LOPHOPHORA - a cacti growing blog

Snow covered cacti on the balcony

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:13:00 +0000

Snow covered cacti growing in window boxes

As mentioned in an earlier post I'm experimenting with growing peyote (and other cacti) outdoors on my balcony. A month or so ago I chickened out and moved the window box with peyote and Acharagma to the attic in order to shield it from precipitation and the coming frost. Today I'm glad I did as the balcony (and the flower boxes with it) has been completely covered in snow for the last couple of days - and I'm not sure if that would become the peyote plants well.

Echinocereus triglochidiatus covered by snow (with E. reichenbachii in the background)

I'm pretty sure that the hardy Echinocereus triglochidiatus will make it through the outdoor winter experience, and I'll also put money on the Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada) and Escobaria missouriensis (SB204; Mesa County, Colorado) plants as they have already survived a winter outdoors, but I have my doubts about the Echinocereus reichenbachii plants as this is the first time I grow them under such extreme conditions.

Snow covered Mammillaria grahamii

Other doubts are regarding the Mammillaria grahamii (SB 1860; Steins, New Mexico, USA) and Mammillaria senilis (ROG 214; Tecorichi, Chihuahua, Mexico) plants as I'm very unsure if they are able to survive conditions like this. We'll know come spring.

Snow covered Mammillaria senilis

Late-flowering peyote cactus

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 16:23:00 +0000

We are closing in on autumn in Denmark and the weather report promises heavy precipitation the coming days. Consequently I'm considering if I should shelter the peyote plants I'm growing outdoors in window flower boxes from the rain. Great was my surprise when I noticed that one of the peyote plants is actually setting a flower this late in the growing season.

Late-flowering peyote cactus

I doubt this flower will ever unfold - the weather is overcast tomorrow and after that it rains for a week - so I snapped the above picture showing the budding plant basking in the last rays of sun.

... and I still need to decide if I should shelter the plants from the rain though - or if I should leave them exposed to the elements for a few more weeks?

Reclaiming my winter-hardy cactus bed - day 2

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 19:04:00 +0000

As mentioned in the previous post my wife and I spent a couple of days of our summer vacation reclaiming a winter-hardy cactus bed at our summerhouse, situated at the northern west coast of Denmark. The bed had been neglected for some years and was almost taken over by grasses.

Winter-hardy cactus bed - half of which is still overgrown by grasses

At the beginning of the second day we were still missing half of the bed. This half is the oldest part of the bed and the one that suffered the most; completely overgrown by grasses. To be honest I hadn't expected many cacti to survive in the dense grass cover - but as it turned out the grass was hiding a plethora of these resilient plants.

Recovering winter-hardy Opuntia cacti from the dense grass cover

Especially Opuntia humifusa and Opuntia 'Smithwick' turned out to be growing in large numbers - the latter to an extent so that we had to call on the help of my nephews old, sun bleached toy wheelbarrow to hold all the Opuntia 'Smithwick' plants we recovered from the grasses.

Reclaimed winter-hardy cactus bed

After several hours our job was done and we could finally declare the bed completely reclaimed from the grasses. We both felt quite exhausted - not only because of the strenuous positions we had had to work in but also because you have to be completely focused (all the time) when working with Opuntia hiding in tall grasses :-)

Overview of the newly reclaimed part of the Opuntia cactus bed

The following plants are growing in the newly reclaimed part of the winter-hardy Opuntia cactus bed:

Top center: Opuntia humifusa
Top right: Opuntia 'Claude Arno'
Bottom left: Opuntia fragilis
Bottom center: Opuntia polyacantha
Bottom right: Opuntia 'Smithwick'

The plants at the top left are Opuntia trichophora v. nova (Roswell, New Mexico) growing in the part of the bed that was reclaimed the day before.

Reclaiming my winter-hardy cactus bed - day 1

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 21:42:00 +0000

Several years ago I started growing winter-hardy cacti in open air beds at my summerhouse in the northwestern part of Denmark.

Neglected winter-hardy cactus bed almost taken over by grasses

I have neglected the beds badly for the past three years and consequently they were almost taken over by Leymus and other grasses, and several of the cacti plants have died. Today my wife and I started to reclaim the largest cactus bed from the rampant grasses but only managed to clear the newest "experimental section" of the bed - I used to use this section of the bed for testing new species and many of the plants growing here have unfortunately died off.

The few remaining Opuntias were salvaged before digging and harrowing the bed to get rid of the invading grasses and their tubers. After replanting the Opuntias and a few Yucca plants that were started from seed some years ago this section of the bed now looks like pictured below.

