Cool happenings up my way...

[daiv]

Well I said in another post that with the tree planting, I'd have limited time to post - well that's true, but I couldn't resist a few pictures...

First - I noticed that my Devils Tower E. missouriensis are fixing to bloom pretty soon:

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I must say, the greenhouse really makes all the difference. It was not over 60F today, mostly cloudy, but the greenhouse was about 80F and of course no rain inside either! So the plants are loving it. I noticed this weird Echinocereus. I think what happened is that these were supposed to be buds last fall, but they got freaked out when they got put in the cold dark basement before they could bloom. Now that they are out in warm and sun again, they forgot to be flowers and turned into pups.

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Also, I got a whole slug of plants in the mail from GeneS. I want to share more of these soon, but here are just two (unless you look in the background).

I've always wanted one of these -Pterocactus tuberosus

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And here is one with sentimental value - a Ferocactus from seed that I had brought back from my Baja trip. With my abysmal seed growing abilities, I got nothing, but GeneS has mad skills and he got them to grow. So he sent me one - love it!

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[Arjen]

nice looking plants, that echinocereus will be quite the sight when those pups get bigger!

[majcka]

What spines on that fero.

[Peterthecactusguy]

Echinocereus do strange things sometimes. Mine put out pups and then bloomed with one blossom..

and another has 4 failed blossoms from last year.... dunnno..

Nice Fero, looks sorta like F. emoryi, but I think they all look the same at that stage lol

[iann]

Do you know what the Ferocactus is?

[MJPapay]

That Echinopsis(?) is WILD with those chartreuse pups as colorful as the flowers they were supposed to be.

Will mad scientists now plunge their potted plants about to flower into refrigerators locked for months on end to induce colorful sports?

Will be very neat to see how that plant, and pups, progress.

[JeffWhiteDevil]

Will mad scientists now plunge their potted plants about to flower into refrigerators locked for months on end to induce colorful sports?

we may.

[daiv]

Ian, here is the one not so good picture that I took of the seed source:

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a closer look:

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The location is right by San Ignacio - practically the geographic center of the peninsula and an area where there is a real transition zone between north and south.

Gene had gracilis as a guess, but I'm pretty sure that isn't it. It seems more like a mix of penninsulae and chrysacanthus.

I am open to your ideas!

[GeneS]

I think that your plant will remain a mystry for a few more years. At this size, feros of this group are almost impossible to tell apart. It is easier to tell what is is not then to identify. The obvious yellow fruit (from the image) and dry seeds place it with the gracilis, fordii, peninsulae, etc group for sure. The seeding is way too juvenile for spine or rib counts to have any validity.

That area is full of taxonomic problems as are ferocacti of this group in general. It an area at the southern end of what most would consider gracilis and the northern end of the peninsulae forms. Many people have written about this area and the likelihood of hybrids due to this overlap. Others consider this whole group as just one gradual gradiation. The number of names in existance support this theory as well.

To me, at this stage, it most resembles seedling plants of F. peninsulae v. viscainensis which was described from west of your collection ... another quandry:-) Described initially as a form of peninsulae but like peninsulae v gracilis -- placed by some as just F. gracilis. Your image leans me more toward gracilis but without closer observation of the plant and its surroundings, that too is just a guess (like many field observations). F. gracilis as most see it, is usually taller and slimmer. The desciption of peninsulae v. viscainensis is of a shorter, stouter plant.

I think I will just keep calling it 'Daiv' until I see mature form and sexual maturity.

Cheers ... GeneS

[cactihunter]

I think I will just keep calling it 'Daiv' until I see mature form and sexual maturity.

what are you trying to say Gene?

Seriously though...Ferocactus Daivii....it could work

[GeneS]

what are you trying to say Gene?

The short explanation would be that location and habitat data are far more important then names:-)

Your suggestion is though, a better fit with ICBN guidelines

Cheers ... Gene

[daiv]

Thanks for the input Gene. Definitely not a clear cut ID on it.

[GeneS]

One more way to really confuse this id has crossed my mind.

F. californicus ... the 1836 Monville name that has been mentioned but discarded as a probable hybrid (due to being described only from cultivation) by Lindsay and others but, is suggested by images in the Wolf's book. A hybrid? Guesses include gracilis X rectispinus and pennisulae X rectispinus ... perhaps a complex natural hybrid of them and or others? Plants are in circulation under this name. Images are shown by plant sellers but seem to cover quite a range of attributes:-)

Where did I put that home DNA kit?

Just fueling the fires ... Genes

[Sharpy]

Umm, I really like the fero. lol.

Gene makes my brain feel really small

[daiv]

You know, I should send an e-mail to the Wolf's and see what they think...