Showing posts with label Lophophora williamsii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lophophora williamsii. Show all posts

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Habitat photos – Lophophora etc.; second installment

The previous post featured habitat photos by Kauderwelsch who, in the meantime, has been kind enough to share more pictures at Wikimedia Commons. I’ve included a handful of his photos below.

The epidermis of this peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) is slightly bruised and looks like some animal nibbled on it but changed its mind after tasting the first couple of bitter bites (or maybe the bruises are just damage from the rocks scattered around the plant, but I like the “nibbling explanation” better ;-)

Peyote (Lophophora williamsii), near Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
Peyote (Lophophora williamsii), near Monterrey, Nuevo León, México

Previously I haven’t been much into Mammillaria but seeing this magnificent picture of a flowering M. kraehenbuehlii has me wondering if I should grow some of these beautiful plants.

Flowering Mammillaria kraehenbuehlii
Flowering Mammillaria kraehenbuehlii

The next picture shows a Strombocactus disciformis growing in its typical habitat; nearly vertical, flaking limestone cliffs. It seems almost surreal that any plant is able to grow in this harsh biotope, but Strombocactus, Aztekium ritteri, and other species of cactus thrive in such conditions.

Strombocactus disciformis, near Vizarrón, Querétaro, México
Strombocactus disciformis, near Vizarrón, Querétaro, México

The next two photos are a bit out of context (they are certainly not showing “small Mexican species”; and one is not even picturing a cactus ;-) I just fell for the beauty of the band of Cephalocereus columna-trajani standing tall against the background of towering clouds, and the sprawl of branches on that ancient looking Beaucarnea gracilis.

Cephalocereus columna-trajani,(syn. C. hoppenstedtii), near Tehuacán, Puebla, México
Cephalocereus columna-trajani,(syn. C. hoppenstedtii), near Tehuacán, Puebla, México

Adult specimen of Beaucarnea gracilis, Zapotitlán Salinas, Oaxaca, México
Adult specimen of Beaucarnea gracilis, Zapotitlán Salinas, Oaxaca, México

I have to visit México!

The photos are published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. The original high resolution copies of the pictures are available here:

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Habitat photos – Lophophora etc.

A while ago I stumbled upon a handful of great Lophophora habitat photos published on Wikimedia Commons by Kauderwelsch.

Flowering Lophophora diffusa, near Vizarron, Quéretaro, Mexico
Flowering Lophophora diffusa, near Vizarron, Quéretaro, Mexico

Group of Lophophora diffusa near Vizarron, Queretaro, Mexico
Group of Lophophora diffusa near Vizarron, Queretaro, Mexico

Peyote (Lophophora williamsii), Wirikuta near Wadley, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Peyote (Lophophora williamsii), Wirikuta near Wadley, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Kauderwelsch has also made pictures of other cactus species available; a couple of examples are included below.

Ferocactus latispinus, Oaxaca, Mexico
Ferocactus latispinus, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mammillaria kraehenbuehlii, Oaxaca, Mexico
Mammillaria kraehenbuehlii, Oaxaca, Mexico

Unfortunately no new images have been added by Kauderwelsch lately; based on the quality of the photos already contributed I would like to see more of his work.

The photos are published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. The original high resolution copies of the pictures are available here:

You can see more of Kauderwelsch's photos in this post.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Dirk’s collection of cristate and variegated cacti

Dirk is a lucky man. Anyway, judged by the quality of his collection of crested and variegated cacti, he has to be ;-) I think you’ll agree after seeing the pictures that Dirk has been kind enough to let me share in this post.

Ariocarpus retusus var. elongata crest
Ariocarpus retusus var. elongata crest

I’m particularly fond of this photo of a cristate Ariocarpus retusus, resembling a plant creature one would not be too surprised to encounter in a Tolkien novel.

Dirk is living in Belgium and knows a commercial cactus grower in Holland who lets him pick and choose interesting seedlings when he’s visiting (to stock up on Harrisia for grafting). On this account Dirk has got quite a collection of variegated Lophophora.

Lophophora williamsii f. variegata
Lophophora williamsii f. variegata

I especially like the pastel pink, yellow, and green colors of the above plant – it’s almost a wine gum look-alike ;-) But the rest of the collection is definitely also nice.

Lophophora williamsii f. variegata grafted on Harrisia
Lophophora williamsii f. variegata grafted on Harrisia

Lophophora williamsii f. variegata 'Zebra'
Lophophora williamsii f. variegata 'Zebra'

Collection of variegated Lophophora williamsii
Collection of variegated Lophophora williamsii

Dirk also has plants showing dichotomous branching like these beautifully symmetric two-headed Obregonia denegrii and Lophophora williamsii plants.

