Pectinaria longipes subsp. villetii in habitat

Martin_Heigan · Post by **Martin_Heigan** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:29 am

Photographs of the rarely seen Stapeliad "Pectinaria longipes subsp. villetii", flowering in habitat East of Loeriesfontein (found by Rob Nagel, Maggie Nagel, & Martin Heigan on 1 October 2006). The small town of Loeriesfontein is nestled right in the middle of the area where Namaqualand, Bushmanland and the Hantam meets.

History:
Pectinaria longipes subsp. villetii was found a little before 1938 near Loeriesfontein by Charles T. Villetii. Other than a paining of the flowering plant by Villetii, no more data on this rare Stapeliad was available. The plant was only rediscovered in 1999 about 10 km East of Loeriesfontein by Peter V. Bruyns, which is not exactly (but close to) where this habitat photograph was taken.

Note: For more information, see page 341-342 in Volume 2 of Peter V. Bruyns'
"Stapeliads of Southern Africa and Madagascar".

Pectinaria longipes subsp. villetii habitat.

Pectinaria longipes subsp. villetii flowering in habitat.

Martin Heigan
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VAPIR OXYGEN

tvaughan · Post by **tvaughan** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:48 pm

Thanks, Martin.

iann · Post by **iann** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:14 pm

It looks amazingly green there, Martin. Especially for mid-summer!

Martin_Heigan · Post by **Martin_Heigan** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:54 pm

This was in late Spring. They had the best Winter rain in 25 years, and all the succulents were literally busting out of their seams. In some areas, it was hard to walk, because you would step on succulents in all directions. I am working through my photos now, and will posts lots more as time permits.

Here are some more photos as an appetizer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_heigan/336480570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_heigan/336480562/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_heigan/273344552/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_heigan/269627784/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_heigan/274521824/

Cheers

Martin
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cactuspolecat · Post by **cactuspolecat** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:09 pm

Hello Martin, As usual, I love your habitat shots,, this little fellow has such small flowers it'd be so easy to miss. Does "rarely seen also translate as rare in their habitat?

After browsing some of you appetisers, I look forward to more of you beautiful photographs.
Cheers, CP

Martin_Heigan · Post by **Martin_Heigan** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:15 pm

To the best of my knowledge, we were the 3rd group of people to find this plant. It is so small, and the terrain is so vast that it takes a bit of luck to find. Stapeliads tend to grow in a small area, and often in close proximity to the mother plant. Often the group consists of 10-20 plants, and in some cases that might be their only known habitat.

Martin
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perrycornish · Post by **perrycornish** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:50 pm

What a privilege Martin

I bet you were delighted, not a lot of us can say we have seen something that rare. Thanks for sharing with us and for the in habitat pics

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:12 am

Wow! Looks like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Thanks for sharing your pics and info martin.