the beaver tale may 2011

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Echinopsis Hybrid

Cactus and Succulent Society of Southern Nevada

Newsletter May, 2011

Beaver Tale Fever April 2011In This Issue

Month by Month: The Color of Summer

King of Clarets

The Marble Canyon Cactus- Pediocactus

bradyi

More About CSSSN

View Our Web Site

Greetings!

Happy May,

All the buzz about the Moon-Sun Cactus Show and Sale has been very positive.

The staff and club members worked very hard to prepare for the show. Many

great plants showed up to make people happy. And, vast numbers of folks

turned out for the event. Overall, it was very successful in terms of exposure,

social interaction, relaxation, and lastly, sales. Here's some photos of great

show plants in attendance



Quick Links...Our Website

Join the Discussion

Announcements

Next meeting of CSSSN will be

May 15th at 2pm at Springs

Preserve. The address is 333 S.

Valley View Blvd. at US 95

Springs Preserve

The May presentation will be

given by our clubs President,

Donnie Barnett. The

presentation will be about

Opuntias and is titled: The

politics of prickly pear

fighting. He will discuss the

differences of prickly pears,

there uses and have many

wonderful pictures. Donnie

works for SNWA at the Warm

Spring Natural Area. He has

spent the last 3 years looking

for and studying the native

cactus and succulent of the

mojave. Along with this he is

into photography and writing a

book called "Cacti of theNorthern Mojave and Adjacent

Areas". You can view some his

art on his website.

Happy Plants and People came out to the show.

at the cactus and succulent show. Many more photos of the show plants can be

viewed at this photo site.

Featured Article

Month by Month: The Color of Summer

By Donnie Barnett

May usually means the end of spring is close. Although the temperatures are

rising so is the flower line along the alluvial fans. May is one of the most

colorful months especially for cactus. Many of the low elevation annuals are

done blooming and many are going to seed. Most of the mojave native cactus

will bloom sometime during the month of May.



Opuntia basilaris brachyclada

Echinocereus gentryi

Red Rock Canyon and Lee and Kyle Canyons will begin to bloom. Agaveutahensis and all its forms will begin to send up their flower stalks. Escobaria

vivipara ssp. desertii will start to be seen more readily with yellow-pink

flowers. Calico basin trail is a good place to see these plants in bloom.



Agave utahensis flowering at Red Rock NCA

In the garden many of the hedghogs have began blooming including the only

nocturnal non-diurnal flowering claret cup cactus, Mexican Spineless claret cup

cactus (Echinocereus scheeri ssp. gentryi). Plants have long pink flower tubes

that are designed for bats, rather than hummingbirds. I got my large plant at

moon-sun nursery a few weeks ago. My Green Pitaya (Echinocereus viridiflorus)

is blooming as has the best smelling citrus green flowers. Another name is

Lemon Hedghog as the flowers smell like lemons.

King of Clarets

By Donnie Barnett

Red flowering Echinocereus are some of the most desirable plants for cactus and

flower enthusiests in the southwest. May is the month for clarét cup cactus in the

Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. 8 species of claret cup cactus reside in 6 states

(CO, NM, TX, UT, NV and CA).



A female Echinocereus coccineus, flowering near Seligman, AZ

Mojave King Cup or Mojave Claret Cup also known as Echinocereusmojavensis.

This species of cactus is the most common Claret Cup in the Colorado Plateau and

Mojave Desert regions. Originally this species was named under Echinocereus

triglochidiatus. More recently this species has proven to be taxonimically

seperate. Echinocereus mojavensis differs from E. triglochidiatus in that it hasround spines with trichomes rather than angled spines with trichomes. Plants do

not twist like E. triglochidiatus either. The form inermis from the Uncompadre

Plateau, should now be placed under E. mojavensis as a form. Echinocereus

mojavensis forma inermis is rarely 100% spineless and is only when grown in the

shade.



