BCSS Southampton & District Branch - October 2007 Newsletter Branch Secretary Newsletter EditorPage 1 British Cactus & Succulent Society Margaret Corina Vinay Shah 79 Shirley Avenue 29 Heathlands Road Shirley Eastleigh Southampton & District Branch Southampton Hampshire Newsletter Hampshire SO53 1GU SO15 5NH (023) 80261989 October 2007 (023) 80779057 [email protected] Editorial ......................................................... 1 Last Month’s Meeting Announcements.............................................. 1 Plants of Interest Last Month’s Meeting.................................... 1 Plants of Interest...................................................1 Ivor mentioned that he had brought along some The Plants of Rio Grande do Sul...........................1 Astrophytum seeds to give to members. These were Table Show Results ..............................................5 remnants of society seed left from the annual seed Branch Committee Meeting .......................... 5 distribution. The seeds were labelled Astrophytum Snippets.......................................................... 6 “Serendipity” since it was a mix of different species. Plant Higher .........................................................6 Next Month’s Meeting ................................... 6 He had also brought along a copy of the American Forthcoming Events....................................... 6 Journal which discussed a method of growing seed by using builders sand soaked in water for three days Editorial and then sprinkling the seeds on top. Ivor had tried a similar technique himself in August, and everything Autumn is arriving and trees have started to drop had good germination (despite the seeds being their leaves. The evenings have begun to draw in and between 2-4 years old), apart from an Echinocereus. the weather is turning colder so it will soon be time He had brought the seedlings along, and the pots to turn on the heating (if you haven’t done so were labelled Epithelantha, Gymnocalycium already!) mihanovichii, Melocactus matanzanus Echinocereus procumbens (no germination), Euphorbia obesa, I’ve had a rather hectic month, culminating with a Astrophytum ‘Serendipity’, Astrophytum ornatum, business trip to the United States, so have spent little and Gymnocalycium taningaense time looking at the plants recently. A few Conophytums, Lithops, and Glottiphyllums were in Peter Down had also brought along a collection of flower in the middle of the month, and I also had a around a dozen plants for Plants of Interest. These surprise when a hoya cutting acquired some years were a mixture of different genera, but all with white ago finally flowered for the first time – the flowers spines or white leaves. Some were normally white were dark red/purple in colour. I did not have time to whereas others were white-spined forms. The plants take a photograph, but hopefully it will flower again featured were Neoporteria multicolor, Gymnocactus next year. subterraneus var. zaragosae, Astrophytum cv. “Super Kabuto”, Rebutia heliosa, Parodia nivosa, Announcements Haworthia bolusii, Echinocereus longisetus ssp. High Wycombe branch will be holding their delaetii, Notocactus leninghausii (white form), biennial convention on 13th October at Great Notocactus scopa nivosa, Copiapoa krainziana, Kingshill Village Hall (Buckinghamshire). Tickets Mammillaria senilis, Sulcorebutia tarabucoensis ssp. are £12 and include refreshments and lunch. The hertusii, Espostoa melanostele, Espostoa lanata speakers are Nico Uitenbroek (Gringo’s Hobby & (cristate), and Cephalocereus senilis. Gringo’s Drean) and Wim Alsemgeest (Agaves), and there will also be plant/book/sundries sales. The Plants of Rio Grande do Sul Birmingham Branch will be holding their annual Paul Klaassen introduced Marlon Machado, who had show at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, flown in from Zurich (where he is studying for a Edgbaston, on Sunday October 7th. PhD). Marlon had arrived on Sunday and had spent most of Monday and Tuesday morning putting together his talk on a trip to Rio Grande do Sul. Marlon is studying the Notocactus ottonis complex which grows in and around Rio Grande do Sul, and BCSS Southampton & District Branch - October 2007 Newsletter Page 2 also in this area are several species of Frailea. (Some yellow-flowered senecio. There was also an of you may have read Marlon’s article which was asclepiad with typical 5-sided florets. published in the BCSS Journal earlier this year.) Marlon was using Paul’s digital projector to show us Few of these plants were truly succulent, although the pictures, and I learned during the break that the most have some form of subterranean storage. talk consisted of 1022 pictures! Oxypetallum caeruleum had striking sky blue flowers. They also found a few non-succulent Marlon confirmed that he was studying plants in the euphorbias. We saw a tradescantia, and a bromeliad Notocactus section of Parodia. Although he was with nice flowers. Dyckia delicata is a newly particularly interested in the