Two-headed Obregonia denegrii
Two-headed Obregonia denegrii

Collection of two-headed Lophophora williamsii
Collection of two-headed Lophophora williamsii

Last I heard from Dirk he had just returned from a visit to the 2007 ELK. He had tried to obtain a cristate Lophophora – unfortunately without any luck. You can see more of Dirk’s amazing collection at his cactelders web site.

I hope you enjoyed this featured collection - if you have pictures or information you would like to share, you can drop me a mail at “lophophora [dot] blog [at] gmail [dot] com”.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Rory’s Lophophora collection

Some time ago Rory contacted me to discuss cacti and mycorrhizal associations (an interesting subject that might be brought up in a later post). During our conversations Rory revealed himself as an avid Lophophora grower with an impressive collection of mature and well-grown plants. Rory has kindly allowed me to share some pictures of his plants.

Flowering Lophophora williamsii, close-up
Flowering Lophophora williamsii, close-up

Large pot of Lophophora williamsii
Large pot of Lophophora williamsii

The largest of the L. williamsii plants in this pot are approximately 25 years old. One of the plants in the central group (a bit above and to the left of the center) has been decapitated and set 4 offshoots. One of these has not yet developed a central growing point and appears somewhat cristate, but Rory expects it to develop as normal with time. The removed top was rooted and is also growing in the central group of plants (slightly below center; wool removed from areoles), and is flowering regularly.

Large pot of Lophophora fricii
Large pot of Lophophora fricii

According to Rory the compost used for the L. fricii plants are not drying fast enough. Consequently the plants are kept on the dry side which accounts for the red coloration shown by some of them. The largest of the plants (with a total of 9 offsets) has only grown 1cm (~0.4'') in the past 9 years so Rory is planning on repotting the plants in a new mix and expects this to speed up growth.

Lophophora diffusa about to flower
Lophophora diffusa about to flower

The above L. echinata diffusa plant is just about to flower - unfortunately it’s too overcast for the flowers to open properly.

Large pot of Lophophora williamsii v .caespitosa
Large pot of Lophophora williamsii v .caespitosa

To top things off (or just to make me completely envious ;-) Rory also threw in a photo of a nice, mature Ariocarpus fissuratus specimen.

Flowering Ariocarpus fissuratus
Flowering Ariocarpus fissuratus

I hope you enjoyed this “guest appearance” - I for one would like to see more of Rory’s plants. If you have pictures or information you would like to share, you can drop me a mail at “lophophora [dot] blog [at] gmail [dot] com”.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The power of grafting – 3rd anniversary

Today one of my Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) plants is celebrating its 3rd anniversary as a scion grafted onto a Trichocereus pachanoi stock. The plant has set 4 offshoots and grown to a width of 7.3 cm (~2.9''), 3 of the offshoots are wider than 4 cm (~1.6'') while the smallest just exceeds 2.5 cm (~1'').

Grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx)
Grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx)

The plant set 9 flowers last year and has already displayed two flowers this year. The dried fruits resulting from last season’s flowers are clearly visible in the above photo along with the withered remains of the two “fresh” flowers from this week. The photo below was taken a couple of days ago while the flowers were still at their peak.

Two early Lophophora williamsii flowers
Two early Lophophora williamsii flowers

Usually I assist the plant with its self-pollination but this season I will not interfere. I’m doing this to test to which degree the plant will be able to set seed without any help – of course I can’t do anything about the thigmotropic reactions of the stamens or insects taking liberties with the flowers ;-)

A couple of days ago a flower bud also appeared on the largest of the offshoots and it will probably bloom within a week; unfortunately I will not be home to witness it. If all the offshoots begin to flower and the main shoot continues to flower in its usual pace, I’ll soon grow more seeds than I’ll ever need.

Offshoot setting a flower
Offshoot setting a flower

Since last summer the Trichocereus pachanoi stock has also been allowed to grow an offshoot. Usually I remove these from stock plants in order not to starve the scion, but this one appeared almost at soil level and I decided to let it grow and later graft one of last years Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) seedlings onto it (these seedlings are the result of self-pollinating the above plant, i.e. technically they are clones of the mother plant). I had planned to do the graft today, but I’ll leave for the Netherlands tomorrow and decided to postpone doing the graft till I’m back.

Trichocereus pachanoi stock with offshoot
Trichocereus pachanoi stock with offshoot

I was in doubt whether or not to include the last photo but decided to do it anyway. I’m fascinated by the dreamy image of the flowers backlit by the soft light of the setting sun, filtered through the foliage of a sprawling Bowiea volubilis. My girlfriend finds the picture boring and “too green” – but who is she to trust, she’s not into cacti ;-)

Flowers backlit by the setting sun
Flowers backlit by the setting sun

For comparison you can check the posts on the same graft written one and two years ago.

