Xerophilia 2016.12 19

the passion for cacti and other succulents
ISSN 2285 3987
19
December
2016
summary
3 Editorial 19 | Eduart
4 Xerophilia 19's Favorite Quote | Xerophilia
5 On the rediscovery of Mammillaria laui D.R.Hunt subsp. dasyacantha (D.R.Hunt) D.R.Hunt
and notes on the Mammillaria laui D.R.Hunt complex | Dr. Leccinum J. Garca-Morales
13 Graptosedum Francesco Baldi: history, diffusion and cultivation of a mysterious hybrid | Marco Cristini
27 Spring in Mexico - part 2 | Aldo Delladdio
45 A new species and new populations of the genus Agave L. for the alien flora of Catalonia
(north-eastern Iberian Peninsula) | Vanessa Mesquida et al.
59 The desert means... life! | Ricardo Ramirez-Chaparro
87 Xero Arts | Project coordinated by Leo Rodrguez
105 Notes on Aztekium ritteri (Boed.) Boed. | Elton Roberts
111 Taking pictures in the desert | Cristian Perez-Badillo
127 CSSNZ Auckland Show 2016 | Eduart Zimer
139 Online journals | Xerophilia
140 Abstract n limba romn | Xerophilia
142 Interesting offer of cacti seeds from South America | Xerophilia
Founders: Eduart Zimer Dag Panco Valentin Posea Nordic representative Erik Holm
Supporter Mihai Crisbanu
Editor: Eduart Zimer Editorial team's e-Mail: [email protected].
Graphic layout based on Andrea Cattabriga's pattern.
EN edition Eduart Zimer All rights reserved no part of this publication may be reproduced in any forms
SP edition & Field researches Pedro Njera Quezada or by any means, without written permission of the Editor. All copyrighted
Photo edition Valentin Posea photographs have been used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
PR & Graphic Dag Panco International license.
Front cover Back cover
Agave gracielae Echinocereus coccineus

Lazaro Vega, Queretaro. Cuesta de Malena, Coahuila.
Photo by Photo by
Cristian Perez Badillo Aldo Delladdio
Summary 2 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987

summary
editorial 19
I
t takes only a second to change your perspective
on a certain issue. We struggle sometimes too
much to disapprove the mutilation of Mexican
habitats or the illegal sales of rare plants
threatened by extinction (Note: I have not
forgotten this subject - I will come back to this
in March), forgetting completely the progressive
deterioration of several other places, even if
those places are apparently far less interesting and
less attractive for us, cactus collectors. Why should
we be outraged by the growing Chinese pollution? Its
only Chinese being affected; isnt it? Why should we be
concerned with water shortage? Bolivias Lago Poop
(normally a fishing support for the local communities)
dries out on regular bases when draught last time
in 1994 and now in 2016. Who cares about Bolivians
fishermen anyway? Global warming and especially
melting of the Arctic ice? Who really cares about an inch
increase in sea levels in fifty years (not many of us will
be around anyway).
The real problem is that we dont understand that we before, but the faith is gone Dont blame the cactus
live in a world we are creating with every step we make looters for all what happens, the spectacular ant-plants
yes, for a while it can be supportable (or survivable). In form the Cairns Botanic Gardens have been ransacked
California, Lake Owens was desiccated in only 13 years as well and it wasnt the... ones you know.
(between 1913 and 1926) when the water of the Owens
River was diverted for irrigating farmlands. They must ***
have had good crops back then. But still the problem
remains: too much water is drained into the Ocean (say However, as always towards the end of the editorial -
vocation specialists). Now, a century later, the dried we want to thank, once again, to our loyal readers from
bed of Lake Owens is the largest dust polluter in the all over the world and to all this years collaborators!
Owens Valley. Well, its not the peoples fault anyway Now, looking forward for 2017, Xerophilia team wishes
more, in recent decades its being extracted more and you at the end of 2016: Happy Holidays, and spend
more groundwater and landowners can extract as them safely with your loved ones!
much groundwater from their property as they can put
to beneficial use (whatever this means). In 200 years Happy New Year, everyone! Feliz Ao Nuevo! Guten
California will be possibly a barren desert if people Rutsch ins Neue Jahr! Bonne et heureuse nouvelle
exhaust the groundwater, but by then we will be six anne tous! Felice Anno Nuovo! Godt Nytr, alle!
feet under anyway. Why should we care? People will be Gelukkige verjaardag!
summary
focusing on colonising Mars anyway in 2216.

2016 was quite a complicated year: from politics to ... i la anul i LA MULI ANI !!
wars and from elections to the melting Artic. Its like the
crazy world we are living appears to destroy everything
it touches. We have gained more knowledge as ever Eduart
Editorial
Editorial 33 -- XEROPHILIA
XEROPHILIA Volume
Volume V,
V, No.
No. 44 (19),
(19), December
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2016 || ISSN
ISSN 2285-3987
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Walter Pengue is an Agronomist

and PhD in Agroecology. He works at
the National University of General Sar-
miento and at the University of Buenos
Aires, Argentina, and is a member of
the Management Committee of IKIAM,
Regional Amazon University in Ecuador.
He is also a member of the Executive
Board of the TEEB in the framework of
its program on agriculture and food, of
the United Nations Environment Pro-
gram (UNEP), based in Geneva.
Xerophilia
Xerophilia 19's
Favorite Quote
The agroecology
is not the past;
the agroecology
is the future!
summary
Walter Pengue
Editorial
Quote 44 -- XEROPHILIA
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Volume V,
V, No.
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(19), December
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2016 || ISSN
ISSN 2285-3987
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On the rediscovery of
summary
Mammillaria laui D.R.Hunt
dasyacantha
subsp. (D.R.Hunt) D.R.Hunt
and notes on the

Mammillaria laui
species complex
Dr. Leccinum J. Garcia-Morales

Herbario, Museo de Historia Natural de Tamaulipas, TAMUX, Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mxico
[email protected]
F
or a long time, the cacti from the and M. laui ssp. dasycantha) remained unknown
mountains of Tamaulipas have until late in the 1970s, when discovered by
remained very little known about Alfred Lau boys, and described later by David
their distribution end demography. Hunt in 1979 as three different forms of a single
Among these poorly known species, species, status maintained also until 1985 (see
the taxa that comprise the Mammillaria Hunt, 1987). Interestingly, Reppenhagen (1991-
laui complex are ones of the most 1992) proposed the separation of these plants in
interesting because of their uniqueness two different species and a variety: M. laui and M.
and narrow distribution, all found growing on laui var. subducta and M. dasyacantha as separate
a single upper mountain slope west of Ciudad taxa. Hunt proposed later in 1997 (see Hunt 2006)
summary
Victoria, Tamaulipas. the sub-specific status of the three close related

The story of the discovery of Mammillaria laui and plants under Mammillaria laui, proposal that I
its subspecies is also very interesting, being found do prefer to use because is coherent with the
by casually while looking for the mythical Rancho distinct altitudinal and ecological distribution of
La Reja in the quest of Mammillaria carmenae, the the populations showing also proper taxonomical
M. laui taxa (M. laui ssp. laui, M. laui ssp. subducta differences between each other.
On the rediscovery of M. laui ssp. dasyacantha 5 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987
summary
The habitat of Mammillaria laui ssp. dasyacantha, in the

canyons west of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
Mammillaria laui species complex form distribution, particularly in the case of Mammillaria
an altitudinal series laui ssp. dasyacantha, known only from the original
More interesting above all these taxonomical collections done in the late 1970s years, and
proposals is that Lau stated that these different missing also from my thesis work done in 2006.
plants form an altitudinal series (see Hunt, Many attempts to find this elusive plant in habitat
1987), ranging the lowermost from about 800 m are known by running voices and have remained
elevation and the highest one reaching the 1700 m as a myth plant to many explorers, unfortunately
elevation ranges; he also noticed the presence of nobody except Lau himself and probably
intermediate forms between them. An interesting Reppenhagen knew about the exact location of
summary
gold slender spined form between M. laui ssp. laui the plants, obviously found originally by the agile
and M. laui ssp. subducta was presented also by boys of Lau who deliver in search of seeds and
Garca-Morales (2013). plants of cacti with a piece of bread and a bottle
The notes of Lau are very interesting for of water as a supply for all day long trip (or work?),
understanding not only the characters of the taxa, according to the still living land keeper of La Reja
but also for distinguishing their poorly known Ranch: Sr. Horacio.
summary
A view within the canyons from the site of Mammillaria

laui ssp. dasyacantha.
First attempt a big vertical dark metamorphic rocks among

In March 2010, we had the opportunity to go to La mosses, ferns and Tillandsia plants, as was shown
Reja accompanied by the Mammillaria enthusiast by Garca-Morales (2013). Horacio was certainly
Marlies Schauer, in search of Mammillaria not familiar with of any M. laui looking plants near
carmenae, and, maybe if we were lucky, also to La Reja, in fact, he stated that these must not grow
rediscover the mythical and elusive M. laui ssp. on this side of the mountain, but maybe up some
dasyacantha. As interesting was the discovery of kilometers north, near El Borrado peak. As we had
the plants at the time, the more interesting is the our doubts and hypotheses on the M. laui plants
story of Horacio about the discoverers, who found we walked on the second day trip from La Reja
one or two hungry and thirsty boys about 40 years north into the base of El Borrado. We did not find
ago in the top of the high mountain near La Reja, any M. laui plant certainly as commented Horacio
who commented they came from Veracruz and before, but we did find several small populations
lived with Sr. Lau and they look for seeds and of carmencitas along the 4 km long trail from the
plants of cacti and other succulents. Horacio, as 1500 m to near the 1800 m elevation range on the
summary
a good field knower of the area, knew about the northern side of the mountain.
carmencita (as he named the plant) since many The bad weather and the imminent need to
years ago, the plant was named by the owner of return down to Ciudad Victoria kept us from
the Rancho La Reja, Don Marcelino Castaeda climbing and walk more on the upper side of El
in honor of his wife Carmen. The few remaining Borrado and, maybe, find here any M. laui ssp.
plants close to the Ranch head house grow on dasyacantha populations.
The feet of the author: climbing to reach this sloppy
and loose soil location could be a dangerous activity.
summary
Second attempt Mine ... in that place we located several plants

In October 2011 we had also the opportunity to of M. laui ssp. laui with the typical pure white and
travel into the Can del Novillo with Wolter ten also with some yellowish spines, growing on very
Hoeve and Anjo Kaizer, with whom we shared the dark metamorphic rocks in the northern side,
same interest in finding the three subspecies of but we could not climb more from this place as
Mammillaria laui, - a hit if we do found them in the inclination of the mountain and the loose soil
a single day! We reached the upper part of the keep us out from this route. We get back down
Canyon where the actual Serpentinite Mines are, to the 1100 m elevation and tried to climb again
which Reppenhagen (1991-1992) calls repeatedly a little bit from the south side of the creek, but
asbestos mines. We saw at the time several the groaning sound of a close black bear make
plants of M. laui ssp. subducta in the edges of us nervous, and the difficult loose soil and the
summary
the open mine and close slopes, a terrible fate very steep slope also prevented us from climbing
for the whole population as the open space at more, looking for the very upper 1400 m elevation
the time was quite small compared to now. We black rocks seen from this place, we needed to
walked up north from the mine for more than get back and plan a new trip later as we think that
two kilometers, climbing from 900 m to the 1150 is the place where M. laui ssp. dasyacantha grows,
m, just reaching the open mouth of El Novillo some 500 m above in altitude.
summary
The first sighted plant, showing a less clumping

stem and closed flower buds.
As I was working on the floristic and vegetation and attempts my intuition proved to be correct!
of all the mountain range close to Ciudad Victoria In 2002 with the companion of my father and Dr.
(Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres) since Antonio Guerra, from the University of Tamaulipas,
2008, one of the goals was to find all endemic we found the northernmost population of M. laui
species within the area, and Mammillaria laui ssp. ssp. laui in the ridge of the mountain that divides
dasyacantha became a real challenge on each the Novillo and Peregrina Canyon, at about 1300 m
summary
mountain trip, however, unsuccessfully. In several elevation. This discovery gave me a hint about the
times I tried to reach the place sight from the Novillo distribution of the very elusive population of M. laui
Canyon going down south from the Peregrina ssp. dasyacantha, but again, the long trail to reach
Canyon, trying to reach the highest parts of the this place and the time needed for the return back
mountains and then down into the elevation range to Ciudad Victoria prevent us to climb more up into
given by Hunt and Reppenhagen; after many years the mountain in look of the mythical plant.
summary
Plant growing among metamorphic igneous rocks, A group of Mammillaria laui ssp. dasyacantha
described by Lau as porphyreus because of the growing among Selaginella peruviana and under
dark color. oaks leaves.
A beautiful clump of Mammilaria laui ssp. dasyacantha

showing the contrasting pink flowers and soft long
spines.
Last attempt collecting and photographing of them make the

In March 2015, after a near 5 km walk down ascent into the place much slower, and at a time
south of the main top Peregrina Canyon in look I complained that it was better to get back as I
for uncommon species of Quercus for my PhD have my hands full of big bags with oaks samples.
thesis work, I spotted an open area with big black My partner Francisco Pancho Hernndez aimed
stones from below the place - maybe about 1 me to go to that place, as we were closer to the
km. I then immediately switched my mind to rocks than to the truck - obviously I used to do the
the Mammillaria laui ssp. dasyacantha, my heart same years ago when I got his age and weight!
summary
and head were suddenly very excited about the After a difficult climb through a creek for crossing
possibility of finally finding the elusive plant, but a canyon we reached the big black rocks, from far
several uncommon Quercus appeared in the trail, sight we see some Agave univitatta growing on them
some never seen before in previous trips, such and also the common Echinocereus pentalophus
as Q. sapotiifolia, the uncommon Q. glaucoides thats a good start always as usually the rare
and Q.pinnativenulosa, just to name some. The species do not live alone, even the endemic ones.
summary
A beautiful flowering plant among Selaginella A clumping plants showing the big pink flowers and
peruviana. the long and soft spines characteristic of this taxon.
We continued climbing and we took different canyons. Pilbeam (1999) shows a photo of the
paths for reaching the more open place, I took plant collected by Lau 1496, which fit with some
the southernmost, Pancho got the northernmost, shadow plants found also in this new location,
separated each another by about 100 m. mixed with the little bit thicker and appressed
Finally, I look on a big black rock and in a small spine form, so I think both collections are of the
crevice surprisingly was a very white small head same M. dasyacantha plants.
above, I found it! - I yelled to Pancho. Finally, I
rediscovered the mythical plant after 20 years of Conservation status
walk all over the place and nearly after 40 years Anyway, the conservation status of the species
the original discovery of Lau. as I have seen by myself should be considered
We hurry up to look for more plants, we as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN
checked around and see some small groups on criteria, as there should be very few hundreds
the surrounding rocks, we counted not so many, of plants distributed in all the upper slopes
maybe some 10 small groups plus several single between the 1400 to 1700 if following Laus
headed plants, all with the characteristic long and and Reppenhagens data, and restricted only to
soft spines as described by Hunt and Reppenhagen, north facing black metamorphic rocks between
and for not saying more, we found some of them the Novillo and Peregrina Canyons. I collected a
with full open flowers! I can understand now why couple of plants that were preserved for future
Mammillaria laui ssp. dasyacantha became so studies and as reference for later publications in
summary
elusive all this time, as the habitat of the species the Herbarium ITCV (Ciudad Victoria), the plant
is very restricted to grow on metamorphic igneous compared show the similar features shown by the
dark rocks in north facing slopes, as also does isotype preserved at MEXU Herbarium.
M. laui ssp. laui just a little bit south and at lower What a great present and story ending for any
altitude, surrounded by pines and oaks trees plant explorer to find a lost plant for near 40 years
that grow among in the more humid parts of the in full blooming time!..
Acknowledgements
summary
I appreciate specially the help and contribution of Stefan

Nitzschke for sharing relevant literature to complete
this manuscript. To my father Jess Garca, and Antonio
Guerra, Francisco Hernndez, Marlies Schauer, Wolter
ten Hoeve and Anjo Kaizer for joining me in my several
trips into the mountains of Tamaulipas. My special
gratitude to Dag Panco, editor of Xerophilia, for his aims
and suggestions within the manuscript.
The author and Pancho eating in a safe place after

the descent of the location of Mammillaria laui ssp.
dasyacantha, note the happiness in the face of the
author!
Bibliography Hunt, D. 1987. A new review of Mammillaria names.