Reclaimed and replanted cactus and yucca bed

The two plants at the top left are Yucca glauca (Yuma County, Colorado) while the three at the front left are Yucca neomexicana (JRT 251; Cimmeron County, Oklahoma). The center plant is an Opuntia hystricina cultivar named 'Hanau' and finally the plants at the top right are Opuntia trichophora v. nova (Roswell, New Mexico).

We'll continue salvaging the remaining part of the bed tomorrow.

Peyote plants maimed by birds

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:33:00 +0000

As mentioned in the post "Growing peyote (and other cacti) on the balcony" I'm experimenting with growing peyote cacti in window flower boxes on my balcony.

Peyote cactus maimed by a bird

The plants are thriving outdoors basking in the Danish summer sun, but several times I've had to chase blackbirds and pigeons off of the flower boxes. Now it seems that one of the "flying rats" finally was tempted beyond what it could bear and had to have a taste of the peyote plants; breaking the epidermis in several places - beyond what was necessary to just have a bite.

Bird damaged peyote in flower box

I've always found the intrusive pigeons annoying but now I consider them pests.

Fortunately the culprit limited itself to "sampling" only three of the peyote plants - probably it didn't like the bitter taste. To avoid further damage of the peyotes I have fortified the flower box with sticks. Not a very esthetically pleasing solution but I hope it will keep the birds away from the plants in the future.

Fortified flower box with peyote and Acharagma

Mummified aphids - an aphid parasitoid at play

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid) - courtesy of Wikipedia

Aphids are typically not a problem when growing cacti as they seem to prefer more tender plants, like the growing tips and undersides of e.g. Capsicum plants (a.k.a. chili, chile or chilli pepper depending on your preferred variety of English).

Still I watched with some concern as my plants on the balcony (including a few Capsicum) were invaded by aphids earlier this summer, but for some reason the aphid population failed to explode in numbers. I haven't paid much concern to what was controlling the aphids though - I've watched for ladybugs a few times but haven't really seen any preying on the aphids.

The "mummified" remains of an aphid

Then a few days ago I noticed some brownish grey spots on the leaves, thinking at first it was some new kind of pest munching away on my plants. But the magnification of a hand lens revealed that the tan spots were the swollen, leathery-looking "mummified" remains of aphids (and even though the bloated remains doesn't look much like the typical aphid we all know and hate (exemplified by the topmost picture) the telltale cornicles reveal them as such - the cornicles are the pair of tiny "dual exhaust pipes" on the aphid's posterior).

Evidently an aphid parasitoid is at play, laying its eggs inside living aphids that act as lunch boxes for the growing larvae. Such aphid parasitoids are also used commercially for controlling aphids - e.g. Aphidius matricariae are released in many greenhouses.

Larva growing inside immobilized aphid

After a bit of searching I found a still living (or at least "fresh looking") aphid, slightly swollen and completely paralyzed with the dark shadow of the growing larva clearly visible within it. Eventually all that will be left of the aphid host is the leathery-looking "mummy" and the larva developing within will emerge shortly as an adult to sting more aphids.

It's brutal but I side with the aphid parasitoid :-)

Tricotyledon Echinocactus polycephalus seedling

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 19:36:00 +0000

Tricotyledon Echinocactus polycephalus seedling

As mentioned in the previous post I started a handful of Echinocactus polycephalus (SNL 91; Las Vegas, Nevada) from seed a few weeks ago. I didn't achieve impressive germination rates and many of the seedlings were killed off by mold while still enclosed in the humid atmosphere of the germination "tent" - and more have withered after I exposed the seedlings to the harsher environment outside of the plastic bag they germinated in. So for all practical purposes Echinocactus polycephalus (and E. horizonthalonius) live up to their reputation of being extremely difficult to grow from seed.

Echinocactus polycephalus seedling growing its first spines

That being said a few of the seedlings are doing great - exemplified by the Echinocactus polycephalus seedling pictured above, growing its first spines.

Tricotyledon Echinocactus polycephalus seedling - top view

Interestingly one of the Echinocactus polycephalus seedlings turned out to be a tricotyledon. Members of the Cactus family belong to the group of dicotyledons, i.e. their seedlings have two cotyledons or embryonic leaves. So evidently Echinocactus polycephalus is a dicot but for some reason this seedling decided to grow three seed leaves instead of the habitual two.

Polycotyledons could be considered freaks of nature or "mutant" plants but this seedling will probably grow up looking exactly like the other plants from the same batch. The last time I experienced a polycot seedling was some years ago when an Opuntia polyacantha var. hystricina seedling germinated with three seed leaves.

Tricotyledon Opuntia polyacantha var. hystricina seedling

Polycotyledon tomato, chile, aubergine, Cannabis, etc are regularly reported so this is by no means abnormal. It would be interesting to know though if this is affecting the plants in any way (as mentioned, the last time I experienced a tricot seedling the plant grew up to be indistinguishable from the "normal" plants). I'm also curious as to what is causing the extra seed leaves (the Opuntia seedling mentioned above was grown fresh from seed collected in the Grand Canyon; indicating to me that polycots are occurring naturally and are not (only) caused by "mutagens" in the environment).