Update - April 28, 2007
Fortunately I made it home from the Netherlands in time to experience the pup unfold its first flower. The flower is not as sturdy as those of the main shoot, but what’s to expect from a novice ;-)

Flowering Lophophora williamsii pup
Flowering Lophophora williamsii pup

Today I also removed the dried fruits of last season’s flowers and freed the seeds.

9 dried Lophophora williamsii fruits
9 dried Lophophora williamsii fruits

Close-up of dried Lophophora williamsii fruit
Close-up of dried Lophophora williamsii fruit

The result of the harvest was approximately 100 seeds.

Home grown Lophophora williamsii seeds
Home grown Lophophora williamsii seeds

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Lophophora and Epithelantha - experiments in cold hardiness II

Since 2004 I’ve experimented with growing Lophophora, Epithelantha, and Acharagma in an unheated greenhouse in Denmark. The winter this year has been damp but not very cold - the coldest temperature registered in the coldhouse was -5C (23F) – so even the L. diffusa plants are doing great.

Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Texas)
Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Texas)

The L. williamsii plants (sown May 2004) are thriving in the coldhouse. The epidermis is glaucous bluish-green, much truer to the type than plants grown in my windowsill. All my cold grown Lophs are wrapped in horticultural fleece during winter – not so much because of the temperature, but to avoid attacks from various critters. This kind of damage is not a problem with the spine covered species.

Lophophora diffusa (Higuerillas, Queretaro, Mexico)
Lophophora diffusa (Higuerillas, Queretaro, Mexico)

In 2005 I sowed L. diffusa and L. decipiens to grow in the coldhouse. Especially the L. diffusa plants had a hard time last winter and only 2 survived. Both are now doing fine and are developing the typical yellowish-green epidermis.

Lophophora decipiens
Lophophora decipiens

L. decipiens is not a “good” species; it’s probably just a cultivar form of Lophophora fricii (I couldn’t obtain any collection data for these seeds either when I bought them). Anyway, the plants are doing well and are getting ready to go 8-ribbed at an age of two.

I’m growing both “regular” Epithelantha micromeres and Epithelantha micromeris v. gregii. The gregii variety seems to be a faster grower than the regular micromeres; it also has a very beautiful coverage of spines, as illustrated below.

Epithelantha micromeris v. greggii (Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila, Mexico)
Epithelantha micromeris v. greggii (Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila, Mexico)

Epithelantha micromeris v. greggii – closeup
Epithelantha micromeris v. greggii – closeup

All of the Epithelantha plants made it through this winter without damage.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Seed starting Lophophora, Ariocarpus, and Epithelantha

The last couple of days I’ve been busy starting the next generation of plants from seed. One of the more interesting lophs this year is a variety of Lophophora williamsii originating from El Oso, Coahuila, Mexico. According to The genus Lophophora – Kaktusy Special 2, 2005 this variety forms massive clusters with individual heads measuring up to 15 cm (5.9'') in diameter! Unfortunately it seems the El Oso site is severely threatened by agricultural activities.

Lophophora williamsii - El Oso, Coahuila
Lophophora williamsii - El Oso, Coahuila (picture taken from The genus Lophophora – Kaktusy Special 2, 2005)

I’ve sown the following Lophophora seeds this year:

  • Lophophora diffusa v. koehresii (RS 1182; El Sabino, San Luis Potosí)
  • Lophophora diffusa ssp. kubesai (JJH 0010892; Puente Mezquitio, Querétaro)
  • Lophophora fricii (RS 404B; Viesca, Coahuila)
  • Lophophora williamsii (MMR 89; El Oso, Coahuila)
  • Lophophora williamsii (RS 428A; Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila)
I have great expectations for the Lophophora diffusa ssp. kubesai. According to the retailer’s seed catalog this variety is prone to offsetting (in contrast to the typical single stemmed L. diffusa specimens), eventually forming multi-headed clumps as pictured below. Lophophora diffusa ssp. kubesai Lophophora diffusa ssp. kubesai In addition to the Lophophora seeds I also started a handful of Ariocarpus from seed:
  • Ariocarpus fissuratus (JDL 26; Hot Springs, Big Bend, Texas)
  • Ariocarpus fissuratus (VVZ 204; Terlingua, Texas)
  • Ariocarpus fissuratus (VVZ 205; North of Alpine Texas)
  • Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus v. macdowellii (RS 134; Hipolito, Coahuila)
I’ve specifically selected extreme northerly types of A. fissuratus as most of the Ariocarpus seedlings will be moved to a coldhouse later in spring (along with half of the L. williamsii and L. fricii seedlings) to experiment with the cold hardiness of these species. The move is also a necessity because my windowsills are getting crammed ;-) Finally, the following Epithelantha seeds (also for the coldhouse) were sown:
  • Epithelantha micromeris (JM 101; Sitting Bull Canyon, New Mexico)
  • Epithelantha micromeris v. gregii (MMR 179; El Oso, Coahuila)
The seeds were bought from Jan Martin Jecminek and Jaromír Dohnalík – details for both are listed in the seed and plant retailers section. All seeds are sown in a mix of limestone gravel, regular soil, and loamy sand (mixed in a 2:2:1 ratio). The pots are placed in closed bags where they will stay until the seedlings are well established - check out the post on growing cactus from seeds for more information on seed starting.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