Garca-Morales, L.J. 2006. Estudio sobre la diversidad, British Cactus and Succulent Society. England.
distribucin y algunos aspectos ecolgicos de las Hunt, D. 2006. The New Cactus Lexicon Tome I & II.
summary
cactceas (Caryophyllales: Cactaceae) de la Sierra DH Books. England.

Madre Oriental, Sierra de San Carlos y zonas Pilbeam, J. 1999. The Cactus File Handbook 6:
adyacentes en el Estado de Tamaulipas, Mxico. Mammillaria. The Cactus File, Nuffield Press, Oxford,
Tesis de Licenciatura. Licenciatura en Biologa, England.
Instituto Tecnolgico de Ciudad Victoria, Mxico. Reppenhagen, W. 1991-1992. Die Gattung
Garca-Morales, L.J. 2013. The golden Mammillarias Mammillaria. Monographie. 2 Bnde. Druckerei
of Tamaulipas, Mxico. Xerophilia 2 (2): 5-13. Steinhart GmbH. Titisee-Neustadt. Germany.
en or On
Onthe
therediscovery
rediscoveryof
ofM.
M.laui
lauissp.
ssp.dasyacantha
dasyacantha 12
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Graptosedum
summary
Francesco Baldi
history,
diffusion
and cultivation
of a mysterious hybrid
Marco Cristini Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas!

Fortunate is he, who was able to know the causes of things!
(Virgil, Georgics, II, 490)
C
rassulaceae hybrids occupy
more space in gardens and
greenhouses than they do in
literature. In fact lots of them
carry doubtful names, are poor-
ly described and only seldom
correctly labelled. Magazines,
books and booklets devoted
to succulents usually prefer species, leaving
hybrids and cultivars to appendices and foot-
notes. This situation can be disappointing for
all people who would like to label each one of
their beloved succulents, but botanists have
good reasons to avoid the mine-field of cross-
ings between different species. Take for ex-
summary
ample the genus Sempervivum, which includes

around 80 taxa and 4000 hybrids and cultivars.
Nobody I know is ready to spend years of his/
her life studying legions of synonyms, doubtful
names and plants which seem to have disap- Close-up of Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.
peared from cultivation.
Graptosedum
Graptosedum'Francesco
Francesco Baldi'
Baldi 13
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Nevertheless, if one goes to a nursery, walks in cise, it should be written xGraptosedum 'Francesco
a street of a Mediterranean town or simply surfs Baldi', but in this article, for the sake of simplicity, I
summary
the net, he or she will find lots of unnamed or uni- will call it often Graptosedum 'F. Baldi'.
dentified Crassulaceae, not only sempervivums, Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' is a nice example of the
but also crossings between sedums, echeverias, popularity of Crassulaceae hybrids. It is widespread
graptopetalums and pachyphytums. When I be- not only in Italy, but also in other Mediterranean
gan collecting succulents, I almost immediately countries, in the USA, in Australia and in New Zea-
came across a robust plant which grows freely on land. Notwithstanding, very little has been written
balconies and windowsills in my hometown. Then about this succulent. While writing this article I was
I thought it was a pachyphytum, but I was not able much surprised by the lack of interest in it. Surely
to find it in any books. The plant remained a mys- I missed something, but it is all the same unfair
tery for a couple of years, until I found it was an that such a nice and easy succulent has received
hybrid, Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi'. To be pre- so little attention. The reason why Graptosedum 'F.
Baldi' is neglected has only to do with its origins:
being a hybrid, it is not considered worth a place
in literature.
In order to remedy this discrimination, I will try
to shed some light on this succulent, describing
briefly its history, features and cultivation.
The official life of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' begins
in October 1991, when it was described on the Se-
dum Society Newsletter (SSN 19: 18) by Dr. Franc-
esco Baldi under the somewhat unpoetically name
of AB 316. Ray Stephenson explains this strange
denomination writing that the number 316 is
merely that used by Daan Verggunst of De Aak,
Holland who also grows the plant. The name of
such an attractive succulent could not be this aw-
ful combination of numbers and letters, which re-
minds me of R2-D2 and C-3PO, so Ray put forward
the suggestion of calling it Graptosedum 'Francesco
Baldi', which was promptly accepted by sedum-en-
thusiasts throughout the world.
Who was the father of this succulent? Dr. Franc-
esco Baldi was born on 4th February 1917 and
he died on 13th March 2003. He had a degree in
Chemistry. He was an active member of Sedum
Society and participated in every Sedum Society
1
Cuttings Exchange until 2003. Francesco has fur-
2 nished collections with taxa only he and very few
other growers could cultivate successfully year af-
ter year writes Ray Stephenson (2003a) in his obit-
uary. Giuseppe Tavormina, a keen Italian grower
of aeoniums and sedums, got in touch with him
in 1992 after becoming member of Sedum Society
and remembers Francesco as a very humble and
friendly man, who was always happy to share his
experiences and his sedums. He lived in Livorno
(Central Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea) and loved
exploring the hills and mountains near his home-
town, always looking for succulents. Dwelling near
the sea, he sometimes had difficulties in growing
alpine species, but he managed to cultivate many
Mexican Crassulaceae.
The ancestry of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' is shroud-
summary
ed in mystery. Francesco Baldi (1991) writes that

the plant is of unknown origin and nobody, as
far as I know, has ever found out where and when
this hybrid was born. Ray Stephenson (1991) and
1 & 2 - Flowers of Graptosedum Francesco Baldi. Charles Uhl (1991) both agree that one parent
could be Graptopetalum paraguayense. It is a sen-
Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi' 14 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987
summary
summary
Flowers of Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.
en or Graptosedum
Francesco Baldi'
Baldi 15
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1 2
3
summary
1-3 - Flowers of Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.
en or Graptosedum
Francesco Baldi'
Baldi 16
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Photo by Eduart Zimer.

G. Francesco Baldi with Centranthus ruber.
Graptosedum Francesco Baldi. Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.
Jardin Exotique de Monaco.
sible guess, this succulent hybridizes freely (Uhl bility among others, not a certainty, as some web-
1991) and its inflorescences and stamens are simi- sites let us believe.
lar to those of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' (Stephenson Investigating the time and place of Graptosedum
1991). Moreover, they flower in the same period 'F. Baldi' appearance is an almost hopeless task.
(April-May). The identity of the second parent is Such intergeneric hybrids arise quite often in gar-
more debated. Ray Stephenson (1991) writes that dens and nurseries, sometimes spontaneously,
it could be a yellow-owered Sedum or an Echeve- so that not even the owner of the plants can say
ria, Charles Uhl (1991) thinks about Cremnophila what parents gave birth to them. Things being as
summary
nutans. Shortly afterwards Ray (1994) conjectures they are, all we can do is put forth a terminus ante
that it probably has a member of Pachysedum quem and a terminus post quem. That is, transla-
group as a parent and a few years later (2003a) ting from philological into vernacular, we have to
writes that Sedum pachyphyllum is a possibility. try to understand the date before which and after
This guess has been widely accepted in Internet, which the succulent must have appeared.
but one should keep in mind that it is only a possi- The official terminus ante quem is quite easy.
summary

G. Francesco Baldi & Foeniculum vulgare.
G. Francesco Baldi. G. Francesco Baldi.
Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi' was well known and New Zealand, in 1986 (when W.R. Sykes collected
widespread in 1991, so its date of birth should be a specimen and put it in an herbarium sheet, see
earlier than that. I do not know how long does it below). So I would say that we could consider the
take to spread a succulent across the Mediterra- terminus ante quem the year 1980. It is only a con-
nean, but I think that it is not a matter of months, jecture, but not an impossible one.
so I guess that our graptosedum had been grow- If we try to find the terminus post quem, the
ing at least for a decade. This conjecture is con- game becomes more difficult. As I wrote before,
firmed by the fact that the succulent was cultivated the parents of Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi' are
summary
in Australia in the early 1980s. Noelene Tomlinson unknown, but there is a high degree of possibi-lity
wrote me that a friend of her, Bev Spiller, obtained that one of them is Graptopetalum paraguayense,
Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi' from the Nether- so the history of this succulent can give us some
lands in the early 1980s and Attila Kapitany told interesting clues. Myron Kimnach and Reid Moran
me that he had been cultivating it for more or less wrote a very good article (in 1986) about it and the
35-40 years. Moreover, the plant grew in Nelson, reader will think that thanks to their work our task
summary
Photo by Attila Kapitany.

G. Francesco Baldi in Australia.
is much easier. He or she, however, will be disap- is concerned, the terminus post quem is the year
pointed knowing that Graptosedum paraguayense 1904.
carries the nick-name of Ghost Plant. This succu- Sedum pachyphyllum, the other putative parent,
lent first appeared about 1904 as volunteer seed- is probably the most common member of Pachy-
lings in the glasshouse of Frank Weinberg in New sedum group in cultivation (Stephenson 1994, p.
York (Kimnach & Moran 1986). Nobody knew (and 228). It was described in 1911 and has been widely
knows) its exact habitat, it was at first believed cultivated since. I do not know whether this suc-
that it came from Paraguay, but botanists soon culent was grown - maybe in Mexico also before
summary
understood that it was a mistake. For 80 years it that year, but, if we want to fix a terminus post
has been spreading through the gardens of the quem, I think we could choose 1911 or, to be less
world, winning friends and admirers but mean- strict, the 1920s. As a matter of fact, during the
while acquiring a dozen names under five genera. First World War the trade of succulent towards
Kimnach & Moran (1986) sum up so the intricate Europe was almost suspended and both parents
history of G. paraguayense. As far as this succulent of our plant must have spread slowly (at least at
summary
Graptosedum F. Baldi after rain.
Graptosedum Francesco Baldi in a Graptosedum Francesco Baldi crested.

hanging basket.
Photo by Noelene Tomlinson.
the beginning) in the USA, so it is quite unlikely often mentioned in Europe, less in America and
that the cross occurred in second decade of the in other countries (it came to Australia probably
XX Century. from Holland), moreover it was first noticed and
After this long series of guesses we can con- described by European succulentophiles, so I
clude that strictly speaking Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' guess that it appeared in the Old World, possibly
appeared between 1911 and 1980, more probably near the Mediterranean, where sedums and grap-
between the early 1920s and the late 1970s. Fif- topetalums can grow outside all year long. If this
ty years are quite a long period of time, but, us- is true, its date of birth can be estimated more ac-
summary
ing available sources, it is impossible to be more curately.

precise. It is possible, however, to speculate a bit Succulents, as a matter of fact, were cultivated
further in order to offer, if not tangible proofs, at by hobbyists since the beginning of the XX Centu-
least some conjectures. ry, but they did not spread widely (in Italy at last)
As far as the place of birth is concerned, there until after the Second World War or even after the
are (again) no secure information. The plant is Sixties, when mass-tourism began and the deco-
summary

Graptosedum Francesco Baldi growing in Brescia Graptosedum Francesco Baldi in a hanging basket.
(Italy).
ration of windowsills and gardens became more vation at least since the 1960s. This confirms my
important. Before that period growing succulents guess about its diffusion after the Second World
was a hobby practiced by few people. It would be War, more probably after the Sixties. So I conclude
praiseworthy if someone decided to study sys- that Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi' could have ap-
tematically the diffusion of common succulents in peared spontaneously in Southern Europe (Italy,
Europe and America during the XX Century. While France or Spain) any time after 1945 and before
waiting for such an arduous task, I have to content 1970. The foundations of my arguments are not
myself with suppositions based upon history, col- bombproof, I know, but lacking certain informa-
summary
lectors' memories and old photos. Growing Mexi- tion we have to speculate, hoping that truth is not
can succulents outdoors, as far as I know, was not too far away...
very common between the two World Wars, in the Graptosedum 'F. Baldi', as the reader will have by
Old World at least, so I have a sensation that Grap- now understood, is quite widespread in Europe.
tosedum 'F. Baldi' was born after 1945. Ray Ste- Its father wrote that it is very popular in central
phenson writes me that the plant may be in culti- and southern Italy, where it is cultivated both on
summary

balconies and in gardens but chiey in pots (Baldi (Nelson, SH6 - Rocks Road) following the shore al-
1991). I can add that nowadays it is is widely grown most at sea level, on a slope which is not too high,
also in Northern Italy. I observed it on the shores maybe 20-30 meters, but quite steep as Eduart
of Garda Lake, in Liguria and in lots of cities and Zimer kindly informed me. When did the succulent
small towns. Ray Stephenson (2003) reports that begin spreading in Nelson? A very important clue
it is widespread across the Mediterranean and is offered by the Allan Herbarium, where there
on the Canary Islands. Ray saw it in Corsica (Ste- is a sheet (CHR 437677 B) with a dried specimen
phenson 1995) and Malta (the front cover of Se- of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi'. It was collected by W.R.
dum Society Newsletter 111 shows a wonderful Sykes on 3rd November 1986 and labelled possi-
pot, rightly labelled the best-grown specimen of bly Graptosedum 'Peach Glow'. On 14th January
xGraptosedum 'Francesco Baldi' ever!) and I pho- 2003 W.R. Sykes guessed that the succulent could
tographed it in the Jardin Exotique de Monaco. be Sedeveria hummelii Walther and finally on 27th
In the USA the succulent is quite widespread, January 2004 he identified it with Graptosedum 'F.
it is commonly cultivated in California due to its Baldi'. Thanks to the wonderful Systematics Col-
tenacity and attractive appearance writes me lections Data website, I was able to see a photo
Renee O'Connell. It is often sold as Graptosedum of the herbarium sheet (I wish I had a similar tool
Blue Pearl and Graptosedum Darley Sunshine. for the Italian herbaria...) and the dried succulent
Moreover, it is grown also in Mexico, where it is looks very similar to Graptosedum 'F. Baldi'. More-
sometimes labelled Sedum carnicolor. over, when I did not know the identity of this beau-
In South Africa it seems to be less widespread. tiful crassulacea, I too misidentified it with Sedeve-
It is common in Australia (Queensland, New ria hummelii. Assuming that the plants collected in
South Wales, Canberra and Victoria), although it 1986 are the same succulents that grow nowadays
is often sold under the label of Graptoveria Frost- in Nelson, both seen on SH6 alias Atiawhai Drive
bite, Graptoveria Van Keppel or Sedeveria Star- (as written in the herbarium sheet), we can con-
burst. A crested form can be found in cultivation clude that Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' was already culti-
summary
in the Eastern Australian states. Moreover, W.R. vated in New Zealand in 1986.
Sykes has seen the graptosedum on Rarotonga, How does Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' look like? It is
Cook Islands (Sykes 2004). a nice and robust succulent consisting of decum-
In New Zealand it is widely cultivated, although bent stems, bare except for the terminal rosette.
it is only seldom correctly labelled (Sykes 2004). It Its thick leaves are 2-6 cm long, 0,5-1 cm wide,
has escaped in Nelson, where it grows near a road ascending, obovate-oblanceolate, subterete, with
summary

