Really enjoying these!

peterb

Dean, we'll be sure to include the updated info int he second edition!

Peter

There are two forms of phyllacanthus (at least!) that have gotten names. Brack distinguishes yellow flowered phyllacanthus from purple-ish striped flowered phyllacanthus by appending "violaciflorus" to the name. Probably not easy to trace that. I have been trying to get my hands on an unpu...

The book went to the printers for a proof copy which we will review this week and then the first print run will finally be done, with the book released in mid February. The book has 411 color high res photos, covers 130+ taxa and each distribution includes a map. I'll be excited to see it in final p...

Also, it looks to me like the cristate Cylindropuntia is C. cholla.

peterb

Specifics indicating tesajo in your excellent photographs: the lack of diamond shaped distinct tubercles the presence of low, elongated elliptical tubercles the absent or solitary spine the somewhat more compact branching habit the geographical distribution, always of paramount importance. ramosissi...

Hi Barry- I am only aware of ramosissima growing in the Colorado Desert portion of Baja, over by Mexicali. The "other" one on the western side of the peninsula and in the central desert is tesajo. That Echinocereus is maritimus, with super curly spines. The spines of maritimus are incredib...

Fantastic habitat pics, thanks for posting. It looks to me like all of the ones you weren't sure if they were warnockii or mariposensis were warnockii.

Love the Epithelantha!

peterb

Thanks Dean, can't wait to get back.

peter

The latest trip, funded in part by a generous research grant from the CSSA, involved some intense botanizing on Isla Cedros and a bit of a crazy trip to Angel de la Guarda. I continue to research the island endemic assemblages in the family Cactaceae for the PhD dissertation I'll eventually be writi...

Hello Art- Grusonia invicta doesn't kick in on the peninsula until near Bahía de Los Angeles, so you might be confusing it with Echinocereus maritimus, which does bear a strong resemblance in some ways. Grusonia robertsii has longer stem segments, different spine arrangement, different tubercles and...

Definitely tesajo. Great photos! Looks like you went about as far south as the Central Desert south of El Rosario?

Always cool to see Baja photos.

peterb

A quick update. We are now on target for February 2015 publication. The book is more than 300 pages with a two page spread for each species entry and at least 3 very fine photos, almost all with flowers. We used distributions known from SEInet and other herbaria for the maps. I've attached a screens...

Diane Rabinowitz has a great paper from the 1980s on the various kinds of rarity. Walter Fertig recently developed a ranking scale of rarity for plants in order to help drive conservation decisions. But rarity in cultivation is not nearly the same as rarity in habitat, as many have pointed out. I am...

beautiful photo, always love seeing cacti in plain rock.

Peter