Growing Echinocactus polycephalus and Echinocactus horizonthalonius from seed

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 14:49:00 +0000

Immaculate Echinocactus polycephalus seedling

Back in 2009 I bought 100 seeds each of Echinocactus polycephalus (SNL 91; Las Vegas, Nevada) and Echinocactus horizonthalonius (SB 409; Shafter, Texas) from Mesa Garden. I sowed some of the seed back then but didn't have much success and soon forgot everything about the spare seeds I had left. That is until a few days ago :-)

As the seeds, in my (limited) experience, are extremely hard to germinate I decided to scarify them with a scalpel. You have to be very careful not to damage the embryo when making shallow cuts in the testa (seed coat) with a scalpel - and manually scarifying 80-some tiny seeds is an extreme test of your patience. After brutally cleaving several seed embryos I settled for chipping away at the protrusion of the hilum - this allowed me to break of small pieces of the testa without damaging the embryo within. The scarified seeds were left to soak in water for a few hours - I added the smallest tad of detergent to remove the water surface tension and allow for more efficient soaking of the seeds.

Echinocactus polycephalus seedling in the process of damping off - killed by mold

A few days after sowing the seeds several seedlings have surfaced. Unfortunately a few of them are already showing "rusty" spots and some has completely damped off, killed by mold. Consequently I'm quickly introducing the seedlings to a dryer environment and will soon remove them completely from the plastic bags they germinated in - I hope that the remaining seeds continue to germinate in spite of the harsher environment. Steve Brack's encouraging notes regarding this type of cacti reads: "rot easily, right after germination: not too wet, dry air and stronger light."

Etiolated Echinocactus polycephalus seedling, red from the sun

Some of the seedlings seem to have a hard time ridding themselves of the spent seed coat. They grow slightly etiolated and don't develop much chlorophyl in the deep shade of the testa - consequently they turn all red when exposed to the sunlight.

Echinocactus polycephalus seedling showing "rusty" spots

As usual I'm germinating my seeds in pots placed in clear plastic bags. As it's early summer I'm experimenting with germinating the seeds outdoors on the balcony - the daytime temperatures are around 20 C (68 F) with pleasantly cool nights. The temperature inside the bags off course grow hotter as they are exposed to sun during the day.

Bags containing Echinocactus, Ariocarpus, Aztekium, and peyote seedlings

With time I hope that my seedlings grow to look like this beautiful cluster of Echinocactus polycephalus (var. xeranthemoides) that overlooks the Tonto Platform in the Grand Canyon

Echinocactus polycephalus (var. xeranthemoides) overlooking the Tonto Platform

The Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedlings seem somewhat easier and more "well behaved". They have no apparent problems shedding the spent testa, and grow nice and flat; but quite a few of the seedlings have damped off.

Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedling

Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedling ridding itself of the spent seed coat

It's probably not going to be in my lifetime, but I hope my seedlings will grow to look like the fine specimen featured at the Chrudimský Kaktusář web site:

Flowering Echinocactus horizonthalonius

Growing peyote (and other cacti) on the balcony

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 21:39:00 +0000

40 peyote cacti growing in a window flower box

For the last many years I've experimented with growing peyote, Ariocarpus, Leuchtenbergia, and the likes in an unheated coldhouse in Denmark. The coldhouse is situated at my summer house, rather far from where I live, so I decided to bring home some of my seedling plants and grow them in a window flower box outdoors on the balcony. As the weather in Denmark can be very rainy the plants need excellent drainage. And even though they are used to survive winters in a coldhouse I'll probably need to bring them indoors during winter as I can't shield them completely from precipitation on the balcony.

Flower box planted with peyote and Acharagma

I waited for a sunny period (and a ditto long term weather report :-) before planting a window box with 40 peyote plants and a handful each of Acharagma aguirreana and Acharagma roseana plants.

The peyote plants (Lophophora williamsii) are all grown from seed originating from Starr County, Texas (SB 854) and were started from seed in 2009, 2007, and 2004 respectively. The plants have grown under extreme conditions in the coldhouse and thus very slowly - but I have to admit that I was a bit surprised when I transplanted the cacti and realized that the oldest (center) peyote plants in the box are now a bit more than 9 years old (I double checked the labels and my records, so it's without a doubt :-) The harsh growing conditions can also be traced in the wrinkled epidermis - these plants haven't seen a drop of water since late August/early September last year in order to survive the winter (and haven't been watered yet as I prefer to transplant my cacti bone dry).

Both Acharagma species were started from seed in spring 2009.