G. Francesco Baldi.
acute apex. They are gray-green and slightly pru- sunlight, so that it blooms more profusely and its
inose, if grown in a sunny spot they can be tinged leaves are tinged with red. Moreover, if put in a
with red near the apex. Dimensions of course vary hanging basket, it can be very decorative (as sug-
greatly depending on light, soil and water. I have gested in Sedum Society Newsletter 46: 96). I wa-
seen overweight plants with leaves almost 10 cm ter it once a week during the growing season and
long and much smaller rosettes composed of al- I suspend watering in winter. Fertilizing is not nec-
most terete leaves measuring 2-3 cm. Stems can essary in my opinion, but it can help minute plants
be very long. In 2011 one of my plants reached 54 to grow faster and to fill more quickly their pot.
cm, but I've seen stems 1 m long or more. They Propagation is never a problem. Stem cuttings
are, however, quite brittle and they break easily. root quickly and also leaves which fall acciden-
The inflorescence is lateral, cymose, 7-15 cm tally give birth to plantlets in a matter of weeks.
long, usually with three branches measuring 2-7 I noticed that it is much better to lay them on the
cm, each carrying 3-10 flowers. The flowers are ground without burying them partially. In this way
composed by a pedicel 4-7 mm long; 5 grey-green they root and grow easier, whereas, if the inferior
linear sepals, 3-4 mm long, 1 mm wide; 5 yellow part of the leaf is put underground, it can happen
petals, triangular, 5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, that the leaf becomes bigger and bigger without
slightly keeled, with acute apex; 10 yellow stamens developing a rosette. Once I tried planting leafless
4-5 mm long, at first erect, then curving (like G. par- sections of stems and I observed that almost the
aguayense); 5 yellow carpels 4 mm long. The succu- half gave birth to little rosettes. I've never collected
lent flowers in spring, the bloom usually begins in seeds, but sowing could be worth a try in order to
March or April and the last flowers wither in June. see whether they are viable or not.
Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' is very easy to grow, it is Severe frost can be dangerous for Graptosedum
an ideal plant for an absolute beginner who has 'F. Baldi', but the succulent is able to withstand
just started to explore the wonderful world of suc- short periods of snow and ice, as wrote Baldi
culents. It can be cultivated both in a shady and in (1991): In Mediterranean regions it can survive a
summary
sunny spots, requires little watering and can tol- moderate winter without prolonged frosts. I've
erate neglect and errors remarkably well. I prefer been growing this succulent in Brescia (North-
to grow Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' in a quite rich com- ern Italy) for more than ten years and during the
post, the same I use for Sedum palmeri, but I saw months of December and January the compost
it thriving in sandy and mineral substrates. If pos- of some pots, previously soaked by rain, can be-
sible, I suggest to allow the plant to receive direct come frozen. I sometimes mourn the loss of a few
summary
G. Francesco Baldi.
plants, but the majority has always survived out- Diseases and parasites, in short, do not pose a
side all year round. Once the snow covered a well- major threat to our succulent. The same cannot be
developed specimen and its weight broke it. I no- said of birds. If the reader would like to know why,
ticed the mishap only when the snow melted, but he or she should read the following (true) story.
the succulent looked quite good, so I waited for A few years ago a blackbird took a liking to a pot
spring, potted it and, happily, saw it rooting and of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi'. In spite of my efforts to
growing. On the other hand Jean Michel Moulec drive him away, he kept coming back. One day I
(2003) writes that the succulent died during the spotted something moving near the pot, then I
2002-2003 winter, when it was left outdoors and heard a loud crack and I saw the bird flying away
temperatures fell as low as -9.5C. To cut a long very quickly. I went outside and I found a big speci-
story short, Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' is not fully men of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' broken on the floor,
hardy, but it can survive outside through a not too with leaves scattered in all directions. My feathery
harsh winter. If you are going to cultivate this plant friend had been using it as a sort of perch, but he
in a greenhouse, remember that heat can be dan- was a bit overweight and, as I said, the stem of this
gerous. Ray Stephenson reports that he lost his succulent is brittle, so it was not able to support
Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' growing under glass dur- the bird. At the time I was quite understandably
ing the summer of 2003, when temperatures day far from happy and I collected all detached leaves
after day in the greenhouse ventured near 40C thinking dark thoughts about the blackbird and his
(Stephenson 2003b). relatives, but not all evil comes to harm. In fact, I
Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' has few enemies. Mealy- was able to replant the succulent, I put the leaves
bugs fortunately tend to avoid grown specimens. in little pots and the following year I had 30-40 little
They sometimes attack minute plantlets grown Graptosedum 'F. Baldi'. The moral of this is: if you
inside, but if you keep the plant en plein air, you are growing this succulent, beware of blackbirds!
should have no such problems. Aphids like inflo- Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' is very widespread, so no-
rescences very much and during the bloom they body will be surprised finding out that there are a
summary
can be bothering, but once the inflorescences are few synonyms of this beautiful succulents, which
removed they disappear. In autumn some of my is also called Sedeveria 'Doinet', Sedeveria 'Pink
plants show signs of malformation on a few leaves, Beauty' (Stephenson 2003a; Bishofberger 2011),
which grow shorter or with the apex somewhat ru- Graptoveria 'Edelfrau' or Sedeveria 'Darley Dale'. In
gose. I do not know the causes of this abnormal Australia it is sold under the label of Graptoveria
growth, but in spring all plants are normal again. Frostbite, Graptoveria Van Keppel or Sedeveria
summary

SH6 (Rocks Road), Nelson, New Zealand.
Starburst (Tomlinson 2016), whereas in the USA So the history of Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' does not
it is sometimes called Graptosedum Blue Pearl or end here, it has just begun.
Graptosedum Darley Sunshine.
It is impossible to understand whether these are Acknowledgments
names conferred upon the descendants of a sin- I would never have been able to write this article
gle Ur-Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' by cunning nursery- without the help of many other succulent-enthu-
men, eager to deceive customers into buying their siasts, who generously shared their knowledge
plants, or they are new hybrids obtained from the with me. I would like to thank Ray Stephenson,
same parents. For example, there are minor differ- who provided me with valuable information about
ences between Sedeveria 'Doinet' or Sedeveria 'Pink Francesco Baldi and the graptosedum named af-
Beauty' and the standard Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' ter him. Giuseppe Tavormina wrote me about his
(Stephenson 2003a). However, they all look very friendship with Francesco and offered valuable in-
similar, so, in order to avoid confusion, I think it is sight into the life of this humble and devoted suc-
right to consider them synonyms and to label our culentophile. Noelene Tomlinson kindly informed
succulents Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' unless we have me about the diffusion of Graptosedum F. Baldi in
specimens which are obviously different from it. Australia and sent me a few of her detailed arti-
To conclude, Graptosedum 'F. Baldi' remains a cles about Crassulaceae, not to mention some very
mysterious plant. Since it lacks the rank of species, good photos. Also Attila Kapitany provided me
very few people have studied it until now, in spite with beautiful photos and useful information. Re-
of being widely cultivated in both the New and nee OConnell wrote me about the distribution of
the Old World. This is the fate of many succulent Graptosedum F. Baldi in the USA and in Mexico and
hybrids, neglected in books and magazines, but told me under which names it is commonly sold
summary
beloved in gardens and nurseries. I hope that this in the New World. Eduart Zimer provided me with
article has shed a little light on such a common important information, bibliography and photos
and nice succulent. I am well aware that much still of Graptosedum F. Baldi in New Zealand. I would
remains to be found out. like to thank also Margrit Bischofberger, Massimo
Old nursery catalogs could hold the key to the Afferni, Mario Fasolato, Sean Gildenhuys, Gunnar
solution of this and many other succulent puzzles. Eisel and Brent Horvath for their help.
summary
Bibliography
BALDI, A. (1991). AB 316. Sedum Society Newsletter 19: 18.
BISCHOFBERGER, M. (2011). xSedeveria Checklist. Sedum Society
Graptosedum F. Baldi.
Newsletter 99: 18-20.
HEENAN, P. B. ET ALII (2008). Checklist of dicotyledons, gymnosperms,
and pteridophytes naturalised or casual in New Zealand: Additional re-
cords 200406. New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 270.
KIMNACH, M. & MORAN, R. (1986). Graptopetalum paraguayense: a
Sitography
history and a new subspecies. Cactus & Succulent Journal 58(2): 48-54. http://www.sedumphotos.net/v/succulent+cy-gr/x+Graptosedum+_
MOULEC, J.M. (2003). List of plants usually hardy [...] that died this win- Francesco+Baldi_+_1_.jpg.html (good photos)
ter. Sedum Society Newsletter 67: 12. http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/
STEPHENSON, R. (1991). AB 316 Additional Notes. Sedum Society Crassulaceae/27659/%D1%85_Graptosedum_cv._Francesco_Baldi
Newsletter 19: 18-19. (detailed description)
STEPHENSON, R. (1994). Sedum Cultivated Stonecrops. Timber Press, http://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel?akID=60&aaID=2&aiID=F&a
Portland, p. 231. ID=1279 (synonims and very good photos)
STEPHENSON, J. & R. (1995). Stonecrops of Sevi in Fora. Sedum Society http://www.plantegrassefrontignan.fr/plantes%20grasses%20medi-
Newsletter 32: 16-21 terranennes/fiches/Graptosedum%20Francesco%20Baldi.html (pho-
STEPHENSON, R. (2003a). Dr. Francesco Baldi 4th Feb. 1917 - 13th tos and French description)
March 2003. Sedum Society Newsletter 66: 82-83. http://www.jardinexotiqueroscoff.com/site/mois/4/24/719/avril/x-
summary
STEPHENSON, R. (2003b). Editorial. Sedum Society Newsletter 67: 3. graptosedum-francesco-baldi.html (a few photos and a short descrip-
STEPHENSON, R. (2014). Photo of Graptosedum F. Baldi. Sedum Soci- tion)

ety Newsletter 111: 1-2. https://cactusysuculentascuatrohermanos.wordpress.
SYKES, W.R. (2004). Succulents misbehaving in my gardens. New Zea- com/2014/12/29/graptosedum-francesco-baldi/ (detailed description
land Botanical Society Newsletter 75: 22. in Spanish)
TOMLINSON, N. (2016). xGraptosedum Francesco Baldi. Spine 130: 8. https://scd.landcareresearch.co.nz/Specimen/CHR%20437677%20B?c
UHL, C. (1991). Comments on AB 316. Sedum Society Newsletter 19: 19. ollection=CHR&searchCollection=CHR&query=%20437677&currentDi
ZIMER, E. (2016). Carpobrotus edulis the ancipital alien. Xerophilia 17: splayTab=list&pageNumber=0&sortField=relevance (herbarium sheet
47 (fotografia di alcune piante a Nelson, Nuova Zelanda). CHR 437677, W. R. Sykes 205/86, 3 Nov 1986, Nelson, Nelson City)
en or Graptosedum
Francesco Baldi'
Baldi 26
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summary
in
Mexico
part 2
Aldo Delladdio
T
his was my 16th trip to Mexico,
and this time I split my holiday
between my wife and Italian
friends, who, although cactus
enthusiasts like myself, and ac-
tually fitter than I am, are more
inclined to have a relaxed holi-
day, and my Mexican friends,
who are more prepared, and actually look for-
ward to, a proper cactus exploring trip. No-
thing extreme, but, although we obviously pre-
fer to sleep in a hotel room and have dinner
at restaurants, we also dont mind to sleep in
a tent, or even in the car, and have dinner with
a packet of chips accompanied with a beer or
two, if this means saving a lot of time the fol-
lowing day. In addition, my ancient Jeep Chero-
kee can only accommodate three passengers,
so we would have had to rent another car,
and 4x4 vehicles are almost impossible to find
summary
these days.
My Italian friends are now at home in Mexico,
so they didnt mind to spend the second week
on their own, visiting some cities by bus, and
my wife preferred to stay in San Miguel for the Athene cunicularia, San Roberto, NL.
Easter celebrations.
Spring
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in Mexico
Mexico 27
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Mammillaria heyderi ssp. gummifera, east of Coneto

Pass, Durango
March 20 From Matehuala to Rodeo, my ancient Jeep Cherockee hasnt exploded

