FRUIT of WEINGARTIA and SULCOREBUTIA by K.Augustin and G.Tyrasseck
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WWW VOLUME 13 NUMBER 45 Pfeiffer-Abild. Besch. Cact, 2.1847 P LA TE 2$ Britton & Rose The Cactaccac Vol.3 Fig.lOO In Quebrada Totoral Photo * R Ferryman COPIAPOA ECHINOIDES Lemaire - « K IIN 3 9 « « 128 COPIAPOA ECHINOIDES From R. Ferryman On my two previous visits to Chile I had concentrated on the north, from Arica to Copiapo, in the company of the Chilean botanist Adriana Hoffmann. Travelling north via the Panamerican highway from Santiago there appear from time to time signposts directing one to areas all too familiar to Chilean cactus enthusiasts, their very names being synonymous with cactus. None more so perhaps than Carrizal Bajo. Time had not permitted us the opportunity on those previous visits to venture to this cactus haven for it is some hours drive from the Panamerican highway despite its relative close proximity — about 60km. In 1985 we would put this right and together with Adriana Hoffmann we worked out a schedule. For the first part of the trip we wanted to study the valley and mountains around Salamanca, heading north to Ovalle, turning again towards the mountains along the Rio Molles. For the second stage we sought help at La Serena amongst the few botanists known to Adriana who work around there. Our aim was to travel from La Serena along the coast via Huasco to Carrizal Bajo and ultimately to Morro Copiapo. We were told that it would be possible provided we were not faint hearted, the vehicle robust enough, etc., etc. Upon reflection nobody seemed keen to join us and the prevailing attitude was “why don’t you give it a try?” Well we were not faint hearted and our trusty steed a four wheel Land Rover had justified the utmost faith I placed upon it during some previous hazardous trips, so we set off in good heart. Leaving the Panamerican highway as it turns inland just north of La Serena we travelled along the coast via Cruze Grande, Choros Bajos, Carrizalillo and on to Sarco. The journey thus far had gone without serious incident but we were already in need of petrol; the distance from our last filling station at La Serena had failed to take into account the wanderings we had taken along various tracks in order to continue north and the amount of time we spent in four wheel drive. Sarco is a small fishing village and we were fortunate to be able to persuade some of the local fishermen to part with their stocks of petrol, delivered to the Land Rover in one litre Coca-Cola bottles. They warned us not to attempt the journey north along the coast but we decided to give it a look, as Huasco was only 45km to the north. The warnings were well founded; the soft shifting sand that covers much of the Quebrada San Juan was impossible to travel through and there were no tracks to follow for, as the locals warned us, nobody had been this way before. We had no alternative but to head back to the Panamerican highway at Domeyko and on to Vallenar. At Vallenar the town was decked out with notices of a jeep rally the forthcoming weekend starting at Huasco and going on to Morro Copiapo, the same route that we intended to take. Surely then our chances of success were high. We sought more information; yes, a track existed and we could use it. In order not to get caught up in the rally we left early the following morning some two full days before the rally was due to commence. Following the Huasco valley from Vallenar to Huasco the road is good standard as it is quite an important route. It is also the area for several well-known species such as Neoporteria vallenarensis, N. villosa; from the subgenera Neochilenia N. atroviridis, crispus, huascensis, duripulpa, lembckei and napina; and among the Copiapoa vallenarensis, fiedleriana, and alticostata. Whilst in my opinion not all these names indicate true distinct species it does nevertheless show how the area has been botanised. The valley bottom is very fertile being irrigated from the river throughout its length whereas the cactus are to be found higher in the surrounding hills. Upon reaching the coast at Huasco one bears north across a flat sandy plain. It is this area that is used by hundreds of Chileans at vacation time and represents a magnificent beach. We allowed ourselves a brief siesta during what was now the hottest part of the day. Continuing our journey north we passed the spot where we got stuck during a previous visit in a more conventional vehicle. We had been told that Friedrich Ritter had attempted this coast route some years previously and he too had to turn back. And it was only a year or two since Fred Katterman was not able to get beyond