Agave neomexicana. One of the plants on photo 2 does have a flower stalk. Once the plant blooms it dies.
These images are followed by those showing the "ocotillo", which is a well-armed shrub with long spiny branches. It does have leaves whenever enough rainfall has been present. This plant is used in desert landscaping and produces a nice flower.
The last images I shall post today show two wildflowers. I do not have a name for either one, but the macro images of the second shown does bring out the beauty of the otherwise plain-looking plant. Most likely it is a legume, but I would not bet my life on it.

Harald

[hegar]

Well, as promised, today I shall start placing some cactus photos on this thread. There were a small number of cacti that I cannot identify with any certainty. Those are mainly the seedlings. The first one of those could be a Coryphantha macromeris (the Nipple Cactus).
Seedling 2 looks like an Opuntia arenaria to me. I have no idea what seedling 3 is and seedling 4 could be a New Mexico Rainbow (Echinocereus viridiflorus ssp. chloranthus.
I only saw one Mammillaria sp. most likely this one is M. heyderi (Cream Cactus). The other group did spot a M. lasiacantha, but did not see the M. heyderi.
There were a few Opuntia spp. around also, but several of my photos were blurred. I do not know, if the haziness or the strong wind had anything to do with it. The first plant is a small one, perhaps an O. arenaria. The other two images show the Tree cholla (Opuntia imbricata), and the last one most likely an O. macrocentra.
A good number of Eagle Claw cacti (Echinocactus horizonthalonius) were also present in the area visited. They do have very nice and strong spines.
The last two images from this batch show another one of my favorites. It is the Strawberry Pitahaya, Beehive Cactus, etc., which produces a beautiful flower and also delicious fruit with a strawberry-like aroma. Its scientific name is Echinocereus stramineus.

Harald

[hegar]

This is the second try at downloading the images of the Orogrande Hybrid Cacti. I was more than half-way finished, when something went wrong and I lost everything I had put together.
The first and most prevalent "parent plant" of the hybrids is the Claret Cup. By now there are more hybrids than "pure" claret cup cacti, but the images I took do look to me like they could be the "unadulterated claret cup".
Next is the other parent, the Texas Rainbow (Echinocereus dasyacanthus). It does have a larger blossom and the spines are shorter and held more closely to the body of the plant. I only saw one plant in flower.
The third possible parent is the New Mexico Rainbow (Echinocereus viridiflorus ssp. chloranthus. This plant is even less common than the Texas Rainbow. I found only one plant that was close to flowering. The spine coloration is correct for E. viridiflorus ssp. chloranthus. However, I am not so sure, if this is not a hybrid too, because the flower buds are rather large. Most likely though, it is a true New Mexico Rainbow.
This time everything worked the way it is supposed to.

Harald

[hegar]

Today I am going to add the images of flowers that in my opinion are orange. That is not easily done, because the parent plant does have a blossom that is not much different than some tones of orange.
The first two images show a non-flowering hybrid and what may be a true E. coccineus parent.

[hegar]

The Orogrande Hybrid cacti I am told are generally dioecious, i.e. there are plants with only staminate (male) flowers and others with pistillate (female) flowers. The first two images do show this feature.
The next picture does show a clump with flowers of different colors. This would indicate, that there are actually two plants present.
The other images give a representation of various shades of pink blossoms. This color is the most commonly encountered and I did purchase pink hybrid E. coccineus plants from the cactus nursery that sells cacti and succulents at the local FloraFest. The hybrid is a vigorous plant and did not take long to flower for me.

Harald

[hegar]

Well, because everything works so well this evening, I decided to finish the thread. The last images show flower colors that I could not exactly place into the orange or pink category. The image labeled "Others7" does have longer flower petals (sepals), which would indicate, that there was some genetic influence by the parent Echinocereus dasyacanthus. The last three images are those of the only flowering plant that definitely has more characteristics of the Texas Rainbow (E. dasyacanthus) than the claret cup (E. coccineus).
Because there are so many more plants exhibiting the features, including flowers of the claret cup cactus, our field trip to Orogrande, New Mexico is always taken when the claret cup hybrids are in flower. The Texas Rainbow plants tend to bloom later, especially if they are in a sheltered (shaded) location.
I hope, that whoever does take a look at this post, will appreciate the beauty that nature has to offer. I am trying to let you participate in this field trip and get an idea about "what is out there".

Harald

[Mark]

Great photo Harald! I wish I could have gone! I really like the flowers with more orange. Very nice all around!


Mark

[Ruud]

Hi there,
This is my first post on this forum.
I'm Ruud, i'm from the Netherlands and next friday i'm going for a two week vacacion to the states.
We are going to spent 2 days in Alamogordo. Is the site in Orogrande accessible with an rv? , and if not can we hike? (wife and 2 kids, 10 and 12 years old)
thanks!~
btw very nice pics!
Ruud

[Ruud]

Forgot one.
We are on monday and tuesday in Alamogordo. Is the flowering period going on or were you there allready at the end of the flowering season?
Thanks,
Ruud

[hegar]

Hello Ruud,
most likely I am already too late with an answer to your questions. Well, it may be a little tricky trying to go with an RV to the major area where those cacti are present. One thing is: the "road" is all the dirt road kind. It is most likely packed enough and you would not get stuck. However, the passage through there might be kind of narrow. You could most likely drive a little off the highway toward the mountain slopes. One problem I would have is the fact, that I easily lose my orientation. Unfortunately, the dirt roads are not marked with any kind of names. We always follow our "leader" Peter Beste, who seems to know his way around, as if he had been born there.
We also try to drive into the region with vehicles that do have some clearance. You do not want to "high center" your automobile and get stuck.
You could always leave your vehicle and hike a little. There may not be many cacti near the wider dirt roads, but there should still be some. If anything is flowering at this time, it will most likely be the Echinocereus dasyacanthus and its hybrids. There may still be some claret cups in bloom, if the plants were a little bit in the shade.
If you still get this message before arriving in Alamogorde, NM, you could give Peter Beste a call. His phone number is 915-755-3558.

Harald

[Ruud]

Hello Harald,

Thanks for the info!

Gr
Ruud