Durango (901 km) yet. We made just a brief stop in Saltillo to eat
We left the hotel at 7:00 oclock, and after a hamburger, then we drove straight to Paso
summary
a quick breakfast and filling up the tank, de Coneto, stopping briefly before reaching the
continued north. Today was also mostly a pass to explore some promising rocks.
transfer journey, our goal being Paso de Unfortunately we can only say that we found
Coneto, Durango. The amazing thing isn t that a Mammillaria heyderi ssp. gummifera in a
we are driving such long distances, but that shallow pocked of soil.
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Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, east of Coneto Pass, Mammillaria theresae, Coneto Pass, Durang.
Durango.
Agave parryi, Coneto Pass, Durango
Back to the car, our attention was attracted were just in bud. To soften the frustration
by a tree full of noisy, dark birds with a yellow I photographed the beautiful Agave parryi
summary
head: Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. We that was growing everywhere, and that I had
then continued to the Coneto Pass to visit ignored the previous year. The sun was very
Mammillaria theresae. Since we were here 10 low on the horizon when we decided to drive
days earlier than last year, there was no hope until Rodeo, where we found a hotel first, and
to find them in flower, and even Mammillaria then a restaurant where we closed our day at
longiflora and Echinocereus polyacanthus 23:00 oclock.
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March 21 From Rodeo to Parras de

la Fuente, Coahuila (587 km)
We left the hotel at dawn, at about 6:00 oclock.
We would have breakfast at the first place
we would find. We drove north along the
Road 45 and then turned east at the crossing
with the Road 30 and headed to Bermejillo.
Between Mapim and Bermejillo we explored a
mountain slope where we found Echinomastus
unguispinus and Thelocactus bicolor, both with
their flowers still closed, since it was early
morning, and also Coryphantha delaetiana and Echinomastus unguispinus, east of Mapim, Durango.
Corynopuntia sp.. For the first time in my life,
I noticed Larrea tridentata, the most common
bush in northern Mexico, in flower. We then
continued our journey to Torren and bypassed Thelocactus bicolor, east of Mapim, Durango.
this large city by using the new ring road, saving
a lot of time, but spending a lot of pesos, since
there are several casetas de cobro (tollbooths)
along this relatively short road stretch. At the
junction with the highway 40d that goes to
Saltillo, we were stopped by the Federal Police
that searched our car with the help of a dog,
very likely looking for drugs. We werent carry
any of course, but my friends attire apparently
looked suspicious, since they kept asking them
questions for a while, finally realizing that we
were just cactus explorers and letting us go.
summary
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Ancistrocactus scheeri.
Mammillaria coahuilensis & Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus.
Before the crossroad to Parras, we turned left and headed north to the sierra of
Little Paila. We knew where we could find Turbinicarpus pailanus, and our intention
was to get as close as possible to the mountains, but all the roads we tried were closed
by locked gates. With hindsight we should have left the car and climbed the moun-
tain at the first close enough spot and then walked along the mountain ridge, but we
Echinocactus texensis. kept trying to find a way until

it became too late. So we re-
turned on the road to Parras,
a bit sad, but before arriving
to the main road we explored
the lagoon and found Ancis-
trocactus sheeri, Ariocarpus
kotschoubeyanus, Mammillaria
coahuilensis and Echinocactus
texensis in flower. We retraced
our steps and closed the day
summary
at 21:00 oclock in Parras de

la Fuente, where we found an
accomodation at our favorite
hotel and consoled ourselves
with a fantastic steak at our
favorite restaurant.
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March 22 From Parras to Cuatro Ci-

negas, Coahuila (457 km)
After yesterdays failure, we decided that today
we would visit the Sierra Paila proper, so we
left the hotel at 7:30 oclock, had a quick break-
fast at the first Oxxo we found, filled the tank
and headed north to the highway 40d then
east in direction of Saltillo, left the 40d for the
40 libre and continued east until the crossroad
to Estacin Marte, where we turned north to Ariocarpus fissuratus, between Estacin Marte and
Nuevo Yucatan. About mid-way between Es- Nuevo Yucatan, Coahuila.
tacin Marte and Nuevo Yucatan we stopped
at a well-known locality, where Ariocarpus fis-
suratus grows abundantly, together with The-
locactus rinconensis ssp. nidulans, Astrophytum Thelocactus rinconensis ssp. nidulans, between Esta-
capricorne, Mammillaria lasiacantha and Epithe- cin Marte and Nuevo Yucatan, Coahuila.
lantha greggii. Well...not anymore, for a while
at least. We immediately got the impression
that the ariocarpi where a bit difficult to see,
and the few we found were a bit ugly, whilst
there where suspicious-looking holes here and
there, until one of us found a shiny, foldable,
mini-showel, that explained everything. I wish
we could find its owner and stick it where youd
guess I would like to stick it
summary
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Turbinuicarpus pailanus, Sierra de la Paila, Coahuila. Echinocereus longisetus ssp. delaetii, Sierra de la
Paila, Coahuila.
Turbinuicarpus pailanus, Sierra de la Paila, Coahuila.
We continued to Nuevo Yu-cat-

an, and, after a few attempts,
found a small road leading
east. We went along this road
for several kilometers until it
started to climb a mountain.
Not willing to risk the car, we
parked and continued on foot.
Once we arrived close to the
mountain top, we started to see
many Turbinicarpus pailanus
in flower. It would have been
impossible not to see them,
not only because they were in
flower, but also quite big, the
size of an orange and more.
We continued our walk, finding
the occasional prostrate clump
summary
of Echinocereus longisetus ssp.

delaetii, then Ferocactus hamat-
acanthus, Mammillaria chiono-
cephala, Epithelantha bokei
together with Epithelantha mi-
cromeris.
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summary
Thelocactus bicolor ssp. bolaensis wagnerianus.
Lophophora williamsii, El Oso, Coahuila.
We walked over the ridge and to the other

summary
side, but the species we saw were the same, so

we returned to the car, while taking photos of
the beautiful landscape. On the way to Nuevo
Yucatan we briefly stopped to take pictures of
Thelocactus bicolor wagnerianus in flower and
Lophophora williamsii.
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View of the valley from Sierra de la Paila.
Flower of Yucca endlichiana.
Yucca endlichiana, El Oso, Coahuila.

summary
At this point it seemed convenient to continue

north until we reached the Road 30, and then
finish the day at Cuatro Cinegas. With the
sun already low on the horizon, we made just
a brief stop along the way, after noticing that
Yucca endlichiana was flowering.
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summary
Epithelantha greggii.
The plain south of El Oso, Coahuila.
Close to Yucca endlichiana, there

were also many Epithelantha greggii
and Corynopuntia sp.. Some kilometers
south of El Oso we stopped again at a
small ranch, and while we were open-
ing the gate, we were approached by a
local inhabitant, that informed us that it
wasnt possible to continue to Estanque
de Palomas since the land owner, who
was living in Monterrey, had a sort of
dispute with his neighbors, and fenced
off the road. We didnt believe him
and thought that he was trying to get
some money from us, so we told him
that with our Jeep we would find a way,
and if not, we would return. Unfortu-
nately, when we arrived at the fence,
not without losing our way a few times,
since it was pitch dark, we find out that
they had fenced the entire valley from
mountain side to mountain side, and
had to return to the ranch. The guy,
who was probably laughing to himself,
escorted us to the nearest inhabited
place, Las Coloradas. We gave him a tip
summary
and drove off. What a shame! Eventu-

ally we arrived to Cuatro Cinegas at
midnight, bought some junk food at the
local Oxxo, no hope to find an open res-
taurant at this time, and luckily found
an accomodation for the night.
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March 23 From Cuatro Cinegas to
summary
El Guaje, Coahuila (268 km)

Today we had an ambitious plan, so we left
the hotel at 7:00 oclock, had a quick breakfast
(coffee and doughnut) at the Oxxo, and headed
north to Ocampo. In Ocampo we stopped to
fill our tank, but unfortunately, or better said,
fortunately, we realized that there was a little
crack where the gasoline circuit connects to
the tank and we were losing a small, but steady
amount of gasoline. It took a while to find a
mechanic, and another, longer while, to fix the
crack with some resin. A temporary fix that
lasted long enough to allow us to return home.
This delay caused us to arrive at Laguna de la
Leche, some 60 kilometers west of Ocampo
when it was already late afternoon.
Escobaria abdita, Laguna El Guaje, Coahuila.

summary
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Escobaria abdita, Laguna El Guaje, Coahuila.
Nevertheless, we stopped to photograph

Escobaria abdita and then headed north. We
arrived at Laguna El Guaje when it was pitch
summary
dark, mounted our tents and went to sleep at

about 21:00 oclock.
During the night I woke up, since a strong
wind whas shaking my tent like a leaf, and I
heard my friends talking, but I couldnt hear
what they were saying.
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March 24 From El Guaje to Sabinas, from the type locality. We searched some other
Coahuila (385 km) places in the lagoon, but dindt find any more
summary
We woke up rather early, not surprisingly, escobarias, so we might have been very lucky,
packed our things, and were ready to explore and very good at spotting them. We continued
at about 7:30 oclock. My friends asked me if I north, heading to Sierra del Carmen. Near
had noticed something during the night, and I El Pino, shortly before arriving to the paved
said no. road, we stopped at a promising locality, the
Apparently one of them was touched on the hills seemed of a different type of rock, and
head, that was leaning on the tents sheet, by found Echinomastus mariposensis, Echinocereus
a big paw. He woke up, but stayed calm, and dasyacanthus, Echinocereus stramineus,
then noticed a large shadow moving in the Escobaria tuberculosa, Coryphantha echinus and
direction of my tent. I was asleep and didnt Corynopuntia sp.. After driving for about half
notice anything. The ground around the tents an hour, we stopped again, and this time we
was dry and firm, but at some distance we saw found Echinomastus warnockii and Echinocereus
what apparently were bear footprints. Was dasyacanthus in flower. A few kilometers after
it really a bear what approached us during Cuesta de Malena, when the road descends to
the night? Im not sure. Anyway, after some the valley, we stopped to search for Echinocereus
searching, we finally saw Escobaria abdita, carmenensis, which we found in flower, not far
growing 100 kilometers away, as the-crow-flies, from the road.
summary
Echinocereus carmenensis, Cuesta de Malena,

Coahuila.
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Echinocereus coccineus, Cuesta de Malena, Coahuila.
Echinocereus coccineus, Cuesta de Malena, Coahuila.
Next to it, we saw Mammillaria

heyderi ssp. hemisphaerica, also in
flower, and Escobaria vivipara. We
climbed the mountain right behind
and nearly on the top, we found
Echinocereus coccineus in flower
(fig.38). We then continued our
journey in south-east direction,
to Melchior Muzquiz, but along
the way we stopped at a locality
where I was told we would find Es-
cobaria hesteri ssp. grata. Unfor-
tunately the gate closing the road
was locked, and we were told by a
local inhabitat that we had to ask
permission to enter to the owner,
a mining company 200 kilometers
away. Since it was already late af-
ternoon, and more important, the
Holy Week, we had no hope to find
somebody, but we took note of
where this company is, so we could
ask permission in the future. We
arrived in Sabinas at about 21:00
oclock. Unfortunately the hotel on
summary
the zcalo, were we had stayed the

year before, was full, but we found
another one, albeit it looked a bit
scary. Luckily our favourite restau-
rant was open, and we had a fan-
tastic steak.
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1 - Flower of Fouquieria shrevei. 2 - Fouquieria shre-
vei, El Hundido, Coahuila.
summary
1 2
March 25 From Sabinas to Saltillo,

Coahuila (729 km)
As if we hadnt made enough kilometers, we
decided to start our return journey by taking a
large detour to Saltillo. We left the scary hotel at
7:00 oclock as usual, stopped at the first Oxxo
for breakfast, and then drove without making a
single stop for 250 kilometers, until we arrived
to El Hundido, that is. My hope was to find
summary
Fouquieria shrevei in flower, and our driving

effort was rewarded. The soil here has a high
gypsum percentage, but another fouquieria,
Fouquieria splendens, grows next to it, without
any problems.
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In this area there are many cactus spe-
cies: Coryphantha werdermannii, Coryphantha
summary
poselgeriana, Echinocactus horizonthalonius,

Echinocactus texensis, Echinocereus stramineus,
Corynopuntia sp.. We continued south-west to
San Pedro de las Colonias, and then east to
Saltillo, on the highway 40d, but after a while
we stopped to check the lagoon again, at a dif-
ferent spot, and this time I was able to photo-
graph Mammillaria coahuilensis in flower and
also next to Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus. Since 1
it was already 19:00 oclock when we arrived 2

at the crossroad to Parras, we decided to stop
there, but unfortunately our usual hotel was
full, and the city was incredibly crowded due to 1 - VIew of Sierra del Carmen. 2 - Coryphantha wer-
a festival for the Holy Week, so we decided that dermannii.
rather than wasting time looking for an unlikely
accomodation in Parras, we would go directly
to Saltillo, where we had some difficulties too.
Finally we found a hotel and went to eat at our
favourite restaurant, where you can have 10
beers in a bucket filled with ice at a very good
price. We went to bed at midnight.
summary
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Herbarium of George B. Hinton. Two files: Type

of Turbinicarpus viereckii ssp. reconditus D. Labhart
(left); and holotype of Ancistrocactus pinkavanus L.
Garcia-Mor., M. Gonzalez-Botello & R. Gonzalez-G.
(right).
From left to right: Richard Raya and Cristian Perez

Badillo listening Geroge Hintons lecture about how
the plants are cut and dried up in the press.
March 26 From Saltillo to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato (612 km)

Today we had another transfer journey, this time back home. However, we made a stop near San
Roberto, Nuevo Len, to pay a visit to George Hinton, since my friends had never seen his herbarium.
Since we arrived a bit too early, we waited outside, and were able to see some Cynomys mexicanus
(Mexican prairie dog or perrito de la pradera) and the ubiquitous Athene cunicularia (burrowing owl
summary
or mochuelo de madriguera). After a while, we decided that he could be awake, so we entered his
property, with his dogs that where undecided whether they should bite us or play with us. In the end
they did both. Finally he received us, and very kindly showed us his herbarium and even explained
how the plants are cut and dried up in the press. We then continued to San Miguel de Allende, where
I left my friends at the bus station.
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Epithelantha greggii & Echinocactus horizonthalonius,

El Hundido, Coahuila.
March 27 From San Miguel de

Allende to Ciudad de Mxico
This was supposed to be a very relaxing bus
trip to Mexico City, but, as we got closer to
summary
the mega- city the traffic queues of people

returning from the Holy Week holiday started
to build up, and we started to wonder whether
we would make it to the airport on time. We
made it.
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A new species and
summary
new populations
of the genus
Agave L.
for the alien flora of

Catalonia (north-eastern Iberian Peninsula)
*Institut Botnic de Barcelona (IBB-CSIC-

ICUB). Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038, Bar-
celona, Spain
**Hortax. Cultivated Plant Taxonomy
Group. [email protected]
Vanessa Jordi Daniel This research has been partially funded by the
grant no. 201630I024 (Proyecto Intramural Es-
Mesquida* Lpez-Pujol* Guillot-Ortiz** pecial, PIE) from the CSIC, Spain
Agave americana subsp. americana along a trail mar-

gin, in Vila-seca (Tarragona Province). Road and trail
sides are preferred habitats of Agave taxa in Spain.
Abstract
The genus Agave is well represented in the alien
flora of Spain, with 29 taxa cited to date. In Cata-
lonia, in spite of being the Spanish region with
the highest concentration of invasive plants, the
number of Agave taxa listed as occurring in the
wild is relatively low. As a result of extensive field-
work carried out in the southern part of Catalo-
nia, a new Agave taxon has been observed for the
summary
first time (A. franzosini), which increases the num-

ber of agaves observed in this autonomous com-
munity to 17. In addition, new populations of two
species recently cited for Catalonia (A. salmiana
var. ferox and A. sisalana var. sisalana) are also
provided.
New
Newspecies
speciesof
ofAgave
Agavefor
for Catalonia
Catalonia 45
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The genus Agave in the alien flora Islands), in the low-altitude areas of Andalusia and
of the Iberian Peninsula and the Galicia, and more rarely in sheltered areas from
summary
Balearic Islands Extremadura, Aragon, Basque Country, Castilla-La