this spot. The track never really climbed but the small upgradients consisting mainly of sand were the downfall of the Dodge camper we had used previously. The road hugged the shoreline wandering no more than 100 metres from the seashore. Having made camp for the night we searched a small sandy area and were surprised to find a Thelocephala species. Surprised because the sand was very loose and deep. Upon removing a plant it was clear that it had adapted to this over a period of time for the large tuberous root bore very etiolated heads that had continued to grow through the sand each time the wind had banked more sand upon it. In a number of cases these heads extended beyond 15cm. More typical representatives of this plant were to be found further away from the beach where the ground became firmed and thus the plant more compact. I gave this plant my reference number RMF 277 and it reminds me very much of the plant that is cultivated under the name ‘reichei’ i.e. long and straggly stems. At this stage I should say that the plant generally cultivated under this name is a rogue plant and bears little resemblance to the original description of E. reichei. Isolated specimens of Copiapoa echinus started to appear. These sightings became more numerous as we travelled although the plant never appeared to be a dominant species largely on account of its small size. When we first met with these plants, we found some growing in a sandy grit that was so loose that there was no difficulty in scooping it out by hand. In this way we followed the roots down for up to half a metre. Copiapoa in general are very adaptable plants inhabiting a range of micro habitats — flat ground, rocky ground, or between rock crevices. This species was no different for although there appeared at first more by ratio in the flat grey sandy areas than in the rocks later (perhaps due to more competition on the flatter ground) the numbers seemed fairly well divided between sand and rocks. Shortly we were to encounter one of nature’s marvels, Copiapoa carrizalensis, without doubt one of the most impressive if not the most impressive plant I have ever seen. We were travelling at a modest speed, influenced as much by the terrain as by our intention to study the area as best we could, when this plant crept up on us! One is quite used to seeing outlying specimens before the population proper appears but here this remarkable plant dominated the landscape almost from its first appearance. Absolutely thousands of individual clumps could be seen erupting from every possible nook and cranny, clumps or more correctly mounds which grew to over two metres across and over a metre high possessing well over one hundred heads. The sheer magnificence that lay before me inspired me to run off three full reels of film (some 108 shots). Some of these plants had a dirty green epidermis, others were a silvery grey; sometimes the clumps were all of one colour, sometimes the other, whilst elsewhere both sorts grew alongside each other. There was nothing obvious which determined the colour of the epidermis — it seemed to depend upon neither the rockiness nor the sandiness of the ground, nor the 129 steepness of the slope, nor the shade or absence from Eulychnias. Many of these Copiapoa were in flower, but as usual the ants seemed to have rifled the fruit for the seeds. As indicated above, Copiapoa tend to inhabit quite a range of micro habitats, but here the plants were restricted to rock crevices and sloping ground. The slope only needed to be modest for the plants to appear but they were at their best as one climbed higher to reach the top of this small range of hills, little more than one hundred metres high. Dwarf woody bushes, shrubs and herbs, Copiapoa echinus and C. dura, as well as tall Eulychnia breviflora, accompanied Copiapoa carrizalensis, but all rarely so close together that one could not easily walk amongst and between them. Over the hill top, where the ground fell away somewhat, nothing grows. Is this where the coastal mists cease to provide any moisture? Unlike their relatives from further north (cinerea, haseltoniana, longistaminea) they did not grow close to the shoreline where herbs and shrubs of Frankiana, Euphorbia, and Calandrina took over from C. carrizalensis and dominated the shoreline vegetation. As we travelled along the coast this pattern of vegetation was not continuous, but disappeared then re-appeared for no obvious reason. Amongst this mass of veritable giants our aim was to search for Ritter’s Neoporteria laniceps. It had long been my belief that this “species” could not be separated from the older well known species from Huasco, Neoporteria villosa.