The quest for Texan Lophophora williamsii

For a while I’ve been searching for L. williamsii seeds and plants originating from Trans-Pecos, Texas. It’s been quite hard to find any – probably because of the legal status of Lophophora williamsii in the USA. Earlier this year I finally found a retailer selling plants originating from material collected in the Pecos River area, Val Verde County, Texas (JJH 8608293), and promptly ordered a handful of plants.



Lophophora williamsii, Pecos River, Val Verde Co.

The plants have been grown very hard and are of a high quality with good, sturdy roots; the width of the plants are in the range from 1.5 to 2.25 cm (0.6-0.9''). They were reasonably priced at 4 euro (~ 5 USD) each.

I recently received a second batch that I planned to grow in an unheated cold house, but I now have second thoughts and will probably postpone the cold house experiment until I’m able to propagate the plants from seed.

The plants were bought at Kakteen Kliem, a German retailer with a good selection of plants with locality information (I also bought some of his Lophophora fricii, Parras, Coahuila, Mexico (JJH 9602115) and Astrophytum asterias, Rio Grande City, Texas (PQ 91)). I would be glad to hear of any other sources of Trans-Pecos Lophophora with detailed locality information.

Lophophora williamsii – autumn flowers

Having passed the autumnal equinox I hadn’t expected any more flowers from my lophs – nevertheless two of them decided to bloom this week, one for the first time.


Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) flower

My grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) has been flowering abundantly all summer. Several fruits have already ripened and more are budding; still the plant took the opportunity to squeeze in yet another flower before going dormant. The flowers of this plant are quite large, approximately 2.75cm (~1.1'') in diameter.


Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa flower

The Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa graft has been growing profusely but never felt like flowering before now. The flowers are small, less than 2cm (~0.8'') in diameter, compared to those of L. williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx), and the midstripes are a slightly darker shade of pink.


Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa

The scion used for this graft was taken from the plant shown in the blog profile. Unfortunately this plant later caught rot and died.

The New Cactus Lexicon: A Review

The New Cactus Lexicon
David Hunt, Nigel Taylor, Graham Charles
dh books, 2006
ISBN 0 9538134 4 4


After a lengthy gestation period, the New Cactus Lexicon was published this summer. For ease of handling it’s divided into two volumes – the text volume is a concise alphabetical catalogue of cactus genera, species and subspecies accepted or proposed in the current standard literature on cacti, while the atlas volume contains more than 2500 illustrations covering nearly all of the species and subspecies recognized in the text, sometimes with two or more images.

Atlas volume
With its 526 pages of illustrations this volume is a stunning visual masterpiece, and the most comprehensive pictorial record of cacti ever published (the slightly blurred quality of the examples is entirely due to my reproduction).

The aim of the atlas volume is to illustrate all of the recognized species, with an emphasis on using photographs of plants in habitat at a specified locality or in cultivation from a known source, whenever possible.

The entries in the atlas are not grouped alphabetically but rather ‘like with like’, making it easier for the user to compare related species or identify unnamed plants.

Text volume
The text volume comprises 373 pages and is a no-frills dictionary of the currently recognized genera, species and subspecies of cacti. It does not include any chapters of general information about the family, its history, morphology, ethnobotany, cultivation and so on – so don’t expect an encyclopedic work like Anderson’s The Cactus Family or Benson’s Cacti of the United States and Canada.

David Hunt is a known lumper and some of the main genera changes (Parodia now includes the former Notocactus, Echinopsis including Lobivia and Trichocereus etc.) have already been the cause of much debate (maybe that’s the reason for Hunt quoting Bill Bryson for having said “Taxonomy is sometimes described as a science and sometimes as an art, but really it’s a battleground” ;-).

Still, there has been room for some splitting , e.g. the division of Opuntia has added 12 genera, Lophophora fricii is now recognized as a valid species, Acharagma is not submerged in Escobaria, etc.

Whether you agree with Hunt’s classification or not, the New Cactus Lexicon is an excellent reference and certainly will become the reference book for years to come. As already mentioned the atlas volume is in a league of its own with excellent illustrations of the majority of the recognized cacti species and subspecies.

You can find more information on the New Cactus Lexicon in this post.

The book can be acquired directly from dh books or from specialized bookstores like Rainbow Gardens Bookshop or Keith’s Plant Books.

Flowering Lophophora williamsii – III

My Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) graft has gone on a flowering spree and is currently flashing its 7th and 8th flower this season.


Flowering Lophophora williamsii

Like other species of Lophophora, L. williamsii has sensitive stamens, closing around the style when touched.


L. williamsii stamens closing around the style

In this flower the anthers are actually brushing the stigmas when the stamens react to a touch, i.e. the thigmotropic reaction will assist the flower to self-pollinate. I have to test if this is sufficient to pollinate the flower (in a previous post I also wondered if it was necessary to manually self-pollinate the Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) flowers or if they could cope without any help ;-)

For comparison you can check a photo of thigmotropic behavior in Lophopohora jourdaniana. In this case the stamens fold in below the stigmas, apparently not touching them.

The fruits (or berries, pods, whatever;-) from the plants first two flowers this season have just appeared.


Lophophora williamsii fruits

I’m looking forward to see how many of the flowers will actually result in a fruit.

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Flowering Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana

According to Habermann’s description Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana differs from other L. williamsii varieties by having rose-violet perianth, pistil and filaments as well as having small persistent spines on young areoles.