lophophora.info by Gerhard Köhres

I've posted on Gerhard Köhres's Lophophora information site before, but thought it worth mentioning again.

The site is packed with photos of Lophophora plants growing in habitat (see the samples included below) and constitutes the most comprehensive pictorial documentation of the genus that I'm aware of. The pictures are ordered by state and location and can be found at http://lophophora.info/.

Lophophora williamsii (Hipolito, Coahuila)

Lophophora williamsii (Hipolito, Coahuila)

Lophophora diffusa (Higuerillas, Queretaro)

Lophophora diffusa (Higuerillas, Queretaro)

Lophophora diffusa var. koehresii (San Francisco, San Luis Potosi)

Lophophora diffusa var. koehresii (San Francisco, San Luis Potosi)

Lophophora fricii (El Amparo, Coahuila)

Lophophora fricii (El Amparo, Coahuila)

Monday, October 23, 2006

The quest for Texan Lophophora williamsii

For a while I’ve been searching for L. williamsii seeds and plants originating from Trans-Pecos, Texas. It’s been quite hard to find any – probably because of the legal status of Lophophora williamsii in the USA. Earlier this year I finally found a retailer selling plants originating from material collected in the Pecos River area, Val Verde County, Texas (JJH 8608293), and promptly ordered a handful of plants.

Lophophora williamsii, Pecos River, Val Verde Co.
Lophophora williamsii, Pecos River, Val Verde Co.
Lophophora williamsii, Pecos River, Val Verde Co.

The plants have been grown very hard and are of a high quality with good, sturdy roots; the width of the plants are in the range from 1.5 to 2.25 cm (0.6-0.9''). They were reasonably priced at 4 euro (~ 5 USD) each.

I recently received a second batch that I planned to grow in an unheated cold house, but I now have second thoughts and will probably postpone the cold house experiment until I’m able to propagate the plants from seed.

The plants were bought at Kakteen Kliem, a German retailer with a good selection of plants with locality information (I also bought some of his Lophophora fricii, Parras, Coahuila, Mexico (JJH 9602115) and Astrophytum asterias, Rio Grande City, Texas (PQ 91)). I would be glad to hear of any other sources of Trans-Pecos Lophophora with detailed locality information.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Lophophora williamsii – autumn flowers

Having passed the autumnal equinox I hadn’t expected any more flowers from my lophs – nevertheless two of them decided to bloom this week, one for the first time.

Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) flower
Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) flower

My grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) has been flowering abundantly all summer. Several fruits have already ripened and more are budding; still the plant took the opportunity to squeeze in yet another flower before going dormant. The flowers of this plant are quite large, approximately 2.75cm (~1.1'') in diameter.

Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa flower
Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa flower

The Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa graft has been growing profusely but never felt like flowering before now. The flowers are small, less than 2cm (~0.8'') in diameter, compared to those of L. williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx), and the midstripes are a slightly darker shade of pink.

Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa
Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa

The scion used for this graft was taken from the plant shown in the blog profile. Unfortunately this plant later caught rot and died.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Flowering Lophophora williamsii – III

My Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) graft has gone on a flowering spree and is currently flashing its 7th and 8th flower this season.

Flowering Lophophora williamsii
Flowering Lophophora williamsii

Like other species of Lophophora, L. williamsii has sensitive stamens, closing around the style when touched.

L. williamsii stamens closing around the style
L. williamsii stamens closing around the style

In this flower the anthers are actually brushing the stigmas when the stamens react to a touch, i.e. the thigmotropic reaction will assist the flower to self-pollinate. I have to test if this is sufficient to pollinate the flower (in a previous post I also wondered if it was necessary to manually self-pollinate the Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) flowers or if they could cope without any help ;-)

For comparison you can check a photo of thigmotropic behavior in Lophopohora jourdaniana. In this case the stamens fold in below the stigmas, apparently not touching them.

The fruits (or berries, pods, whatever;-) from the plants first two flowers this season have just appeared.

Lophophora williamsii fruits
Lophophora williamsii fruits

I’m looking forward to see how many of the flowers will actually result in a fruit.

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