268 CACTUS and SUCCULENT JOURNAL (U.S.), Vol. 66 (1994
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268 CACTUS AND SUCCULENT JOURNAL (U.S.), Vol. 66 (1994) ginatocereus and Stenocereus, and thurberi has columns, most of which had my name tags wired been a Lemaireocereus, Marshallocereus and to them, and these were lost. You might call that Stenocereus. The cactus name-makers are not an unnatural hazard. quite as bad as ornithologists, who caused me to I hope to go on another seed-planting binge lose 13 bird species at one feel swoop and 6 in before long, having some unusual seed—includ• another. ing Sclerocactus, Pediocactus, Ancistrocactus and The most trouble I have with tall cacti is from the like—with which I have had little luck. I also high winds. When those like Opuntia megasper- have several fruit from a Gil Tegelberg hybrid ma and Pachycereus pringlei blow over, I get an of Ferocactus acanthodes x Leuchtenbergia prin- avocado truck with its crane for lifting bins, lift cipis—no telling what it will produce. In my gar• up the plant and guy it up with nylon cord tied den I have trouble with Ferocactus acanthodes to a steel stake. Although the January 17, 1994, from California deserts, but F. wislizeni from Northridge earthquake was centered approxi• Arizona grows, blooms and fruits freely. I have mately 100 miles away, a whiplash effect broke plants 12" to 18" in diameter which are my own three large branches up to 8' long, each with many hybrids of F. wislizeni x F. acanthodes and F. side branches, from Armatocereus godingianus\ wislizeni x rectispinus, the seed planted from 8' and 6' sections of Stenocereus marginatus, 1965 to 1971. I want to try seed from fruit of leaving two Vh' stumps; and the top 7' of an 11' these hybrids. In 1972 I procured from Dave column of Trichocereus "argentinii". A third Grigsby his hybrid of Trichocereus x Soehrensia natural hazard, lightning, struck all 7 houses in which has day-blooms twice a year solidly cover• our area on May 22, 1992, destroying all trans• ing the wide, low clump with yellow flowers so formers and taking out our own TV's and tele• bright they almost hurt the eyes. In July 1983 I phones. When the power company replaced our planted seed from it and have 6 clumps, one of transformer some days later, it damaged many which is just started to bud-up for the first time. cacti in the Argentina-Chile garden with ladders I am breathlessly awaiting the flower. There is and boots, and slashed off many branches and life in those tiny seeds. JOHN K. SMALL (I) Cactus Survival Dr. John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) was associated with the development of the New York Botanical Garden from the beginning and became curator of the museum in 1898. He helped make it one of the greatest botanic gardens in the world. A prodigious writer, the total of his published books and papers is unusually large—491 — and he left many manuscripts complete and incomplete at his death. He wrote frequently for the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden. Cacti were of special interest to him and he wrote 17 papers on the subject. In volume 25 of the Journal for July 1924, he expounded on cactus survival strategies in his paper, "The cacti—an interesting plant- group in the study of survival." An excerpt: "These characteristic structures of cactus plants, whether gross or fine, indicate a long and mighty struggle of the family to maintain itself against extinction. As a group and individually the plants have fortified themselves to resist adverse environments, have made trebly sure the propagation of their kinds. For example, the stems—varying from cord• like to columnar, barrel-like, tub-like, bowl-shaped, or pad-like—are armed to a remarkable extent for self protection or for distribution, are abundantly stored with water and nourishment, and are thus not only adapted for resisting desert conditions, under which most of them grow, but also for vegetative propagation. The roots, too, are succulent, often growing to great lengths in their search for moisture and nourishment in a poor or dry soil, or again, in many species, for some reason becoming short and thick, even globular. When these tuber-like structures are detached from the parent plant they give rise to a new plant, thus making a second kind of vegetative propagation. "The flowers, usually conspicuous, often very showy, are likewise especially adapted to insure propagation, in this instance by seeds. The showy perianth, either diurnal or nocturnal, white or of all shades of colors, except blue, is attractive to insects. Within are numerous, often almost myriad, stamens, whose anthers await the insect visitors with pollen ever ready to be transferred to the stigmas. "Just as the flowers of cacti are attractive to insects, the resulting fruits, as a rule copiously seeded, are attractive to larger animals. Many birds especially, including migratory kinds, are ravenously fond of such provender and thus assist in the wide dispersal of the cactus seeds." Larry W. Mitich CACTUS AND SUCCULENT JOURNAL (U.S.), Vol. 67 (1995) 287 As always I am grateful to long-standing companions Reference on our Richtersveld expeditions, Seven Hammer and Ria Kirsten, for accepting the rigours of climate and White, A., R. A. Dyer, and B. L. Sloane. 