Drainage layer of Leca pebbles

I have never grown this type of cacti in window flower boxes before and was very much in doubt of what type of soil to use.

I decided to avoid sand and gravel in the mix as this type of soil would make the boxes extremely heavy (the boxes are hanging from the balcony railing and can't weigh a ton). Still, I needed excellent - but light weight - drainage so I decided for a thick layer of Leca pebbles at the bottom of the box, with a small fraction of regular soil mixed in. Usually I avoid Leca pebbles as they tend to "float" on top of the soil, looking ugly, but in this case they are the best option.

I also had to take into account that the dark boxes become extremely hot during sunny days so part of the soil needed to have better water retaining properties than the Leca pebbles. My solution was to use a top layer consisting of burnt moler cat litter and coir (a natural fibre extracted from the husk of coconut) - both are able to retain water but don't get soggy and waterlogged.

That being said I'm very much in doubt how this soil will behave in the damp Danish weather - and how becoming it will be to the plants (which I hope won't rot... but I'm sure time will tell :-)

Flower box planted with Echinocereus reichenbachii and Mammillaria

Another flower box was planted with Echinocereus reichenbachii originating from material I collected in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge back in 2007 plus a few Mammillaria grahamii (SB 1860; Steins, New Mexico, USA) and Mammillaria senilis (ROG 214; Tecorichi, Chihuahua, Mexico) plants bought from Kakteen-Haage.

I don't have much experience with growing Mammillaria species but selected these plants for their ability to tolerate cold conditions - and also for their beautiful flowers of course :-) One thing I learnt the hard way is that the fish hook spines of the Mammillaria plants behave like velcro when the plants get too close to each other, i.e. you should be very careful when planting several plants in the same container.

Three cacti window flower boxes on a row

I now have a total of three window flower boxes planted with cacti on the balcony; the two covered in this post plus the box planted with Echinocereus triglochidiatus, Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada), and Escobaria missouriensis (SB204; Mesa County, Colorado). The latter box was planted last year and wintered outdoors on the balcony.

Sunburned San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi)

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:23:00 +0000

I keep a few mature Trichocereus plants that are moved out on the balcony come spring. While the Trichocereus peruvianus (Peruvian Torch cactus) and Trichocereus bridgesii plants usually take the transition to being exposed to the elements in stride, I always have to look out for my Trichocereus pachanoi (San Pedro cactus) not to get sunburned. Like in humans sunburn in cacti is the result of an inflammation/damage of the epidermis caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight; typically most severe in new growth.

San Pedro cactus developing a sunburn

Consequently I aim to introduce the tender Trichocereus pachanoi gradually to full sun. This spring I made sure to place the San Pedro in an area that lies in shade most of the day. I even heeded the weather reports and moved the plants indoors on sunny days. Still the San Pedro is developing a sunburn in the new growth area facing the sun - interestingly it doesn't seem to get sunburned at the growing point at the tip but always a bit down the side from it, probably because of the steeper angle of incidence of the sun rays and UV radiation.

Undamaged, bright green new San Pedro growth

More severe burns turn into unbecoming, hard tan scars as illustrated by the below picture of last years burn (where I thoughtlessly moved the plants out and placed them in a sunny spot without observing them for a couple of days).

Trichocereus pachanoi with sunburn from last year

A light sunburn can be outgrown but the hard scars are permanent.

I'll end this post on a more positive note with the image below of a Ginkgo biloba happily setting new leaves :-) The Ginkgo biloba grows on the balcony year-round.

Ginkgo biloba ushering in spring

Trypophobia - fear of holes

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:58:00 +0000

Trypophobia inducing seed head of sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Arnold Wilkins, professor in psychology at the University of Essex, who sought permission to reproduce the above image of a lotus seed pod in a scientific publication on trypophobia. I had never heard about trypophobia before but a quick investigation revealed that the term was coined recently, combining the Greek trypo (punching, drilling, or boring holes) and phobia (an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something). Research on trypophobia is still limited and the condition is not recognized in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Still, thousands of people claim to be fearful of objects with small holes, such as beehives, ant holes, and lotus seed heads. There's even a website dedicated to trypophobia with loads of pictures of stuff with holes in it. Trypophobia is also called repetitive pattern phobia.

I always found my lotus seed pod image nothing but beautiful and couldn't (still quite can't) understand that a picture like this would cause anxiety in anybody. Anyway it will soon appear in an academic article on trypophobia and I'll bring an update when it's published.

I know it's entirely unscientific but I set up the poll below to get a better understanding of how many people are actually disturbed by the sight of the lotus seed head:

The image originally appeared in a post on Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Roadman fights for return of seized peyote

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:30:00 +0000

David Marbain, roadman with the Native American Church, sings while holding a peyote fan and gourd rattle

I'm not into the details of US legislation but (naively?) thought that members of the Native American Church have the right to both possess and use peyote as an integral part of their religious ceremonies.

