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Echinopsis Hybrid

Cactus and Succulent Society of Southern Nevada Newsletter May, 2011 Beaver Tale Fever April 2011 In This Issue Greetings! Month by Month: The Color of Summer King of Clarets The Marble Canyon Cactus- Happy May, bradyi All the buzz about the Moon-Sun Cactus Show and Sale has been very positive. The staff and club members worked very hard to prepare for the show. Many More About CSSSN great showed up to make people happy. And, vast numbers of folks turned out for the event. Overall, it was very successful in terms of exposure, social interaction, relaxation, and lastly, sales. Here's some photos of great show plants in attendance

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Next meeting of CSSSN will be May 15th at 2pm at Springs Preserve. The address is 333 S. Valley View Blvd. at US 95

Springs Preserve Happy Plants and People came out to the show.

The May presentation will be given by our clubs President, at the cactus and succulent show. Many more photos of the show plants can be Donnie Barnett. The viewed at this photo site. presentation will be about Opuntias and is titled: The politics of prickly pear fighting. He will discuss the differences of prickly pears, Featured Article there uses and have many Month by Month: The Color of Summer wonderful pictures. Donnie By Donnie Barnett works for SNWA at the Warm

Spring Natural Area. He has May usually means the end of spring is close. Although the temperatures are spent the last 3 years looking rising so is the flower line along the alluvial fans. May is one of the most for and studying the native colorful months especially for cactus. Many of the low elevation annuals are cactus and succulent of the done blooming and many are going to seed. Most of the mojave native cactus mojave. Along with this he is will bloom sometime during the month of May. into photography and writing a book called "Cacti of the

Northern Mojave and Adjacent Areas". You can view some his art on his website. Opuntia basilaris brachyclada

Echinocereus gentryi

Red Rock Canyon and Lee and Kyle Canyons will begin to bloom. Agave utahensis and all its forms will begin to send up their flower stalks. Escobaria vivipara ssp. desertii will start to be seen more readily with yellow-pink flowers. Calico basin trail is a good place to see these plants in bloom.

Agave utahensis flowering at Red Rock NCA

In the garden many of the hedghogs have began blooming including the only nocturnal non-diurnal flowering claret cup cactus, Mexican Spineless claret cup cactus ( scheeri ssp. gentryi). Plants have long pink flower tubes that are designed for bats, rather than hummingbirds. I got my large at moon-sun nursery a few weeks ago. My Green Pitaya (Echinocereus viridiflorus) is blooming as has the best smelling citrus green flowers. Another name is Lemon Hedghog as the flowers smell like lemons.

King of Clarets By Donnie Barnett

Red flowering Echinocereus are some of the most desirable plants for cactus and flower enthusiests in the southwest. May is the month for clarét cup cactus in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. 8 of claret cup cactus reside in 6 states (CO, NM, TX, UT, NV and CA). A female Echinocereus coccineus, flowering near Seligman, AZ

Mojave King Cup or Mojave Claret Cup also known as Echinocereusmojavensis. This species of cactus is the most common Claret Cup in the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Desert regions. Originally this species was named under Echinocereus triglochidiatus. More recently this species has proven to be taxonimically seperate. Echinocereus mojavensis differs from E. triglochidiatus in that it has round spines with trichomes rather than angled spines with trichomes. Plants do not twist like E. triglochidiatus either. The form inermis from the Uncompadre Plateau, should now be placed under E. mojavensis as a form. Echinocereus mojavensis forma inermis is rarely 100% spineless and is only when grown in the shade. Mojave King Cup with 'perfect' flowers, in Lovell Canyon, Nevada