The genus Agave L. has about 200 species Mancha and Madrid (Sanz et al., 2004). It has also
naturally distributed from the United States to been cited in Portugal, where it is common at least
Venezuela, including the Caribbean region (Good- in some parts (Smith & Figueiredo, 2007), and in
Avila et al., 2006). Most of the described species Gibraltar (United Kingdom) by Galn et al. (2000).
are, however, native to Mexico (ca. 75%), with Together with Agave americana subsp.
most of these (ca. 69 %) being endemic to the americana, other 28 taxa have been cited as
country (Eguiarte et al., 2013). Agave is a genus occurring in the wild in the Iberian Peninsula
with a long tradition of uses, mainly alimentary, and the Balearic Islands: Agave amaniensis Trel. &
medicinal, and industrial (e.g. as a fiber plant); W. Novell, A. americana L. var. marginata Trel., A.
as a food, archaeological remains have indicated americana L. var. medio-picta Trel., A. americana
that Agave was already present in the diet of the L. var. striata Trel., A. angustifolia Haw. var.
Mesoamericans some 9000 years ago (Callen, angustifolia, A. angustifolia Haw. var. marginata
1965; Gentry, 1982). The genus is cultivated hort. ex Gentry, A. atrovirens Karw., A. cerulata
worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate Trel. subsp. dentiens (Trel.) Gentry, A. decipiens
regions, and species are often able to naturalize. Baker, A. desmetiana Jacobi, A. difformis A. Berger,
In the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic A. fourcroydes Lem., A. franzosini Baker, A. funkiana
Islands numerous taxa of the genus Agave have K. Koch & C. D. Bouch, A. ingens A. Berger var.
been cited as alien plants. Although most of ingens, A. ingens A. Berger var. picta (Salm-Dyck)
them have a known area of distribution, others A. Berger, A. karwinskii Zucc., A. lechuguilla Torr.,
are only known from cultivation, and even some A. lophantha Schiede, A. lurida Aiton, A. salmiana
have been described from specimens cultivated Otto ex Salm-Dyck var. salmiana, A. salmiana
in European gardens (e.g. Agave gonzaloi; Guillot Otto ex Salm-Dyck var. ferox (K. Koch) Gentry, A.
& Meer, 2004b). In addition, various horticultural segurae D. Guillot & P. Van der Meer, A. sisalana
forms of several Agave species are also common, Perrine ex Engelm. var. sisalana, A. sisalana
and hybrids described from specimens cultivated Perrine ex Engelm. var. armata Trel., A. weberi J. F.
in the Iberian Peninsula or formed spontaneously Cels ex J. Poiss., A. cavanillesii D. Guillot & P. Van
out of cultivation of gardens have also been der Meer, and A. winteriana A. Berger (Guillot &
reported (Guillot et al., 2009). The most common Meer, 2003a, b, c, 2004a, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009,
agave in the Iberian Peninsula is A. americana L. 2010, 2013a, b; Guillot, 2006; Serra, 2007; Smith
(introduced in the 16th century), in particular the & Figueiredo, 2007; Guillot et al., 2009; Snchez
subsp. americana which is widely naturalized in et al., 2009; Sanz et al., 2011; Rubal et al., 2013;
all provinces of the Mediterranean coasts of Spain Guillot & Sez, 2014; Sez et al., 2014; Aymerich
(from Girona to Huelva, and including the Balearic 2015b; Lpez-Pujol et al., 2016).
Agave ingens var. picta (with A. americana subsp. Agave difformis, a Mexican endemic that has been
americana in-between) in Sitges (Barcelona Provin- recently reported for the first time out of its native
ce), on the Mediterranean seashore. Agave taxa are
rarely found far away from coastal regions, given range (near the city of Tarragona; Lpez-Pujol et al.,
that they are generally non-frost tolerant. 2016).
Young rosettes of Agave ingens var. ingens (a rela- Agave americana subsp. americana, accompanied by
tively rare Agave) in a road margin, in El Vendrell Opuntia ficus-indica and O. linguiformis, in lAleixar
(Tarragona Province). (Tarragona Province). In Spain, it is very common
summary
to find taxa of Agave growing together with other

succulent xenophytes, including Opuntia sp. and
Yucca sp.
New species of Agave for Catalonia 46 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987
The genus Agave in the alien flora cited from the southern tip of Catalonia but with
of Catalonia no certainty that the population was truly wild
summary
In Catalonia, in spite of being the Spanish region (Royo, 2006). Up to 12 additional Agave taxa have
with the highest concentration of invasive plants been recently cited in Catalonia: A. lophantha,
(Gass et al., 2009), the number of Agave taxa listed with a single individual observed in Llan (a
as occurring in the wild is relatively low (especially coastal village in northernmost Girona Province,
when compared to the Valencian Community, near France; Aymerich, 2015b), A. fourcroydes, on
where up to 25 taxa have been observed; Guillot coastal places of Barcelona and Girona provinces
& Meer, 2009, 2013a; Guillot et al., 2009); up to (Guillot & Sez, 2014; Aymerich, 2015a), A. ingens
now, only 16 taxa have been cited in Catalonia: var. ingens, both in Barcelona and Tarragona
A. americana subsp. americana, A. americana provinces (Aymerich & Gustamante, 2015; Lpez-
var. marginata, A. angustifolia var. marginata, A. Pujol et al., 2015b; Aymerich, 2016), A. weberi, both
atrovirens, A. decipiens, A. difformis, A. fourcroydes, in Girona and Tarragona provinces (Lpez-Pujol et
A. ingens var. ingens, A. ingens var. picta, A. lophanta, al., 2015b; Sez & Guillot, 2015), and A. angustifolia
A. lurida, A. salmiana var. salmiana, A. salmiana var. marginata, A. decipiens, A. difformis, A. lurida,
var. ferox, A. sisalana var. sisalana, A. weberi, and A. salmiana var. salmiana, A. salmiana var. ferox,
A. winteriana. The occurrence of A. americana A. sisalana var. sisalana, and A. winteriana in
subsp. americana has been widely documented Tarragona Province (Sez et al., 2014; Lpez-Pujol
in the four provinces of Catalonia (including the et al., 2015a, b, 2016; Aymerich & Gustamante,
inland Lleida) since late 19th century (e.g. Cun, 2015, 2016). We believe that the two citations of an
1880, 1883; Grriz, 1903; Pau 1905; Sennen, additional Agave species in Catalonia (A. lechuguilla;
1911, 1929; Batalla & Masclans, 1950; Losa, 1952; Gimnez, 2011; Aymerich & Gustamante, 2016)
Marcet, 1952; Bols & Molinier, 1958; Montserrat, are misidentifications of closely related species
1962; Balcells, 1968; Masclans & Batalla, 1972; that are already present in the region (A. lophanta,
Bols & Vigo, 1984; Casasayas, 1989; Hernndez, A. difformis).
2004; Gesti, 2006; Royo, 2006; Curc, 2007;
Guillot & Meer, 2007). A variety of A. americana (A. New Agave taxa and populations for
americana var. marginata) was cited 25 years ago the alien flora of Catalonia
but without providing precise localities, in several As a result of extensive fieldwork carried out in
coastal areas (Casasayas, 1989). Later (in 2000), the southern part of Catalonia, a new Agave taxon
A. ingens var. picta was observed in Ulldecona (in (A. franzosini), and new populations for two other
the southernmost part of Catalonia, very close species recently cited (A. salmiana var. ferox and A.
to the Valencian Community; Guillot & Meer, sisalana var. sisalana), have been observed for this
2005). About one decade ago, A. atrovirens was Spanish autonomous community.
summary
Group of rosettes of Agave salmiana var. ferox

growing between roads, in Vallirana (Barcelona
Province).
New species of Agave for Catalonia 47 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987
Large rosette of Agave franzosini from Cala Romana
Agave franzosini Baker (Tarragona, Tarragona Province).

summary
1.
TARRAGONA: 31TCF4646, Salou (Cap de Sa-

lou), fossil dunes stabilized with Pinus halepen-
sis, near habitation, growing together with other
agaves and Opuntia dillenii, 52 m, 02-XI-2014, J.
Lpez-Pujol; 31TCF5654, Tarragona (Cala Ro-
mana), at least 20 individuals (some very large)
in an uncultivated land adjacent to the road
N-340, ca. 20 m, 12-X-2014, J. Lpez-Pujol.
Agave franzosini has been already reported in
the Iberian Peninsula, but only in the province
of Valencia (Spain) (Guillot & Meer, 2003a; Sez
et al., 2014).
According to the description of Gentry (1982),
this agave has very large, widely spreading ro-
settes [22.7(3) m tall, up to 4.5 m wide], free-
ly suckering; leaves are lanceolate, narrowed
above base, spreading, recurved, or sharply re-
flexed, hollowed above, thickened and concave
below toward base, with the cuticle somewhat
asperous, 180220 cm long, 2235 cm wide,
light glaucous gray or bluish glaucous variously
marked with green below mid-blade; leaf mar-
gins are straight to repand with remote, dark
brown teeth, the larger along the mid-blade
810 mm long, on fleshy prominences; termi-
nal spines are 36 cm long, dark brown, with
short open groove above, decurrent along the
inrolled leaf apex; inflorescences are ca. 811.4
m tall with a strong shaft and a deep, broadly
cylindric panicle (to 2.9 m broad), with broad
spreading decompound umbels of large yellow
flowers; ovary is 3.54.5 cm long and 1013 mm
thick, with slightly narrower neck, light bright
green; tube is 1822 mm long; tepals are 30
32 mm long, soon withering; filaments are in-
serted in the mid-tube, stout, yellow, 6580 mm
long; anthers 3840 mm long, yellow; pistil to
12 cm long, stout, 3-lobed with clavate stigma;
capsule elongate-claviform, woody, 5570 mm
long; seeds are black, shiny, of 12 89 mm.
This plant is one of the most handsome of would have contributed to its dispersion. It is
the large agaves (Gentry, 1982), much related rare in the United States, but the Huntington
to A. americana (Gentry, 1982; Thiede, 2001). Botanic Gardens (San Marino, California) har-
Agave franzosini can be distinguished from A. bored several individuals for many years (Gen-
americana by the combination of a wider leaf, try, 1982). Quoting the words of Gentry (1982),
highly contrasting teeth and spine colour, a I have not found it in Mexico or Central Amer-
flatter leaf surface over the entire length of ica and it is not included in Treleases account
the blade, rough leaf surface, and the lack of a of Caribbean Agave (Gentry, 1982). The slight
groove on the top of the terminal spine (Irish morphological differences between Huntington
summary
& Irish, 2000). Although its native area is totally plants and Bergers (1915) description could
unknown, it has been cultivated as ornamen- be attributed to seedling variation. The finding
tal for more than one century, particularly in of A. franzosini in Catalonia is, thus, significant
southern European gardens (such as in Medi- as within Europe we found a unique reference
terranean France, Italy, and Portugal; Irish & from Italy as occurring in the wild (as casual in
Irish, 2000; Smith & Figueiredo, 2007), which Liguria; Celesti-Grapow et al., 2010) in addition
en or New
Newspecies
speciesof
ofAgave
Agavefor
for Catalonia
Catalonia 48
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summary
Agave franzosini, growing in Salou (Tarragona Pro- Detail of the terminal spines of the leaves of Agave
vince). franzosini in Salou (Tarragona Province).
Several individuals of Agave franzosini from the

population of Cala Romana (Tarragona, Tarragona
Province).
to the Spanish occurrences. The population of

Tarragona has been found in a place very close
to the oldest luxury residential area built in the
region (Cala Romana), which dates from the
1950s. Uncontrolled disposal of plant debris
from pruning and/or gardening is common in
the area (J. Lpez-Pujol, pers. obs.), which can
be the origin of the observed individuals of A.
franzosini as well as other xenophytes such as
Agave ingens var. picta, A. difformis, at least two
taxa of Opuntia (O. cf. ficus-indica and Opuntia
summary
sp.), and several species often used in garden-

ing (e.g. Asparagus plumosus, Lantana camara, (Cala Romana), the population of A. franzosini
Ligustrum lucidum, Pittosporum tobira, and Plum- from Salou is located within a residential area
bago auriculata). Similarly, the population of Sa- (Cap Salou) also dating from the 1950s, prob-
lou is probably the result of uncontrolled dis- ably one of the ugliest examples of unsustain-
posal of garden debris; as in the former locality able urban sprawl in the Spanish coasts.
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Medium-sized rosette of Agave salmiana
Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck var. ferox growing with Agave americana
summary
2.
var. marginata, near Ulldecona (Tarragona
var. ferox (K. Koch) Gentry (A. ferox K. Koch)

Province).
BARCELONA: 31TDF0981, Vallirana (Casetes

den Muntaner), in the roadside (road N-340), a
small group of rosettes of several sizes, grow-
ing together with Agave americana var. margi-
nata, 220 m, 23-VI-2016, J. Lpez-Pujol. TARRA-
GONA: 31TBE7598, Ulldecona (el Castell), in the
roadside (road TV-3319), two groups of rosettes
(including many young ones), 242 m, 18-VII-
2016, C. Gmez-Bellver, N. Nualart & J. Lpez-
Pujol; 31TBE8592, Ulldecona (les Saleres), in the
roadside (road TV-3319), a single medium-size
rosette, growing together with Agave americana
var. marginata, 153 m, 18-VII-2016, C. Gmez-
Bellver, N. Nualart & J. Lpez-Pujol; 31TBF9714,
lAldea, near the toll gate of AP-7 expressway,
several large rosettes growing together with
Opuntia ficus-indica, 40 m, 23-XI-2014, J. Lpez-
Pujol; 31TCF0251, Mra la Nova, near the large
roundabout that connects C-12 and N-420
roads, abandoned gardens next to houses, a
very large rosette and some small ones, 33 m,
23-XI-2014, J. Lpez-Pujol; 31TCF4250, Salou (els
Emprius), four rosettes in an uncultivated land
adjacent to the road C-14, growing together
with Yucca gigantea, 29 m, 31-X-2014, J. Lpez-
Pujol; 31TCF4253, Reus (la Feredat), in the road-
side (road C-14), two large rosettes (and a few
small ones) growing together with other Agave
taxa (A. americana subsp. americana, A. ingens
var. picta, and Agave sp.), ca. 60 m, 26-X-2014,
J. Lpez-Pujol; 31TCF5655, Tarragona (els Bos-
cos de Tarragona), a very large rosette in a va-
cant lot, together with Aloe maculata, 87 m, 19-
X-2014, J. Lpez-Pujol; 31TCF5856, Tarragona
(Urbanitzaci Escorp), several big rosettes and
some small ones in a vacant lot, together with
other taxa of Agave and Yucca, probably planted
long time ago (now abandoned), 60 m, 6-XII-
2014, J. Lpez-Pujol.
This plant has been previously reported in
the Iberian Peninsula both in Portugal (in the
Algarve Region; Smith & Figueiredo, 2007) and
Spain [including Catalonia (Aymerich & Gusta-
mante, 2016) and the Valencian Community
(Laguna & Mateo, 2001; Guillot et al., 2009), as
well as in the Balearic Islands (Moragues & Rita,
2005)].
summary
Rosettes of Agave salmiana var. ferox are