Assemblage of a water drum

But apparently this is not always the case as documented by the Press Democrat's report on NAC roadman David Marbain's struggle to get his seized peyote returned:

A minister in the North Coast chapter of the Native American Church says his right to religious freedom was violated when sheriff's deputies seized mind-altering peyote from his home during a raid on indoor pot gardens.

Former Santa Rosa resident David Marbain, 56, is seeking the return of nearly 5 pounds of the dried cactus known for its hallucinogenic effects as well as 27 live plants that were taken in the 2010 sweep.

Marbain insists it was legal for him to have the natural source of the drug mescaline because it is sacramental medicine that was being used for religious purposes.

He's calling on the Sheriff's Office to give it back so he can continue to use it or dispose of it according to Indian tradition.

“Peyote has been used in Native American rituals for many thousands of years,” said Marbain, who traces his roots to the Mohawk Indians. “It's central to our ceremonies in the Native American Church. It's our sacrament.”

The North Coast chapter of the national organization has about 50 members, church officials said.

But Sonoma County prosecutors are opposing the release, saying the peyote is contraband and not subject to First Amendment protections.

Deputy District Attorney Anne Masterson said in court papers that it is listed as a controlled substance, making its possession and cultivation illegal.

She said it is not exempt because it is viewed by some as religious or sacramental.

“To return the peyote to the defendant or anyone, even a holy person from his tribe, would be improper, as it would be a court-sanctioned violation of the laws of the state,” she said in opposition papers filed in February.

However, Marbain's lawyer, Omar Figueroa, argued the seizure is a violation of Marbain's rights because of his membership in the church, founded about a century ago in Oklahoma. Members practice Peyotism, which they believe puts them in touch with a holy spirit or deity.

Figueroa pointed to case law that suggests prosecutors must demonstrate a “compelling state interest” for infringing on his freedom of religion.

“There is little potential societal harm in using peyote in a religious ceremony conducted in a controlled, supervised environment,” Figueroa said. “Indeed, the Native American Church has been practicing these ceremonies for decades.”

Marbain and church members are expected to attend an April 18 hearing before Judge Ken Gnoss to decide the matter.

Marbain and nine other people, including his wife and adult son, were arrested in a raid on eight indoor pot growing operations in December 2010.

Deputies seized hundreds of plants, processed marijuana, guns and cash from a suspected network of growers.

They found pot and financial ledgers at Marbain's Gilbert Drive house along with two paper bags of peyote and more than two dozen live peyote plants, prosecutors said.

He was initially charged with 18 felonies, including cultivation of marijuana for sale and using his house to distribute a controlled substance. The charges were dropped in January in a plea bargain in which he admitted one count of possession of concentrated cannabis.

He was sentenced to probation and community service.

Now, the longtime “roadman” or minister with the Native American Church says he wants his peyote back. Like Indians before him, he said he's been using it in rituals across the southwestern United States for years, estimating he's taken peyote “literally hundreds of times.”

“It heightens your awareness and puts you in a mode of prayer,” Marbain said.

He's run into no legal snags until the seizure. Sonoma County officials are “acting out of ignorance,” he said.

But whether the peyote is still good is not clear. A portion of it may have rotted while sitting in the sheriff's evidence locker and may need to be buried in a church-sanctioned ritual, he said.

Allowing the sheriff to incinerate the peyote or just toss it out would be disrespectful, he said.

“We would wish to find a place in nature and give it a proper burial, you might say,” Marbain said.

Photos and text are courtesy of the Press Democrat.

Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:12:00 +0000

Huichol child collecting peyote

Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians, Hernan Vilchez' documentary about the Wixárika People and their struggle to preserve the sacred territory of Wirikuta - the destination of their annual peyote pilgrimage - is due for release April 2013 according to the Facebook page for the film. The plot outline reads:

Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians is a story about the mystical Wixárika People, one of the last pre-Hispanic alive cultures in Latin America, and their ongoing struggle against the mexican government and multinational mining corporations to preserve Wirikuta, their most sacred territory and home of the famous peyote cactus.

Since 2010, Canadian mining projects received the concessions to prospect the whole area, rich in silver and other valuable minerals. The company promises to create thousand of jobs for the needy villagers of the region, without contamination.

Nevertheless, the mining activities are seen by the Wixárika and their supporters as a great menace for the delicate biodiversity of this unique ecosystem, listed by the UNESCO as World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

An unequal and controversial fight from today that triggers the global debate between ancient cultural values, the exploitation of nature and the inevitable development of the peoples.

References
The official Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians website.