Strawberry cactus or Western Claret Cup cactus also known as Echinocereus coccineus has had its range change. Echinocereus coccineus now has three subspecies, ssp. coccinues, ssp. paucispinus and ssp. rosei. In Colorado and New Mexico plants will grow side by side with E. triglochidiatus and be very common. In Utah, I have only observed it in the Needles district of Canyon Lands National Park. Otherwise many of the plants called Echinocereus coccineus in Utah are actually E. mojavensis with the exception of E. canyonsis. Plants of E. coccineus are found throughout most of central and southern Arizona. Plants do not occur in Nevada or California, but come as close as Seligman, Arizona. Echinocereus coccineus differs from E. mojavensis by having diocey (male and female plants) and smooth or grooved spines. Echinocereus coccineus can have yellow pollen but more commonly has pink pollen. Strawberry cactus gets its name by having bright red flower buds in the shape of strawberrys. Plants do occur in New Mexico and Texas. In addition, southern New Mexico, west Texas and Northern Mexico have ssp. rosei (neomexicana) and ssp. paucispina. Plants differ from ssp. coccinues by spine count and stem ribs.

The Grand Canyon Claret Cup Cactus is a newer species. Originally named echinocereus triglochidiatus ssp. toroweepensis has since properly been renamed to Echinocereus canyonensis. Plants are very similar to E. coccineus but differ by having longer flower tubes, purple-brown sepals and male zygomorphic flowers. This plant is restricted to the Grand Canyon, Hurricane Cliffs and Lower Zion National Park. This plant creates some of the largest numbered heads per plant of any of the Claret Cup.

On the Arizona/Utah border and Utah/Colorado border plant species can be difficult to identify. In Nevada we only two species of Claret Cup Cacti, Echinocereus mojavensis is the most widespread and Echinocereus canyonensis is only found in the Gold Butte area. Whether its this species or that species everyone loves to see these beautiful red flowers, especially hummingbirds.

The Marble Canyon Cactus- By Callie Davis Although this past spring did not bring the moisture needed or the right temperatures, many cacti enthusiasts are left with hope for next year. We are all waiting to see the Brady "pincushion" cactus rise to the surface and bloom. This is a spectacular sight, as this cactus requires the perfect conditions that cannot be duplicated anywhere else but in its native environment. The Brady cactus' selective living conditions and habitat location have left this cactus to be a rare commodity and nearly extinct species. The Brady cactus requirements are rare and a reason for its uniqueness. It is only during spring, in Marble Canyon, that the cacti live hiding under the surface of the and Moenkopi Shale. When the temperature rises and the winter run off begins, the Brady cactus receives just enough moisture and warmth to begin its short cycle under the sun. The cacti grow in small clusters as they surface, ranging from 1 to 30 millimeters in diameter. If the conditions are constant, then usually one of the larger cacti of each cluster blooms with opaque petals and bright yellow pollen. It may only last a couple weeks or a few months before the cacti recede back into the limestone. Although the ritual is unlikely from year to year in Arizona's northland, the cacti are relatively hardy and can survive the harsh weather extremes.

Pediocactus bradyi 1

Other issues such as human recreation and cattle grazing are the large contributors to the cacti's endangerment. Through out Marble Canyon is free public land to explore and open native grass fields. With constant vehicle traffic, the Brady cacti were subject to constant destruction that was irreversible. The cattle, permitted by Bureau of Land Management to graze the lower field below the Paria Plateau, slowing stepped on clusters of growing cacti each spring. Through intervention and negotiations made by US Fish and Wildlife Service did the cacti make a come back in recent years.

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Currently, preventative measures have created a functional habitat for the Brady cacti, ranchers and outdoor enthusiasts. The US Fish and Wildlife and organizations, such as Grand Canyon Trust, have created public awareness and progressive measures to allow the Brady cacti to reproduce successfully. Now in Marble Canyon, specific areas of Brady cacti habitat contain several signs that explain to the public what type of cacti are growing and to be mindful where they step. These signs as well as the boundary lines, created by Grand Canyon Trust, allow visitors to park and drive is specific areas away from the habitat. The visible explanations have been a positive consequence for the habitat. All water tanks have been moved away too. A recent study, by Lee E. Hughes, has confirmed a positive growth of Brady cacti after these initiatives. Pediocactus bradyi 3

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Cactus and Succulent Society of Southern Nevada

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