1941. The 4x4 tracks and making our excursions so enjoyable. succulent Euphorbieae (Southern Africa). Abbey My wife Francoise deserves special mention for work Garden Press, Pasadena. put into organising the expeditions and for typing the manuscript. JOHN K. SMALL (II) Migratory Cacti The publication of the monumental Flora of the Southeastern United States (1600 pages) in 1903 placed author Dr. John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) among the foremost taxonomic botanists of his day. He described many hundreds of plant species, including nearly 90 species of iris, 13 species of cacti (11 of them opuntias), and an agave. His articles appeared regularly in the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden. Cacti intrigued him and he authored many papers about them. In July 1924, his paper, "The cacti—an interesting plant-group in the study of survival," appeared in volume 25 of the Journal. Wrote he: "Cacti are confined naturally to America. The occurrence of a few species of a certain genus {Rhipsalis) in Africa is attributed to the activities of migratory birds, and this within comparatively recent times. These particular plants are mistletoe-like both in habit and in the small pellucid [transparent] glutinous fruits. A parallel example of mistletoe distribution has recently come to light in southern Florida. The fruits of the native mistletoe are likewise glutinous and are carried by birds from one tree to another. The birds usually alight near the tips of branches of trees, and there the mistletoe-like cactus {Rhipsalis)—sometimes called pencil cactus, on account of the slender pencil-like joints of the stem—grow on the oak trees in tropical Florida, planted there doubtless by migratory birds coming up from the West Indies where the pencil cactus in question, Rhipsalis cassutha, is so plentiful in the forests. "Man also has had an important part in cactus history. Several kinds of flat-jointed cacti (Opuntiae) were taken back to the Old World by early expeditioners shortly after the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus and became naturalized in the Mediterranean region. Here they have since maintained a foothold. Again, towards the end of the last century, other kinds, presumably from Mexico and South America, were carried to Australia. But here, carelessly thrown away by settlers, these plant strangers not only promptly became naturalized but overran the land like wildfire, spreading both by vegetative parts and by seeds, thus furnishing a conspicuous example of how well the group had perfected its methods of propagation. They have already taken possession of millions of acres." Larry W. Mitich CSSA-THE EARLY YEARS (XIII) Abbey Garden Press Fire Under the bold headline "Mystery Fire Hits Local Book Firm," the Pasadena Star-News for October 30, 1960, reported the destructive fire that burned Scott Haselton's Abbey Garden Press. Haselton, long-time editor and publisher of the Cactus and Succulent Journal suffered a heavy financial loss. According to the article, a mysterious fire swept the offices of Abbey Garden Press, 132 W. Union St., Pasadena, on Saturday, October 29, leaving thousands of books burned and damaged by water." The newspaper report continued: "Scott Haselton, editor and publisher, said he 'could not begin to estimate the financial loss.' He set the damage to the building at more than $5,000 [a large sum of money at the time]. The walls, roof and attic were charred. Printing equipment of the Barrett Typesetting Service, which rents space in the same building, apparently was not seriously damaged. "Haselton said thousands of books he had just prepared for sale were now useless, and many other volumes, imported from Africa, appeared to be a total loss. He is a distributor and importer as well as a publisher. "The fire was discovered by pedestrians and motorists shortly after 3 P.M. By then flames were already shooting through the ceiling. The Pasadena Fire Department fought the blaze about 20 minutes before bringing it under control. Mopping up operations continued for more than an hour. "Haselton said the property is insured, but added, Tt is difficult to set a value on books, particularly rare books, as many of mine were.' " Larry W. Mitich 28 CACTUS AND SUCCULENT JOURNAL (U.S.), Vol. 68 (1996) of Saudi Arabia. Flora Publication No. 1. Scorpion Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the En• Publishing Ltd., London.