Peyote purple from extreme cold

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:47:00 +0000

Purple peyote seedlings - a sign of extreme conditions

A purple colored epidermis is a common stress indicator for a number of cacti - stress caused either by cold or draught - and consequently can be seen as a sign of extreme growing conditions.

The peyote seedlings in the above photo haven’t seen a drop of water since late August/early September, i.e. they have been without water for almost half a year. And the last time I checked, the temperature in the coldhouse where the seedlings grow had been as low as -10C (14F). Extreme conditions for peyote seedlings indeed! And the explanation for their purple hue.

The plants are grown from seed originating from El Oso, Coahuila, Mexico. Given the locality and the seedlings’ ability to endure extreme cold and dry conditions I expect them to be Lophophora williamsii var. echinata.

Speaking of purple Lophophora williamsii var. echinata the below photo was posted a while ago by Keeper Trout. The picture shows a patch of mature peyote turned purple by the cold. According to Trout, the area in Texas where the plants grow had experienced a "hundred year freeze" including three days where the highest temperature measured at a nearby locality was 10F (less than -12C).

Purple peyote in habitat in Texas

The frost in western Texas killed off a lot of things considered freeze-hardy - including the dead peyote pictured below. This plant was from a different population than the purple patch pictured above and might have seen slightly colder temperatures, but still it’s a good indication that the freezing temperatures these plants experienced are at the limit of what Lophophora williamsii var. echinata will stand.

Dead peyote in habitat in Texas

As mentioned at the beginning of this post a purple tinted epidermis is a common sign of stress in many cacti. Another example from my coldhouse is the purplish-hued Ariocarpus retusus pictured below.

Purple tinted Ariocarpus retusus (SB 310; Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila)

The mature peyote photos are courtesy of Keeper Trout and the Cactus Conservation Institute and originate from this post on The Corroboree.

Peyote, Ariocarpus and Normanbokea in the depth of winter

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:09:00 +0000

Winter dormant peyote cactus

Following a relatively mild period the last couple of years have seen freezing cold winters here in Denmark - winters that have been tough to my coldhouse grown plants, and especially the deep frost of 2009/2010 killed off a significant number of my coldhouse collection. But it also separated the wheat from the chaff leaving a pretty cold-hardy assemblage of plants, the dormant Lophophora williamsii var. echinata (JJH 8608293; Pecos River area) pictured above being a majestic example.

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus var. macdowellii (SB 100; El Pilar, Coahuila)

Most of the cacti growing in the coldhouse are selected for their (sometimes assumed) ability to survive freezing conditions. For example I prefer the Trans-Pecos variety of peyote as it is more frost hardy than the tender regular variety - and the different Ariocarpi all originate from the northernmost part of the species’ respective ranges.

Ariocarpus fissuratus (SB 403; Crockett Co, Texas)

Even though the cacti already have survived several cold winters I can’t deny that I still worry what plants will die off during winter (as some inevitably will).

The pictures appearing in this post were taken between Christmas and New Year - at that time the plants had already been exposed to temperatures in the vicinity of -10 C (approximately 14 F). Since then they have seen both mild and humid weather and long periods of frost - I expect that these fluctuations in temperature are harder to cope with for the plants than uniform periods of cold, but it’s just a hunch. Anyway I’m eagerly looking forward to spring :-)

Ariocarpus retusus (SB 310; Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila)

But it is not just the cold that poses a threat to my plants. Previously critters have eaten large bites out of some of my peyote plants and now several of my Normanbokea valdeziana plants have met the same destiny... I still haven’t figured out what culprit is eating my cacti (or at least tasting and spitting out again)!

Normanbokea valdeziana (SB 1468; Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico) eaten into by some unknown critter

Flowering San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi)

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:27:00 +0000

Flowering stand of San Pedro cacti (Trichocereus pachanoi)

To me the main draw of the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi (syn. Echinopsis pachanoi)), a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains of Ecuador and Peru, has always been that it is unsurpassed as a grafting stock. In my opinion it is the perfect rootstock for grafted peyote and similar cacti, as it ensures fast growth and is long-lived.

That being said a towering stand of San Pedro cacti is spectacular in its own right, and the large, beautiful, fragrant flowers are nothing less than awesome!

San Pedro cactus flower bud

I took these pictures last summer but will not disclose the exact location. After peyote (Lophophora williamsii) the San Pedro cactus is one of the most mescaline rich species of cacti and is widely sought after for recreational use - I’m sure the grower of these plants will be quite angry if they are maimed and disfigured by “I, me, mine” types looking for a quick trip. If you are so inclined, grow your own plants.