large, rather compact, urceolate, 11.5 m tall,
ca. twice as wide, freely offsetting around base;
leaves are 7090 2330 cm, broadly oblan-
ceolate, short-acuminate, light bright green
coloured, thickly succulent, with the margin cre-
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nate, heavily armed with castaneous to brown use in the southwestern United States (Starr,
summary
teeth (which are 1014 mm long on prominent 2012). Its regular habit of suckering facilitates
teats); terminal spine is narrowly subulate, 67 its propagation. According to Berger (1915),
cm long, castaneous to dark brown, long decur- it was already common in European gardens
rent; inflorescences are like those of the typi- since the middle of the 19th century; in fact,
cal variety, with heavy dense umbels, although the type specimen was an individual cultivated
flowers are more slender, 7085 mm long, with in Europe, in La Mortola (Breitung, 1968). Agave
the tube of ca. 15 mm broad; capsules are 58 salmiana var. ferox has been cultivated in the
6070 mm long, obovoid, stipitate, long-beaked, Iberian Peninsula at least since the beginning of
grayish brown to dark brown; seeds are 7 5 the 20th century; for example we can find this
mm, shining black, with narrow winged margin name in the document Catalogus Seminum in
(Gentry, 1982). Horto Botanico Universitatis Valentinae anno
Agave salmiana var. ferox is a distinguished 1919 collectorum (Beltrn, 1919). The plant is
variety readily recognizable by its thick, grace- also cultivated in Catalonia, with many reports
ful, light shiny green, outcurving leaves, with such as those of Isern et al. (1984), Valls (2006),
strongly teated margins (Gentry, 1982). De- and Montserrat & Planes (2009) from Barcelo-
spite its magnificent appearance, it is sensitive na, and Guillot & Meer (2007) from Blanes. We
to frosts below -4C (Gentry, 1982). Its native have also observed it in private gardens in sev-
area is Mexico (states of Mexico, Oaxaca and eral places within Tarragona Province (J. Lpez-
Puebla; Thiede, 2001), where it is also com- Pujol, pers. obs.). The newly reported localities
mon in cultivation (Gentry, 1982; Thiede, 2001). for Catalonia occur in highly populated areas,
Agave salmiana var. ferox is the most commonly where tourist and residential development may
cultivated form of A. salmiana for landscape have played a major role in the spread of this
Large rosettes of Agave salmiana var. ferox growing

together with Yucca gigantea in Salou (Tarragona
Province).
summary
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summary
Young rosette of Agave salmiana var. ferox from Minute rosettes of Agave salmiana var. ferox in the
Reus (Tarragona Province). Castell neighbourhood, Ulldecona (Tarragona Pro-
vince).
Large rosette of Agave salmiana var. ferox from

Tarragona (Tarragona Province), surrounded by Aloe
maculata.
summary
handsome agave in this part of Spain. All popu-

lations observed to date of A. salmiana var. ferox
in Catalonia are of small size and always near
habitation, suggesting a limited ability to spread
to new sites.
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summary
summary
Large rosettes of Agave salmiana var. ferox growing

in the margins of the C-14 road, in Reus, Tarrago-
na Province (in the background, Agave ingens var.
picta).
en or New
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Individual of Agave sisalana var. sisalana with inflore-
Agave sisalana Perr. scence, in Vila-seca (Tarragona Province).
summary
3.
var. sisalana
TARRAGONA: 31TBF8821, Roquetes (la

Torre de Gil), in a vacant lot, near habi-
tation, 35 m, 23-XI-2014, J. Lpez-Pujol;
31TCF3551, Cambrils (Riera dAlforja); very
close to a dry river bed, six large rosettes
and a few small ones, ca. 60 m, 24-XI-2014,
J. Lpez-Pujol; 31TCF4254, Vila-seca (la
Plana), in the roadside (road C-14), a few
rosettes (with one showing inflorescence)
growing together with other Agave taxa (A.
americana subsp. americana, A. ingens var.
picta), 76 m, 24-X-2014, J. Lpez-Pujol.
In the Iberian Peninsula it has been re-
ported from the Spanish provinces of Ali-
cante (Guillot & Meer, 2005; Serra, 2007),
Almeria (Kunkel, 1987; Sagredo, 1987),
Cdiz (Snchez et al., 2009; Rubal et al.,
2013), Tarragona (Aymerich & Gusta-
mante, 2015, 2016) and Valencia (Guillot
& Meer, 2003a, 2005), and also from the
Balearic Islands (Moragues & Rita, 2005).
Gentry (1982) describes Agave sisalana
as plants forming rosettes of 1.52 m tall
with stems 40100 cm long, suckering with
elongate rhizomes; leaves are ensiform,
90130 912 cm, with the blade green
(somewhat lightly zoned in youth), radial,
fleshy, finely fibrous, smooth; the margins
of mature leaves usually toothless, but
the young leaves show few minute teeth;
terminal spines are 22.5 cm long, subu-
late, smooth, dark brown, somewhat lus-
trous, shortly shallowly grooved above,
non-decurrent; panicles are 56 m tall,
deeply elliptic outline, with 1015(25) lat-
eral branches of umbellate clusters in up-
per half of bracteate shaft, bulbiferous af-
ter flowering; flowers are 5.56.5 cm long,
greenish yellow, malodorous; ovary is
shortly fusiform, 2025 89 mm, nearly
neckless; tube is broadly urceolate, 1518
mm deep, narrowly grooved; limb lobes
are equal, 1718 56 mm, appressed
to erect, conduplicate, involute, linear-
lanceolate; filaments are 5060 mm long,
reddish or dark-spotted, inserted above
mid-tube; anthers are 2325 mm long, yel-
summary
low, centric; capsules and seeds are gen-

erally lacking.
The origin of Agave sisalana (commonly
known as sisal) is uncertain. Because it
was exported from Mexico during the 19th
century (due to its hard fibers) via the port
en or New
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invader in many countries,
frequently escaped from in-
summary
dustrial plantations (CABI,

2014); the plants can pro-
duce thousands of bulbils
that easily take root (Walters
et al., 2011). For example, in
SE Spain (Almera Province),
where A. sisalana is now
an aggressive invader (and
where it was planted around
middle 20th century for fiber
production), mixed popula-
tions of A. sisalana and A.
fourcroydes may reach up to
120,000 bulbils per hectare
(Badano & Pugnaire, 2004).
The plants observed by us in
Tarragona might have origi-
nated from cultivated speci-
mens nearby, probably by
asexual reproduction by bul-
bils. Unlike in Almera Prov-
ince, we believe that this
agave does not represent
a serious problem of inva-
sion in Tarragona, as all the
observed localities (by us or
of Sisal in Yucatan, it has long by Aymerich & Gustamante,
been erroneously reported 2015, 2016) consist of very
as of Yucatan origin; howev- few individuals.
er, as Gentry (1982) indicates,
no botanical collections of
the plant have ever been
made in Yucatan, and bota- Individual of Agave sisalana var.
nists who have worked in Yu- sisalana with inflorescence, in
catan [] have told me they Vila-seca (Tarragona Province).
did not find the plant there.
The same author (Gentry,
1982) indicated, instead, that
its place of origin would be
Chiapas, and that A. sisala-
na is a sexually sterile clone
probably of hybrid origin (be-
tween A. angustifolia and A.
kewensis). Its sterility would
be supported by the general
inability to produce seeds (as
with A. desmettiana, capsules
and seeds of this species are
unknown; Reveal & Hodgson,
2002) and by its pentaploidy
(Gentry, 1982). Agave sisalana
is still frequently cultivated
for its ornamental value but
summary
especially because is the

main source of hard plant
fibers (Brown, 2002; Nobel,
2003). The plant is at present
considered as an aggressive
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Conclusions centration of Agave taxa in this region compared
to Catalonia.
summary
With the observation of this new tax-

on, the total number of agaves in Cata- In Catalonia, however, we should take into ac-
lonia rises to 17, which is still a figure count that, of the 17 recorded taxa, 13 have been
relatively low compared to that of the observed since 2014, which is reflecting a grow-
contiguous Valencian Community (25 ing interest in alien species in this Spanish region.
taxa). The notoriously high number of We expect that the continuous efforts of the au-
Agave taxa observed in the latter re- thors of the present contribution, as well as other
gion should be primarily regarded as local botanists (and, notably, including a PhD stu-
the result of a continuous research of dent whose thesis is focused in cataloguing the
about 15 years on cacti and succulent alien plant species of NE Iberian Peninsula) will
xenophytes (mainly Agavaceae, Aloace- result not only in the observation of species/pop-
ae, Cactaceae, and Crassulaceae) by the ulations not previously cited but also in shedding
third author of the present contribu- light into the patterns of introduction, establish-
tion, and not to an anomalous con- ment and spread of alien Agave in our country.
Individual of Agave sisalana var. sisalana with an imma-

ture inflorescence, in Roquetes (Tarragona Province).
Page 57: Agave sisalana var. sisalana growing together
summary
with Agave ingens var. picta, in Vila-seca (Tarragona

Province).
Page 58: One of the six large rosettes of Agave sisalana
var. sisalana found in Riera dAlforja (Cambrils, Tarrago-
na Province).
en or New
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ofAgave
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Losa, M. (1952) Notas micolgicas. Collectanea Botanica (Barcelona), 3: 147161.
Marcet, A. F. (1952) Flora montserratina (continuacin). Boletn de la Real Sociedad Espaola de Historia Natural, Sec-
cion Biolgica, 50: 299379.
Masclans, F. & Batalla, E. (1972) Flora de los montes de Prades. Continuacin. Collectanea Botanica (Barcelona), 8:
63200.
Montserrat, P. (1962) Flora de la cordillera litoral catalana (porcin comprendida entre los ros Bess y Tordera). Con-
tinuacin. Collectanea Botanica (Barcelona) 6: 148.
Montserrat, J. M. & Planes, L. (2009) Jard Botnic Histric Jard Amagat. rea Metropolitana de Barcelona, Barcelona.
Moragues, E. & Rita, J. (2005) Els vegetals introduts a les Illes Balears (Documents Tcnics de Conservaci, 11). Consel-
leria de Medi Ambient (Govern de les Illes Balears), Palma.
Nobel, P. S. (2003) Environmental biology of agaves and cacti. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
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frre Sennen. Boletn de la Sociedad Aragonesa de Ciencias Naturales, 4: 303333.
Reveal, J. L. & Hodgson W. C. (2002) Agave. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America
north of Mexico, Vol. 26: Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford,
pp. 442461.
Royo, F. (2006) Flora i vegetaci de les planes i serres litorals compreses entre el riu Ebro i la serra dIrta. PhD Thesis,
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Rubal, J. J., Guillot, D. & Meer, P. van der (2013) Dos nuevas especies del gnero Agave en la provincia de Cdiz (Anda-
luca, Espaa). Bouteloua, 16: 3639.
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summary
Starr, G. (2012) Agaves. Living sculptures for landscapes and containers. Timber Press, Portland & London.
Thiede, J. (2001) Agavaceae. In: Eggli, U. (Ed.), Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Monocotyledons. Springer,
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Initiative, Brussels.
en or New
Newspecies
speciesof
ofAgave
Agavefor
for Catalonia
Catalonia 58
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The desert
summary
means...
life !
Ricardo Ramirez Chaparro
I
love nature, I also love animals (espe- An image can bring back thousands of mem-
cially reptiles), but cacti have been al- ories long lost, and it can take me back, after
summary
ways my favourites. I like to travel in the many years, to that place again, or to that plant
wild to see these magnificent features in particular.
of nature, I search for cacti between I am enjoying nature: I am a wanderer of the
rocks, in steep mountains or in the grass desert and arid Mexican habitats. What better
or roots, I observe and take my time to place to find beautiful landscapes or yourself
photograph them. than these?
Desert means...
means... life!
life! 59
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Dasylirion wheeleri.
Yucca carnerosana.
summary
en or Desert means...
means... life!
life! 60
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Yucca carnerosana.
The one thing that attracts me most to the

desert is the fact that specifically, in time, the
summary
desert becomes a place where you stop to look,

as it holds an endless parade of life forms, from
the tiny millipede or wolf spider, to the majestic
coyotes or badgers. All and each of this forms of
life are somehow related between themselves,
and play their part in the intricate role of life.
means... life!
life! 61
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Escobaria tuberculosa.
summary
means... life!
life! 62
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Lets not forget that despite its magnificent

beauty, the desert can be a harsh place, condi-
tions are hard and it is difficult for life to subsist,
however, life finds always its own way. Many
plants and animal species are inhabiting these
territories, and are spectacular in their own
way and because of adapting to the conditions.
summary
Cacti are doubtlessly some of the most beau-

tiful and enigmatic dwellers of those places.
Whether growing solitaire, in the tiniest crack,
between the rocks, in the dry and sandy soil or
under other plants they always find a way to
endure.
means... life!
life! 63
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Sclerocactus uncinatus.
summary
means... life!
life! 64
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summary
No specific season or time is required to

watch the plants presented here, one can
search for them any time of the year, however,
if one wants to witness blooming or specific as-
pects of their ecology or nature, then one must
try to synchronize the visit to their vegetative
cycles. Flowers are one of the biggest credits
they possess, or at least one that humans like
to see, but they are visible only for a short pe-
riod of time during the year in many species.
Therefore, in order to see them, a little more
knowledge is necessary about their ecology to
know when is the best time or season to visit.
summary
means... life!
life! 65
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A road to nowhere.
Sellagynella sp.
summary
means... life!
life! 66
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summary
I believe beauty is that

thing that makes us move,
the force that drives us,
keeping us expectant, or in
the gift to be astonished with
the simplest and at the same
time complicated that our
environment has to offer.
The desert is one such place
where this beauty is exem-
plified, in here every sunset,
every new landscape and
each new mountain keeps
us awake, expectant and al-
ways on the move, always
trying to get to the next fron-
tier, to the next discovery.
Once immersed in it, the
desert slowly starts to reveal
its secrets, you are no long-
er looking at a simple Yucca
or a simple Sotol, but a life
form competing for resourc-
summary
es, that shelters other living

things, that has endured
harsh conditions, time, that
has a history and many oth-
Dasylirion wheeleri. er aspects that escape hu-
man comprehension.
means... life!
life! 67
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Mammillaria pottsii.
Mammillaria pottsii.
summary
means... life!
life! 68
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From the small Mammillaria pottsii flowers,

to the big and striking flowers of cacti in the
genus Echinocereus, all flowers are attractive
summary
in their design, color or shape. Flowers are an

incentive to see these plants, or in other cases
to own them, but lets have in mind that flowers
allow the continuity of the cacti species, which
Mammillaria pottsii. is why, blooming is a worthy spectacle of know-
ing and watching.
means... life!
life! 69
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Ariocarpus fissuratus.
summary
means... life!
life! 70
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The variety in shapes and sizes, and colors of

plants found in the desert is noteworthy. There
are plants that unless you have a good eye, go
unseen because they resemble rocks, such is
the case of Ariocarpus, but on the other hand
we have the majestic genus Opuntia, which is
maybe one of the most representative mem-
ber of the family in any image that evokes the
desert, a big Opuntia with many colorful (and
edible) fruits is without a doubt an image that
comes to mind when thinking of the desert,
and they stand for the capacity of adaptation
and survival this big family of plants has.
summary
means... life!
life! 71
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Opuntia sp.
Opuntia rufida.
summary
means... life!
life! 72
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Opuntia rufida.
summary
Spines can be big and small, protruding or

discrete, but are in my opinion a very outstand-
ing attribute of cacti, they can give in many oc-
casions the threatening and aggressive appear-
ance, or from another point of view, a delicate
and pretty appearance, it all depends on the
eye of the beholder. More, the spines offer the
plants protection from predators.
summary
means... life!
life! 73
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Mammillaria lasiacantha.
summary
means... life!
life! 74
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summary
means... life!
life! 75
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Echinocereus dasyacanthus.
summary
means... life!
life! 76
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Life emerges even in the least expected or

unlikely places, cacti are specialists in doing
this. Cacti are able to develop in places like the
tiny rock cracks, or on the top of the mountain
where resources are hard to come by. All of this
offers a prism of shapes and colors, of situa-
tions that we just now start to understand. Why
did those plants choose those places to grow
and live? Why do they have the shapes and
structures they possess?
summary
means... life!
life! 77
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Echinocactus horizonthalonius.
summary
means... life!
life! 78
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With a little attention, we can observe how

summary
cacti are part of the environment, and how they

beautify it in a way we all appreciate. Cactus
lovers rejoice knowing how these plants estab-
lish themselves in any spot that holds a little
soil and how they complement the ecosystem
with their presence.
means... life!
life! 79
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Thelocactus bicolor ssp. heterochromus.