Mojave King Cup with 'perfect' flowers, in Lovell Canyon, Nevada

Strawberry cactus or Western Claret Cup cactus also known as Echinocereus

coccineus has had its range change. Echinocereus coccineus now has three

subspecies, ssp. coccinues, ssp. paucispinus and ssp. rosei. In Colorado

and New Mexico plants will grow side by side with E. triglochidiatus and be very

common. In Utah, I have only observed it in the Needles district of Canyon Lands

National Park. Otherwise many of the plants called Echinocereus coccineus in

Utah are actually E. mojavensis with the exception of E. canyonsis. Plants of E.coccineus are found throughout most of central and southern Arizona. Plants do

not occur in Nevada or California, but come as close as Seligman, Arizona.

Echinocereus coccineus differs from E. mojavensis by having diocey (male and

female plants) and smooth or grooved spines. Echinocereus coccineus can have

yellow pollen but more commonly has pink pollen. Strawberry cactus gets its

name by having bright red flower buds in the shape of strawberrys. Plants do

occur in New Mexico and Texas. In addition, southern New Mexico, west Texas and

Northern Mexico have ssp. rosei (neomexicana) and ssp. paucispina. Plants differ

from ssp. coccinues by spine count and stem ribs.

The Grand Canyon Claret Cup Cactus is a newer species. Originally named

echinocereus triglochidiatus ssp. toroweepensis has since properly been renamedto Echinocereus canyonensis. Plants are very similar to E. coccineus but differ by

having longer flower tubes, purple-brown sepals and male zygomorphic flowers.

This plant is restricted to the Grand Canyon, Hurricane Cliffs and Lower Zion

National Park. This plant creates some of the largest numbered heads per plant of

any of the Claret Cup.

On the Arizona/Utah border and Utah/Colorado border plant species can be



difficult to identify. In Nevada we only two species of Claret Cup Cacti,

Echinocereus mojavensis is the most widespread and Echinocereus canyonensis is

only found in the Gold Butte area. Whether its this species or that species

everyone loves to see these beautiful red flowers, especially hummingbirds.

The Marble Canyon Cactus- Pediocactus bradyiBy Callie DavisAlthough this past spring did not bring the moisture needed or the right

temperatures, many cacti enthusiasts are left with hope for next year. We are

all waiting to see the Brady "pincushion" cactus rise to the surface and bloom.

This is a spectacular sight, as this cactus requires the perfect conditions that

cannot be duplicated anywhere else but in its native environment. The Brady

cactus' selective living conditions and habitat location have left this cactus to

be a rare commodity and nearly extinct species.

The Brady cactus requirements are rare and a reason for its uniqueness. It is

only during spring, in Marble Canyon, that the cacti live hiding under the

surface of the Kaibab Limestone and Moenkopi Shale. When the temperature

rises and the winter run off begins, the Brady cactus receives just enough

moisture and warmth to begin its short cycle under the sun. The cacti grow in

small clusters as they surface, ranging from 1 to 30 millimeters in diameter. If

the conditions are constant, then usually one of the larger cacti of each cluster

blooms with opaque petals and bright yellow pollen. It may only last a couple

weeks or a few months before the cacti recede back into the limestone.

Although the ritual is unlikely from year to year in Arizona's northland, the cacti

are relatively hardy and can survive the harsh weather extremes.

Pediocactus bradyi 1

Other issues such as human recreation and cattle grazing are the large

contributors to the cacti's endangerment. Through out Marble Canyon is free

public land to explore and open native grass fields. With constant vehicle



traffic, the Brady cacti were subject to constant destruction that was

irreversible. The cattle, permitted by Bureau of Land Management to graze the

lower field below the Paria Plateau, slowing stepped on clusters of growing

cacti each spring. Through intervention and negotiations made by US Fish and

Wildlife Service did the cacti make a come back in recent years.


Currently, preventative measures have created a functional habitat for the

Brady cacti, ranchers and outdoor enthusiasts. The US Fish and Wildlife and

organizations, such as Grand Canyon Trust, have created public awareness and

progressive measures to allow the Brady cacti to reproduce successfully. Now in

Marble Canyon, specific areas of Brady cacti habitat contain several signs that

explain to the public what type of cacti are growing and to be mindful where

they step. These signs as well as the boundary lines, created by Grand Canyon

Trust, allow visitors to park and drive is specific areas away from the habitat.

The visible explanations have been a positive consequence for the habitat. Allwater tanks have been moved away too. A recent study, by Lee E. Hughes, has

confirmed a positive growth of Brady cacti after these initiatives.

the beaver tale may 2011

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