Spent San Pedro flower

As I said, San Pedro flowers are nothing less than awesome :-)

San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi) flower close-up

Snow covered cacti on the balcony

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:52:00 +0000

Escobaria vivipara with a light snow cover

I’m fascinated by the ability of certain cacti species to survive even quite extreme freezing conditions. A fascination that is probably rooted in my childhood belief that all cacti were heat craving desert dwellers that would succumb to subfreezing temperatures - great was my surprise the first time I saw pictures of a cactus covered in snow.

Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. mojavensis sprinkled with snow

I live in a condominium and the only possibility for pursuing my interest in growing frost tolerant cacti outdoors - apart from the bed of winter-hardy cacti at my summerhouse - is to grow cacti in flower boxes on the balcony.

For several years I have successfully grown Echinocereus triglochidiatus (claret cup hedgehog cactus) outdoors (year-round) at my summerhouse in the northwestern part of Denmark - inspired by this I acquired a few E. triglochidiatus var. mojavensis (DJF1273; North of Inyo County, California) plants for my flower boxes a couple of years ago and they are also doing great.

Escobaria missouriensis in the snow

The well-being of the Escobaria species are of greater concern to me. The Botanical Garden of Copenhagen attempted growing Escobaria in their outdoor cactus bed but they all perished. My plants still seem to be weathering it out here in Copenhagen but I’m concerned that the continuous frost-thaw cycles will expose the plants to killing moisture.

Denmark has been frost-bound for several weeks now with the plants seeing temperatures as low as -10 C (14 F) (this is nothing for Escobaria vivipara which is known to have survived extreme temperatures as low as -35 degrees C) but the frost now loosens its grip again and it has started to rain, soaking the flower boxes that are still frozen solid. I hope that the light shelter provided by the balcony on the floor above will keep the plants from getting too wet - if not, I reckon the rot will soon show in the coming period of relatively warm and humid weather.

The beehive cactus species I’m growing in flower boxes on the balcony are Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada) and Escobaria missouriensis (Mesa County, Colorado; SB204)

Flower box with Escobaria and Echinocereus cacti in the snow

This coming season I plan to grow peyote cactus in outdoor window boxes as well - but I don’t expect peyote to cope well with the Danish winter so the plants will need to be wintered in the attic.

Below are a few pictures of the balcony grown Escobaria plants during summer - what a happy flowering bunch :-)

Flowering Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada)

Flowering Escobaria missouriensis (Mesa County, Colorado; SB204)

In relation to the two above images, the previous post featured a high-speed video showing the flower fly hovering above the Escobaria vivipara cactus.

Hoverfly visiting a flowering Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada) cactus

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:42:00 +0000

While preparing a post on the cold-hardy cacti I'm growing in flower boxes on my balcony I stumbled upon this high-speed video I shot last summer. The video shows a hoverfly visiting a flowering Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada).

Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae - a group of superbly beneficial insects, the adults being pollinators and the hoverfly larvae being predators of aphids and other damaging insect pests and their larvae. The coloring and movements of most species mimic bees or wasps giving them some protection against being eaten by birds.

I’m by no means an entomologist and to my untrained eye the flower fly in the video looks like a Scaeva selenitica (a common European species of hoverfly) with its three pairs of yellow comma markings on the abdomen. If you are an expert on insects and recognize the fly I would be happy to know the exact species.

If the above video doesn’t embed properly you can open it in a separate window by clicking the image below.

Hoverfly (Scaeva selenitica?) visiting flowering Escobaria vivipara (Alberta, Canada)

The high-speed video was filmed at the end of June 2012 using a Nikon 1 J1 camera.

TimeScapes: Death is the Road to Awe

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:15:00 +0000

I'm fascinated by time-lapse videos - especially the ones that include cactus related footage. Tom Lowe is a great inspiration when it comes to time-lapse filming and has recently released the movie TimeScapes that features stunning slow-motion and time-lapse cinematography of the landscapes, people, and wildlife of the American South West.

Tom has made several clips available on Vimeo including the one below featuring giant saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea) reaching for the soaring night sky.

If the video doesn't embed properly you can view it in a separate window by clicking the picture below.

Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) lit by a military drop flare

A particularly epic sequence is filmed on the East side of the US Air Force's Goldwater bombing range near Ajo, Arizona, and shows a saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) towering in a desert landscape painted by the lights from military flares dropped from planes.

The above picture is courtesy of Tom Lowe @ Timescapes' photostream (where you can find a lot more beautiful photos).

Time-lapse video of a flowering Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus var. macdowellii cactus

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:59:00 +0000

Flowering Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus var. macdowellii (SB 100; El Pilar, Coahuila) - please note that the time-lapse video is generated with a fairly high frame rate meaning that you can slow down the video to 0.5x its speed (or even 0.25x) with good results - the playback speed is controlled via the settings for the YouTube video.