Flowering Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana

One of my Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana plants flowered today, beautifully illustrating the description (even some spines can be seen faintly in the photos ;-)


Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana flower

Like L. williamsii v. williamsii the jourdaniana variety has thigmotropic stamens, i.e. stamens that when touched fold in around pollinating insects or the style. I wonder if this mechanism is used for actively depositing pollen on pollinators or for avoiding self-pollination (or both)?


L. williamsii v. jourdaniana – thigmotropic stamens

The flowering of this plant coincided with the flowering of my grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx). I decided not to outcross the plants but instead self-pollinate both of them; first of all to keep my SB 854’s “clean”, but also because I want to test the alleged self-incompatibility of the jourdaniana variety.

This Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana plant also flowered last year – it was then outcrossed with pollen from a regular L. williamsii and yielded 2 seeds.

Flowering Lophophora williamsii – II

As mentioned in an earlier post flowering was late this year. My grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) is now making up for this by showing off its sixth flower this season.


Flowering Lophophora williamsii – 6th flower this season

The three previous flowers unfolded while I was away on vacation – the remains of all the spent flowers are visible beneath the current one.

This flowering coincided with the flowering of a Lophophora williamsii v. jourdaniana. I decided not to outcross the plants but instead self-pollinate both of them; first of all to keep my SB 854’s “clean”, secondly I want to test the alleged self-incompatibility of the jourdaniana variety.

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Flowering Lophophora williamsii

Flowering has been late this year but finally my grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) decided to come back with a vengeance by setting two flowers simultaneously.


Lophophora williamsii with two flowers

The scar visible in the upper left-hand corner of the photo formed after the epidermis ripped, caused by too vigorous growth.

The flowers are funnelform, pinkish white with a light pink midstripe.


Funnelform flowers reaching for the sun

I self-pollinated the flowers but am wondering if it’s necessary – the anthers are virtually brushing the stigmas, depositing pollen without any help.


Anthers brushing stigmas

Last growing season I also posted on this plants flowering and fruit setting (use the previous and next links to navigate the posts).

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Straying Lophophora williamsii flower

The July issue of Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten features an article on weird growth forms in Lophophora and Ariocarpus.

Contrary to common Lophophora behaviour with flowers emerging from the young areoles at the top of the plant, the article shows a specimen flowering from an old areole close to the root neck.



The only information available on the Lophophora specimen is that it was acquired 10 years ago as a L. williamsii var. caespitosa. The plant itself doesn’t seem to tiller, but apparently the areoles are vigorously vital ;-)



References
Uwe Schriefer (2006), "Sonderbare Auswüchse bei Lophophora und Ariocarpus", Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten 57 (7), 191–192

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft

Two years ago I grafted a 2 cm (~0.8'') wide Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa cutting on a Trichocereus bridgesii stock. The main head has now grown to a width of 5.5 cm (~2.2'') and the total width of the scion exceeds 10.5 cm (~4.1'') – unfortunately the plant hasn’t flowered yet.


Grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa

I’ve given up keeping count of the number of offshoots; the plant is virtually exploding with growth.

Trichocereus bridgesii is an exemplary stock plant; it’s long-lived, fast growing, not offsetting and almost spineless.

Last year I also posted a picture of the – then much smaller – Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft. A photo of the flowering plant can be found in this post.

Lophophora and Epithelantha - experiments in cold hardiness

According to common belief, species from Lophophora, Epithelantha, Ariocarpus etc, do not like subfreezing temperatures. This is not entirely true - many varieties will survive temperatures dropping well below freezing. The last couple of years I've experimented with growing Lophophora, Epithelantha, and Acharagma in an unheated greenhouse, and this winter the plants had to endure temperatures below -10C (14F) for extended periods. I'm planning on growing Ariocarpus as well if I can find seeds originating from the Trans-Pecos area.

Lophophora

Lophophora williamsii – started from seed 2004

The picture above shows Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Texas) plants sown May 1, 2004. After 2 years in the coldhouse the plants are thriving - more plants have been disfigured and killed by bush-crickets and other critters than by the cold. The remaining 5 plants are each 1.5 cm (~ 0.6'') wide.


Lophophora williamsii – started from seed 2005

Last years batch of Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Texas) seedlings are also doing well. The 5 plants have obtained a diameter of 1 cm (~ 0.4'').

The more southern living Lophophora diffusa is not handling the cold as well - none of the plants started from seed in 2004 are left, and only 2 plants from the 2005 crop are still surviving. The L. diffusa seeds originated from plants from Higuerillas, Queretaro. The 11 Lophophora decipiens seedlings from last year are doing slightly better, but as the L. diffusa seedlings they have only grown to a width of 0.5 cm (~0.2'').

Epithelantha

Left: E. micromeris v. greggii (Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila)
Right: E. micromeris (SB 1327, near Belen, New Mexico)

I'm growing Epithelantha micromeris v. greggii (Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila) and Epithelantha micromeris (SB 1327, near Belen, New Mexico). The New Mexico variety is a slow grower – the 12 plants are less than 1 cm (~ 0.4'') wide – but it is handling the cold very well. The Coahuila variety is growing faster but is more susceptible to frost damage – the 11 plants are each 1.5 cm (~ 0.6'') wide. All plants were sown May 1, 2004.

Acharagma
The Acharagma aguirreana (RSM 396; Sierra Paila, Coahuila) and Acharagma roseana (LX 578; Ramon Arizpe, Coahuila) seedlings from last year are still fairly small – less than 0.5 cm (~0.2'') in width. A. roseana seems to be better at tolerating frost than A. aguirreana; I sowed 30 seeds of each species, and 20some seedlings of each germinated. Today more than 20 A. roseana are surviving while only 3 A. aguirreana are left.