summary
means... life!
life! 80
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It is always pleasant to find cacti in associa-

tion with other plants or other cacti, both the
omnipresent Sotol (Agave lechuguilla) or the stiff
ocotillo (Fouqueira splendens) are common in-
habitants of the everlasting desert where water
is short and heat is a common denominator.
It is formidable to see a small plant growing
between the rocks under a burning sun and
with almost no water, cacti are true warriors in
the world of plants!
summary
means... life!
life! 81
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Habitat - Agave lechuguilla.
Habitat - Fouquieria splendens,

summary
means... life!
life! 82
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The desert embraces a variety of land-

scapes, different locations can have different
looks, from complicated rock formations to
vast plains that seem to have been forgotten
in time; however, all of them has been here
on earth longer than we have and its inhabit-
ants have consequently been in a pilgrimage of
changes and adaptations to be better adapted
to the beautiful and inclement desert. The life
forms we see today are the result of all those
changes, and of the different conditions in each
one of them.
summary
It is always pleasant to find cacti in associa-

tion with other plants or other cacti, both the
omnipresent Sotol (Agave lechuguilla) or the stiff
ocotillo (Fouqueira splendens) are common in- Habitat - Dasylirion wheeleri & Yucca carnerosana.
habitants of the everlasting desert where water
is short and heat is a common denominator.
means... life!
life! 83
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summary
means... life!
life! 84
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summary
means... life!
life! 85
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Echinocereus pectinatus.
summary
Although I am a common wanderer of the

desert, with each new visit or trip that I make
into its frontiers I get amazed and captivated.
Each mountain or plane has a unique magic that
is not easy comparable, cacti are one of their
finest representatives and one of the things
that I enjoy seeing each time I visit. I sincerely
hope that all that people who share the same
passion can keep visiting and enjoying the maj-
esty of the deserts and their inhabitants in the
same way that I do, but it is most important to
say that we must learn to care and value it as
well, because probably the desert was home to
some of our ancestors who might have been
amazed as well by the natural beauty it has,
and because the desert has been in here for
far longer than we have and maybe will remain
long after we are all gone.
summary
means... life!
life! 86
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t s
summary
A r
I
n this graphic folder we present here we
have gathered the work of 15 graphic art-
ists, which, for almost 2 months, found in
the cacti and in the desert plants, the raw
material to develop a small collection of
unique images. The joint work, devel-
oped throughout the national territory,
in graphic workshops where engraving
takes strength and is part of the national artis-
tic task, is a way to contribute to the research
Mexico 2016
and dissemination of knowledge of plants liv-
ing in unique ecosystems. The natural wealth
of Mexico is of great importance for scientific
research, and the conservation of these eco-
systems is fundamental, not only to preserve
diversity, but to ensure a place on the planet
within the years to come ... Art and science,
together with the greatness of humanity, are
fundamental tools for evolving as a species, as
a society but also as individuals.
This small sample of prints is developed with
the effort and perseverance of Mexican artists
to support the dissemination of knowledge, in
this regard Xerophilia magazine is unique and
its importance lies in being free and looking to
provide quality information to its readers, col-
lecting contributions of: biologists who study
each species and the environments where
they live; field explorers that with their cun-
summary
ning cross the deserts of the planet to study

the environment where these plants inhabit;
breeders who are responsible for reproduc-
ing and preserving the species; activists who
defend natural resources and protect spe-
cies from their dangerous extinction. That is
Xero
Xero Arts
Arts 87
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A r t s
quite visible in the pages of the magazine
Mexico
Xerophilia, the effort and selfless dedication
of people and professionals who share their
experiences in each of its areas, non-profit,
and all this is fundamental in generating con-
sciousness. The sharing of knowledge disin-
terestedly in the middle of the XXI century is
the only method we have for the development
of our societies, an honourable work that de-
serves to make all the effort, to continue in
making revelations. In this sense, the work
of the editors of Xerophilia Eduart Zimer and
Dag Panco, both responsible for the project is
remarkable, as they understand very well the
2016
importance of disinterested dissemination of

knowledge, and throughout the published is-
sues of Xerophilia can be found real jewels.
As a plastic artist and as a cactus grower,
I deeply appreciate the efforts of the artists
who participated in this project: Chez Marabel,
Robert Rodrguez, Maricela Casas, Eva Macias,
Mara Mizrahi, Vampherya, Anglica Bracho,
Enrique Prez Martnez, Pablo Moya, Gabriela
Gonzlez Manuel Cuevas, Carlos Baptist Vctor
Terrez, Paco Navz, Gabriela Magdaleno. All
of them with incredible talent developed this
sample of prints, which in the end is to honour
the protagonists of the project: cacti and oth-
er desert plants, which will continue to amaze
us with their beauty and great ability to adapt
to adverse climates.
Arts
Angelica Bracho
Arts
Carlos Bautista
Arts
Chez Marabel
Arts
Enrique P. M.
Arts
Eva Macas
Arts
Gabriela Gonzlez
Arts
Gabriela Magdaleno
Arts
Leo Rodrguez
Arts
Manuel Cuevas
Arts
Mara Mizrahi
Arts
Maricela Casas-Sols
Arts
Pablo Moya
Arts
Paco Navz
Arts
Roberto Rodrguez
Arts
Vampherya Green
Arts
Victor Terrez
Notes on
summary
Aztekium
ritteri (Boed.) Boed.
Elton Roberts
A
round 30 years ago I got an
Aztekium ritteri that was a nice
looking clump of six heads as I
remember. I do not remember
where I got it from or who sold
it to me. Looking back to those
days I have to feel sorry for the
plant and in fact all my plants.
When I moved here all my plants stopped grow-
ing and went into a sulk. It took me several Aztekium riterri, flowers.
years to discover that it was the alkaline water
we have here. Where I had lived for years we nation of two things that worked against me;
had acidic water and I did not know anything one was the alkaline water and the second was
about any kind of difference in water. That lit- the size of the offset. Since taking an offset to
tle clump of Aztekium ritteri just sat there and root down did not work; I did not want to lose
slowly turned into a fossil. The price to replace a good size head. When I took the offsets they
Photo by Grzegorz Matuszewski.
it was way too much and besides you could not were only about 1 cm in diameter. The first one
summary
find the plants in clumps anymore. Some years failed and sometime later the second one failed
later I found a grafted plant and bought it. After also; I figured that is enough, it will not work.
that plant had grown and made offsets I figured That was many years ago and since then I have
that I would take an offset and root it down. I grafted quite a few heads but did not want to
tried taking several offsets to root down but take the chance of losing a head by setting it
all they did was die. I think there was a combi- down to root or see if it would root.
Notes on
Notes on Aztekium
Aztekium ritteri
ritteri 105
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Description from Andersons book The before. I took two heads that are 4.5 cm in diame-
Cactus Family: ter figuring I would give them a try. I have talked
Plants solitary at first, often clustering with age. to several people that say that they have Aztekium
Stems sub globose to globose, olive green, 1 - 3 cm ritteri on its own roots and that they put it down to
high, 2 - 6 cm in diameter. Ribs 6 - 11 with numer- root and it did root. Like Ariocarpus the Aztekium rit-
ous transverse creases of riblets, rounded edges, teri has the reputation of super slow growth.
5 9 mm high, 3 10 mm wide. Spines 1 2, of- I have had to up pot quite a few of my Ariocar-
ten ephemeral, often bending or twisting. Flowers pus into larger pots since they seem to grow to an-
white with pinkish midveins, 7 14 mm in diame- other pot size in something like three to five years.
ter. I am sure that Aztekium ritteri would not be that
way even if it were growing just fine as it is a much
Description from Cactus Lexicon by smaller type of plant. The clump I had all those
C. Backeberg: many years ago was maybe 12 cm in diameter; I
Body depressed-spherical; root shortly napiform; am sure it was no larger than that. In habitat the
crown woolly; main ribs 9-11, folded with subsidi- plants do not grow much taller than about 3 cm tall
ary ribs in between these narrower than the for- and for the largest of plants no larger than about
mer; spines not numerous, approximately 1-3, 5 to 6 cm in diameter. The clump I had, the offsets
only 3-4 mm long, weak, contorted of bent; flower grew out of the side of the plant and was on the
8 mm in diameter, white; sepal pink above; fruit same level as the main head.
berry like, pink; seed black, 0.5 mm long. In cultivation on grafts the plants grow a lot dif-
ferent from those in habitat.
About growing the plant The plant in the photo above is typical of a graf-
That grafted plant that I got many years ago has ted plant that has been grafted for several years.
summary
grown into a plant of many heads. I have not graft- In time the main head will be almost covered by
ed any for many years so I decided it was time to offsets that are to 4.5 cm in diameter as is my large
take a few heads off and graft them. That worked grafted plant.
nice and all the grafts took; then I decided on taking The head was grafted and then put where it
several heads and trying to root them. I decided to stayed for some time; then it got more light as the
take large heads this time as the small ones failed top half is larger than the lower half.
en or Notes on Aztekium ritteri 106 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987
summary
This photo is an overhead shot of the same

plant pictured above.
The photos on this page are of one of the that they have rooted down or I hope they have.
heads that I removed from my large grafted The photos show what the plants look like with
plant and put down to see if they would root. It the tubercles that look like they are stacked one
has now been about three months; the heads on another. Seen at the end of the tubercle is the
look to have rooted as they are still green and areole still with some of the wool even on the
looking good. The heads were only about 2 cm old areoles. In the growing point can be seen the
summary
tall and were 4.5 cm in diameter, so the heads, wool and also the 1 to 3 mm long horn colored
as planted are only about 1.5 cm tall. If the plants spines. These spines are more or less straight
are as slow growing as it has shown itself to be when first they appear but in time they curl and
it will take several years for the heads show any twist. On the two ribs on the left side can be seen
change in size height wise. I am just really happy the spines that are still attached and they curl
that they are staying green for that shows me and make a circle other are only hooked.
en or Notes on
Notes on Aztekium
Aztekium ritteri
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The photo above is the top of an offset on a grow to about 4 cm in diameter. The photo be-
larger grafted plant. There it is easy to see the low is the growing point of a plant. It looks like it
summary
spines and areoles of the plant. Some of the has started growing since I received it. I do not
areoles do not have any spines and one has know the growing conditions the plants were
two spines. If the spines fell out of the areoles growing in before I got them but some seem to
that have no spines; I do not know. That offset be a bit elongated even for a grafted plant. So
is 16 mm in diameter and the wool is not mat- maybe they did not get the light they needed to
ted down from watering. In time the offset can grow as compact as they should be.
en or Notes on
Notes on Aztekium
Aztekium ritteri
ritteri 108
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summary
The photo above shows flowers from a cou-

ple heads on the side of my large grafted old
plant. The flowers grow from the growing point
of the plant. This can be seen in the photo pic-
tured here. The photo shows a bud about to
open and a flower that is mostly open.
en or Notes on
Notes on Aztekium
Aztekium ritteri
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Both show the de-licate Myrtillocactus, and many oth-
er plants and then there are
summary
pink of the outer petals. Every

flower I have ever seen on any those colorful Gymnocalycium
plant has been that very light that are grafted on Hylocereus
pink. I know that both descrip- undatus. When grafting there
tions above say that the flow- is one thing to be considered
er is white but the flower here and that is; is the graft stock
is light pink. I suppose that in hardy? I have seen quite a
habitat the sunshine could few plants tossed because
fade the pink so the flowers the graft stock was killed by a
are white to the eye. The flo- freeze. Stenocereus griseus is
wer is 12 mm in diameter, the a good graft stock of it is kept
flowers open several days in above freezing for it cannot
a row and each day they are really take much of a frost.
a bit larger. This explains the Hylocereus is strictly a tropical
difference in flower size in the plant and if you have a graft
descriptions. The photo be- The photo pictured here shows on it, it has to be kept above
low shows flowers on a differ- the same two flowers in page 108 about 38F (3.3oC). Myrtillocac-
ent plant and notice that they opened a little while later. tus had been used as a graft
Below: A tormented A. ritteri in stock for many years but it is
have also that delicate pink
habitat.
color. not really all that good either.
For many people the only The reason is that it too free-
way they can have an Azteki- zes quite easy but its problem
um ritteri is on a graft. The is it wakes up late in the grow-
Photo by Stefan Nitzschke.