As mentioned in the previous post I broke the shutter of my old faithful Nikon D70 SLR camera while capturing photos for a time-lapse video of a flowering peyote. A time-lapse video of just a few seconds duration requires hundreds of photos and thus imposes a considerable wear on SLR cameras with mechanical shutters. Consequently I have avoided using my new SLR for time-lapse shooting and instead experimented with alternative solutions. One of these being iTimeLapse Pro for the iPhone - an app that allows you to control basic settings like the capture interval, when to stop and start capturing images, and the capture resolution.

The app was used for shooting the images for this video and as such functions just fine, but I still need to work on enhancing the steadiness of the phone (it slid slightly on its stand during the capture sequence), and on tuning the focus (which is slightly behind the center of the flower, making the flower itself look blurry). Also the images are taken in natural light that changes continuously giving the video a flickering appearance - on the other hand the change in light is also responsible for the flower closing again, adding to the video.

I also shot photo sets for a flowering peyote ( Lophophora williamsii var. echinata) and a Gymnocalycium calochlorum and will generate and upload time-lapse videos for these as time permits.

For the technically inclined it must be mentioned that the video was generated using FFmpeg, a free set of tools to record, convert, stream and play multimedia content. FFmpeg can be downloaded here. The photos used in the video were shot one every 15 seconds and is played back at a rate of 25 images per second. The time-lapse video comprises 1001 still images.

If the video doesn't embed properly you can view it in a separate window by clicking the picture below.

Peyote in the sky...

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 21:13:00 +0000

Time flies... as do the clouds in the above video. 8 years ago today this blog was started off with a test post featuring a picture of a field of Cylindropuntia bigelovii photographed in Joshua Tree National Park (maybe I should do another C. bigelovii post as I have lots of beautiful pictures from that and later visits to the park ;-)

As a curiosity it can be mentioned that I broke the shutter of my old Nikon D70 doing the above time-lapse video a couple of years ago. The video is rather short (as the shooting ended prematurely) and doesn't show the flower unfold, but I thought it would fit nicely with this post, illustrating the passing of precious time.

If the video doesn't embed properly you can view it in a separate window by clicking the picture below.

Peyote in the sky...

Geographic distribution of peyote / Lophophora

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Recently several articles have been published updating the available information on the geographic range of peyote / Lophophora. I have made an overview of this distribution information available on a stand-alone blogger page (and as such it is not included in the blog post feed, hence this announcement:): Geographic distribution of peyote / Lophophora

Bibliography on peyote / Lophophora

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:28:00 +0000

Lately I've been working on a bibliography that is meant to cover literature on primarily peyote/Lophophora and related Mexican/Texan cactus species, but many general works on cacti are also included. Currently the bibliography is very much a work in progress and will be expanded in the future. Download links are included for works that are publicly available.

The bibliography resides on a stand-alone page (and as such is not included in the blog post feed, hence this announcement:): Bibliography on peyote / Lophophora

Gingerbread peyote cookies

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 11:12:00 +0000

Gingerbread peyote cookie

Yuletide is closing in and the winter solstice has to be celebrated. What better way to do it than with a handful of homemade gingerbread peyote cookies :-)

Gingerbread peyote cookies - a.k.a christmas cactus cookies :-)

Merry winter solstice to you all. And happy new growing season!

Huichol peyote picking under threat

noreply@blogger.com (lophophora) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:38:00 +0000

Huichol looking over the desert - photo by Tracy L. Barnett

The Huichol not only have to deal with threats to their sacred land by the Canadian-based mining company First Majestic Silver Corporation. According to the Guadalajara Reporter a recent presidential decree also outlaws harvesting of peyote in two protected areas in San Luis Potosi, partly prohibiting the ancient Huichol pilgrimages that revolve around peyote picking.

The full Guadalajara Reporter article reads:

Not only is their sacred land threatened by Canadian mining corporations, but the indigenous Huichol or Wixarika of Jalisco and Nayarit’s Sierra Madre must now also contend with the Mexican government undermining their peyote-infused religious rituals.

One of four Wixarika deities, peyote is considered a means of communicating with the gods, and for thousands of years the Wixarika have embarked on pilgrimages to pick the hallucinogenic cactus flower in the mountainous “Wirikuta” area of Real de Catorce in San Luis Potosi.

But a presidential decree issued on October 26 partly prohibited this ancient tradition by outlawing the harvest of fruit from two protected areas in San Luis Potosi.

At a press conference last week, the Regional Council for the Defense of Wirikuta, demanded that the government guarantee their right to pick peyote. The council also called for the cancellation of 79 mining concessions affecting their sacred land.

Since 2009, the Wixarika have been campaigning against mining concessions granted by the Mexican government to Canadian firms. The mining has a devastating impact on the local environment, critics say, with swaths of land destroyed and large quantities of cyanide used in the process.