Ottonis group, he described species, and there were several other founds lots of other plants in the area. Rio Grande do dyckias which he could not identify. Dyckia horrida Sul is the southernmost state of Brazil and borders was growing in the cliffs along with Cereus Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and the capital is hildmannianus. There were several epiphytes, such Porto Alegre. Marlon illustrated the regions he as Tillandsias, including the ever common Tillandsia visited with a topographical map of the area, with usneoides which consists of twirling strands of different colours - brown for 1000m, yellow for hanging leaves, and which goes under the common 500m and green for 200m - showing us the height of name of Spanish Moss. A succulent plant with a the land. Serra Gaúcha is a mountainous area with tuber the size of a small football was a Sinningia. He very big caverns. The umbrella tree Araucaria found what he thought was a non-succulent angustifolia is a characteristic of this region. The Dorstenia, although he did not dig around it to see if first cactus he mentioned was Parodia linkii. On the it did have a tuber. We saw a Passiflora (passion top of the hills were rocky outcrops, while along the flower) and several species of petunia with different rivers there were dense forests. In some places the coloured flowers including white and magenta. rock outcrops were prominent, for example near the There was a pretty member of the Iris family with town of Caçapava do Sul. It was amongst these rock markings on the stem, and a species of Convolvulus outcrops that cacti could be found. formed carpets of flowers in the ground. We also saw an Oxalis, some Verbenas and a Portulaca with Another interesting region is the South Western part red/pink flowers. Marlon mentioned there were also which is relatively low in altitude and called the members of the orchidaceae growing here, and we Pampas. This is flat grassland and the bedrock is saw an Oncidium with yellow brown flowers, close to the surface, hence rocks are easy to find; we another terrestrial orchid and a epiphytic Sophronitis saw photos of stone walls which were the boundaries with a red flower. There were also species of Lupin between properties. The main activity here is the (we saw one with blue flowers), and Mimosa with raising of cattle and we saw a gaucho (a cowboy) pink flowers. with some dogs. Most of the time, it is quite green here. The roads are quite good although sometimes Next we saw several birds, some of which were very they had to go off track. We saw a picture of a bridge well camouflaged. The Rhea is the largest bird in which didn’t look safe and another river crossing South America and can grow a metre tall. We also where once there had been a bridge but it was no saw its nest, containing several eggs. After longer there! Next, Marlon showed a green field and displaying a picture of a hare, Marlon said they asked the audience if we could see the path they found many different lizards, the largest being about took. The answer from the audience was a universal a metre long from nose to tail. There were also some “no”, so he put up another copy of the picture, this signs of dead animals and we saw the skull of an time with the path traced out, zig-zagging right animal, possibly a sheep. After snakes, we proceeded through the middle of the field. to some close-ups of large and hairy spiders. “I hope you squashed them all!” said David. We moved on to The next pictures featured some members of the insects and saw beetles, butterflies and a moth. A party - Chris Pugh and Graham Charles, some of his caterpillar was eating a cactus flower bud, and a Brazilian friends and also his tutor from Zurich. We grasshopper was covered in grey and white markings saw more rock outcrops and a waterfall. Here they which mimicked the nearby rocks almost exactly. found Cereus hildmannianus and Parodia sellowii. Cacti tend to be pollinated by bees, and showing a We also saw a curious natural stone bridge which is wasp’s nest, Marlon said these were the most a famous local landmark. Near Manoel Viana, they dangerous animals out there. found Gymnocalycium horstii var. buenekeri, Parodia fusca and Frailea castanea. There was a Having dealt with other plants and animals, Marlon close-up of a butterfly, and we saw fields of a moved on the cacti and members of the Rhipsalis family. Lepismium was represented by 4 species. L. BCSS Southampton & District Branch - October 2007 Newsletter Page 3 cruciforme was reddish (due to exposure to the sun) They found Frailea albicolumnaris plants which and was growing in a rock wall. We also saw L. were 4 to 5 cm tall and 3 cm in diameter. Another houlletianum and L. warmingianum. Most interesting species which is quite common in the eastern part is is Lepismium lumbricoides which looks like a Frailea gracillima - unlike F. pygmaea, it is rhipsalis – the stems hugged the trunks of the trees columnar and can grow quite tall. It is also very and the flowers larger than the other species.