plants that were given to me ing season. I have seen the
are grafted on Stenocereus stock sucked dry so about all
griseus. When I graft plants I that is left is a stick. The main
use Trichocereus spachianus. problem with Trichocereus
Other people use Harrisia, spachianus is the spine clus-
ters. On the good side is that
it can take many degrees of
The photo pictured here shows frost. I have it growing outside
that the inner petals are light pink. where it has been for years. It
has taken temperatures down
to 15F (-9.4oC) and showing
no signs of frost burn. It also
takes temperatures to 125F
(51.7oC) and more.
Like Ariocarpus, Aztekium
do not like alkaline water; to
grow and be healthy they had
to have acidic water. The soil
needs to be fast draining I give
the plants the same light as I
do my Ariocarpus so as bright
as I can without burning them.
Keep then dry over the win-
ter and do not be watering
too early in the spring. If you
have Aztekium ritteri on its
own roots keep it above freez-
ing. If it is grafted on a hardy
stock the plant will have some
antifreeze from graft stock,
summary
like Trichocereus spachianus. If

grafted on some of the other
stock, then keep the plants
at least above 36F (2.2oC). If
grafted on Hylocereus undatus
keep at least at 40F+ (4.4oC+).
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Taking
summary
pictures in the...
desert
Cristian Perez Badillo
W
Calibanus hookeri, San Jos de las Flores,Tamaulipas.
ithout useless words,

using just names, lo-
cations and photos,
Cristian Perez Badillo
shows us that the de-
summary
sert means life. We

must underline that
the author has in-
tently chosen to not use as examples any cacti
picture, considering they are a banality of any
Mexican desert display.
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Echeveria simulans, El Carrizo, Tamaulipas.
Phrynosoma modestum, La Morita, San Luis Potos.
Echeveria lyonsii, El Carrizo, Tamaulipas.

summary
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Euphorbia pulcherrima, Nogales, Tamaulipas.
Ollotis occidentalis, Palmillas de San Juan,

Guanajuato.
Euphorbia radians, La Chicharrona, Zacatecas.

summary
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Eleanus leucurus, Quertaro. Toxostoma curvirostre, Terreros, Guanajuato.
Left and right: Caracara cheriway &

middle: Coragyps atratus; Jaumave, Tamaulipas.
summary
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Hirundo rustica erythrogaster, San Luis de la Paz, Athene cunicularia, San Roberto, Nuevo Len.
Guanajuato.
Corvus brachyrhynchos, Ocampo, Coahuila.

summary
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Cyrtopodium punctatum, Carrizo,Tamaulipas.
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Agave albopilosa, Huasteca, Nuevo Len.
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Echeveria bifida, Cieneguilla, Guanajuato.
Ardea alba, Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.
Echeveria unguiculata, Huizache, San Luis Potos.

summary
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Agave bracteosa, San Jos de los Nuncios, Coahuila.
Ctenosaura pectinata, young iguana specimen, Los

Mochis, Sinaloa.
In front: Fouquieria shrevei with Grusonia bradtiana

& behind: F. splendens; El hundido, Coahuila.
summary
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Agave gracielae, Lazaro Vega, Queretaro.
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Pachyphytum viride, Sierra del Doctor, Queretaro.
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Crotaphytus collaris, Arteaga, Coahuila. Pituophis deppei deppei, Caada de Moreno,

Guanajuato.
Cynomys mexicanus, San Roberto, Nuevo Len.

summary
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Lepus californicus texianus, Sierra Mojada, Coahuila. Troglodytes aedon, Pozo blanco, Guanajuato.
Pinguicula esseriana, Huizache, San Luis Potos.

summary
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Tradescantia crassifolia, Huizache, San Luis Potos.
Gopherus berlandieri, Los Herrera, Nuevo Len. Gasteracantha cancriformis, Las Tablas, San Luis Potos.
Yucca endlichiana, Las Coloradas, Coahuila.

summary
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Pachyphytum hookeri, El Cubo, Guanajuato.
Tyranus vociferans, Jaral del Progreso, Guanajuato. Geococcyx californianus, Sierra Maderas del Carme,
Coahuila.
Villadia aristata, La trinidad, Nuevo Len.

summary
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Pyrocephalus rubinus, Mulatos, Guanajuato.
Pinguicula elizabethiae, Sierra del Doctor, Queretaro.

summary
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CSSNZ
summary
Auckland Show
2016
Eduart Zimer
B
Ariocarpus lloydii.
etween the 4th and 6th of No- last year. A large and welcoming hall, with ex-
vember 2016 took place a well- cellent light in good weather.
known and much appreciated This event has a great tradition and is a cause
(and awaited) biennial cactus of pride for many local cactus and succulent
and succulent show organized collectors. More than a few of those who have
summary
by the Cactus and Succulent So- prepared and brought the plants in this exhibi-
ciety of New Zealand Auckland tion, are doing this for two or even three de-
branch. This event was held, as cades now.
always in the last few decades, in Mt Albert War Or maybe even more. It is a source of real
Memorial Hall on Great North Road, where are pride, even if very local, supported by a handful
we used to keep our monthly meetings until of enthusiasts.
CSSNZ
CSSZNAuckland
Auckland Show
show 2016 127
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Astrophytum asterias (hybrid). Astrophytum asterias Super Kabuto.
Albuca spiralis.
It is actually quite sad,

because we mention the
same people ... few chan-
ges have been observed in
the 12 years since I passed
through the tables of this
exhibition for the first time,
back in 2004. The number
of exhibitors has decreased
summary
over time, the number of

cacti as well (this issue was
mentioned in my article two
years ago), now seemingly
followed by other groups of
plants.
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Bowiea volubilis. Cephalopentandra ecirrhosa.
Calibanus hookeri.
Twelve years (this means seven

editions) offered me a lot of time to
see and photograph, year after year,
a good number of extraordinary
plants. I wont insist on this with this
occasion, but it is highly interesting
to watch them growing, evolving, or
simply declining in time. The plants
seem to be themselves in a relation
summary
and depending on people and do-

ing sometimes better or sometimes
worse, clearly subject to the state of
their owner. I have couple of plants
in mind, and maybe I will write about
them in the future
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Pachypodium namaquanum.
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Euphorbia Toxic Milkshake.
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Crassula Claudia. Dioscorea sylvica var. paniculata.
Copiapoa tortarensis (a misnomer = C. cinerea ssp. columna-alba).
I was very busy over the

weekend so this year I took
a day off from work and
entered the show hall just
minutes after it was opened
to the visiting public, on Fri-
day noon. I was at first a bit
summary
amazed by the large num-

ber of visitors, most of them
quite young for this hobby.
Well, something like 30-40
people is a large number
here.
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Euphorbia (Monadenium) ritchiei. Echeveria minima.
Echinocereus engelmannii var. armatus.
However, something was not

right. Two hours later we were only
10 or 12 left in the large hall, exclu-
ding of course the Auckland branch
members. It was in fact a more or
less rapid flow through the show
room, as if the old and magnificent
summary
plants exposed there didnt de-

serve too much attention, straight
to the sales corner yes, here was
gathered the largest number of
customers, trying to pick the best
buy in the opening hour.
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Euphorbia symmetrica. Gymnocactus horripilus.
Mammillaria perezdelarosae.
summary
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Graptoveria Southern Queen (a misnomer = G. S. Notocactus nigrispinus (=Parodia nigrispina).

Belle).
Zygosicyos pubescens.
summary
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Sulcorebutia langeri (crest). Pseudolithos cubiformis.
Kedrostis puniceus.
Quite sad to be honest, and

without any little recognition of the
value of the exposed plants. And
yes, I just realized this happens, al-
though on a different scale, even at
the branch meetings where few
young Asian visitors come and buy
summary
a relative large number of plants

only to disappear before the actual
meeting starts. I dont get it. I can
only hope the small entry fee and
sales commission brought some ex-
tra revenue to the Auckland branch.
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Euphorbia squarrosa. Melocactus melocactoides.
Euphorbia bupleurifolia.
I preferred to spend almost

three hours between the show
plants, photographing espe-
cially unusual plants. Perso-
nally I wasnt very pleased with
the winning cactus and succu-
lent, so lets forget about it. I
summary
am not a judge, but I still dont

agree with their judgement.
Dont forget that last show the
publics winner was actually a
nursery accident. So, just enjoy
the pictures!
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summary
Melocactus rubrispinus.
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Online
summary
magazines
Xerophilia
Acc Aztekium Journal (Romanian) -
The Romanian Acc Aztekium journal.
Latest issue: No 45, December 2016.
Sansevieria Online (German) - The

free online journal about the genus
Sansevieria. Latest issue: No 4 (2),
November 2016.
Sukkulenten (German) - Monthly

free online journal of the FGaS -
Fachgesellschaft andere Sukkulenten
(formerly Avonia-News). Latest issue:
Vol. 9, No 11, December 2016.
The Cactus Explorer (English) - The

first free online C&S journal. Latest
issue: No 17, December 2016.
summary
Magazines
Online magazines 139 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 ||ISSN
ISSN2285-3987
2285-3987
ABSTRACT - scurt prezentare a articolelor
summary
Despre redescoperirea speciei Mammillaria laui ssp. dasycantha pagina 5

Dr. Leccinum J. Garca Morales
Cunoscut cititorilor romni, Dr. Lex Garcia-Morales descrie cercetrile sale, pentru a identifica n
teren M. laui ssp. dasycantha, specie a crei locaie nu era cunoscut cu exactitate. Articolul cuprinde
expuneri taxonomice i note despre complexul M. laui.
Graptosedum Francesco Baldi pagina 13

Marco Cristini
Pasionat de suculente, cunoscut pentru articolele sale publicate n mai multe reviste de spcialitate,
Marco Cristini se rentoarce n paginile noastre cu un articol despre un hibrid misterios. Pe lng
notele istorice i consideraiile privind distribuia speciei, autorul adaug i sfaturile sale de cultur.
Primvara n Mexic - partea a doua pagina 27

Aldo Delladdio
Xerophilia
La fel de frumos ilustrat, condimentat cu ntmplrile care-l ateapt pe vizitatorul meleagurilor

mexicane, articolul continu i termin cltoria nceput n numrul trecut.
O nou specie i noi populaii de Agave n provincia Catalonia pagina 45

Vanessa Mesquida et al.
Un nou articol tehnic, de cert valoare tiinific, privind prezena genului Agave pe teritoriul penin-
sulei iberice. Este un articol pentru specialitii n domeniu, puin interesant pentru cultivatori.
Deertul nseamn... via! pagina 59

Ricardo Ramirez Chaparro
Acest pasionat de peisaje, de reptile i cactui, de succulente i de frumos, ia la picior deerturile

mexicane, n cutarea lor. Avei din nou la dispozitie un pictorial, purtnd att semntura sa, ct i
impresiile pe care i le trezesc locurile ntlnite.
Xero-Arts pagina 87
proiect coordonat de Leo Rodrguez
Cu ocazia sfritului de an v prezentm un grup de cincisprezece artiti gravori mexicani care i-au
dedicat operele revistei nostre.
Note despre Aztekium ritteri pagina 105

summary
Elton Roberts
Neobosit, Elton Roberts, continu s-i mpart cunotinele i experiena, acumulate n peste 50
de ani de cultur profesionist a cactuilor. n acest numr el vorbete despre una dintre speciile care
reprezint o stea de avut, n toate coleciile: Aztekium ritteri.
Romanian abstract
ISSN2285-3987
2285-3987
Taking pictures in the desert pagina 111
summary
Cristian Perez-Badillo
Fotografiile vorbesc de la sine. Putei urmri un pictorial al vieii vegetale i animale din deert, din
care, n mod voluntar, autorul a exclus doar cactuii. E pentru alt dat, mi-a spus el.
CSSNZ Auckland Show 2016 - expoziie de plante de colecie pagina 127

Eduart Zimer
Ca de fiecare dat, Eduart ne prezint expoziia de plante a asociaiei de profil din Auckland, re-
marcnd cu tristee, mpuinarea membrilor i a expozanilor, pe msur ce anii trec i colecionarii
tineri nu mai au timp i interes pentru aceste manifestaii
Xerophilia
summary
Romanian abstract
ISSN2285-3987
2285-3987
Cacti seeds from South America
summary
Greatest selection from Volker Schdlich

The Chaco in Paraguay [email protected]
Bolivia
Argentina
Brazil www.gymnos.de
Xerophilia
Acanthocalycium, Borzicactus, Cereus, Cleistocactus,

Echinopsis, Frailea, Gymnocalycium, Harrisia, Lobivia,
Opuntia, Oreocereus, Parodia, Soehrensia, Trichocereus,
summary
Weingartia etc.
Advertizing
Advertising 142 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 ||ISSN
ISSN2285-3987
2285-3987
summary
Xerophilia
summary
Advertising 143 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 ||ISSN

ISSN2285-3987
2285-3987
Xerophilia Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016
www.xerophilia.ro
ISSN 2285-3987

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the passion for cacti and other succulents

ISSN 2285 3987

Front cover Back cover

Agave gracielae Echinocereus coccineus

Summary 2 - XEROPHILIA Volume V, No. 4 (19), December 2016 | ISSN 2285-3987

the passion for cacti and other succulents

focusing on colonising Mars anyway in 2216.

Walter Pengue is an Agronomist

Mammillaria laui D.R.Hunt

and notes on the

Dr. Leccinum J. Garcia-Morales

Victoria, Tamaulipas. the sub-specific status of the three close related

The habitat of Mammillaria laui ssp. dasyacantha, in the

A view within the canyons from the site of Mammillaria

First attempt a big vertical dark metamorphic rocks among

Second attempt Mine ... in that place we located several plants

The first sighted plant, showing a less clumping

A beautiful clump of Mammilaria laui ssp. dasyacantha

Last attempt collecting and photographing of them make the

I appreciate specially the help and contribution of Stefan

The author and Pancho eating in a safe place after

Bibliography Hunt, D. 1987. A new review of Mammillaria names.

cactceas (Caryophyllales: Cactaceae) de la Sierra DH Books. England.

Marco Cristini Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas!

ample the genus Sempervivum, which includes

ed in mystery. Francesco Baldi (1991) writes that

Flowers of Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.

1-3 - Flowers of Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.

Photo by Eduart Zimer.

Graptosedum Francesco Baldi. Graptosedum Francesco Baldi.

Jardin Exotique de Monaco.

Photo by Eduart Zimer.

G. Francesco Baldi. G. Francesco Baldi.

Photo by Attila Kapitany.

Graptosedum F. Baldi after rain.

Graptosedum Francesco Baldi in a Graptosedum Francesco Baldi crested.

Photo by Noelene Tomlinson.

ing available sources, it is impossible to be more curately.

Photo by Attila Kapitany.

Photo by Attila Kapitany.

Photo by Attila Kapitany.

Photo by Eduart Zimer.

STEPHENSON, R. (2014). Photo of Graptosedum F. Baldi. Sedum Soci- tion)

Mammillaria heyderi ssp. gummifera, east of Coneto

March 20 From Matehuala to Rodeo, my ancient Jeep Cherockee hasnt exploded

Agave parryi, Coneto Pass, Durango

March 21 From Rodeo to Parras de

Mammillaria coahuilensis & Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus.

Echinocactus texensis. kept trying to find a way until

at 21:00 oclock in Parras de

March 22 From Parras to Cuatro Ci-

Turbinuicarpus pailanus, Sierra de la Paila, Coahuila.

We continued to Nuevo Yu-cat-

of Echinocereus longisetus ssp.

Thelocactus bicolor ssp. bolaensis wagnerianus.

Lophophora williamsii, El Oso, Coahuila.

We walked over the ridge and to the other

side, but the species we saw were the same, so

View of the valley from Sierra de la Paila.