Cactus Blog 

Sometimes we have a bit of science on this blog, sometimes even some Science! but today we have the physics of cactus, from Physics Today or some such journal.

(Left) Mammillaria elongata, or golden star cactus, displays a helical morphology. (Right) A magnetic cactus of dipole magnets on stacked bearings assumes phyllotactic spirals, similar to the biological cactus. With the magnetic cactus, physicists have investigated the dynamics of phyllotaxis. Image credit: Cristiano Nisoli, Nathaniel M. Gabor, Paul E. Lammert, J.D. Maynard, and Vincent H. Crespi. ©2009 APS.

And here’s the science bit:

In a recent study, researchers have experimentally demonstrated for the first time a celebrated model of “phyllotaxis,” the study of mathematical regularities in plants. In 1991, S.L. Levitov proposed a model of phyllotaxis suggesting that the appearance of the Fibonacci sequence and golden mean in the pattern of spines on a cactus can be replicated for cylindrically constrained, repulsive objects. Now, researchers have constructed a “magnetic cactus” with 50 outward-pointing magnets acting as spines, which are mounted on bearings and free to rotate on a vertical axis acting as the plant stem. With this setup, the researchers, from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico; Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; and The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), have verified Levitov’s model, and their study has been published in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.

There’s more too, if you click through. Maybe I should have borrowed a smaller quote, but it’s early and I feel like giong to get another cup of coffee instead of excerpting all morning long. Interesting concept, though.

The 3rd in our series of Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid flowers, because it’s the season for them after all.

A successful Euphorbia repot last night in a San Francisco condo. Wine was involved.

More for Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid flower season week here at the Cactus Blog.

A Lower Murray Darling Catchment Authority forum has heard that… the biggest issues facing the region are cactus and goats.

Two! Two! Two whippets on vacation at Workshare!

Matt sends along these photos from Portland, OR.

Should we try to identify them?

That looks like an Echinopsis to me, possibly even formerly a Lobivia. A very dense red color.

And this is a Mammillaria. So many flowers still to come.

I’m too lazy to ID the species, maybe you’d like to give it a try.

First the setup:

About 90 Krueger Middle School students got an early jump on the activities at this week’s BioBlitz at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

The event, sponsored by National Geographic, is bringing in thousands of scientists and other volunteers to catalog as many plants and animals as possible….

Now the quote of the day:

“We even have cactus in the dunes,” Jaden Lance noted.

I like that. “We even have cactus in the dunes” would be a good title for my next book. (OK, my first book, but you get the idea.) Now how about a coda:

A seventh grader found a ladybug crawling along a blade of grass and showed it to a few classmates.

Science!

From the Irma García Blanco exhibit at the nursery, a couple of pots we’ve planted up.

Lizards!

Musical chickens!

The Echinocereus grandiflora hybrids are in bloom, and they are very colorful, indeed.

Jerry sends along this photo of a Cactus Jungle brand R. narvaecense in full bloom.

And a closeup… (more…)

It’s a cactus! cheeseboard from Alessi.

I don’t know what makes it a cactus themed cheeseboard, but I trust Alessi on this one.

Yesterday I published a photo of a Sarcocaulon crassicaule in bloom.

Today I “borrow” a botanical drawing.

via Aluka

From the Decorator Showcase we get this view of succulents and art, together again.

A mix of sculpture and low level plants on the roof. (Eric Luse / The Chronicle)

Momix.

Ah, yes, now I see.

Sarcocaulon crassicaule

A spiny caudiciform in the geranium family (GERANIACEAE) with shockingly ivory flowers.

…the student-run nursery offers water-smart succulents, propagated by the kids themselves…

Shall I explain? Shall I tell you it is in Santa Rosa and the sale was last week? Shall I go further and provide a photo?

NO! I shall not.

But I will tell you how smart those kids are, propagating water-smart succulents.

A possible cause of Colony Collapse Disorder has been identified, and it’s Bayer.

From Salon, I’ve quoted the damning parts, but there is more than just this, so read the whole thing.

Beekeepers have singled out imidacloprid and its chemical cousin clothianidin, also produced by Bayer CropScience, as a cause of bee die-offs around the world for over a decade…. due to a disclosure in December 2007 by Bayer CropScience itself. Bayer scientists found imidacloprid in the nectar and pollen of flowering trees and shrubs at concentrations high enough to kill a honeybee in minutes….

Imidacloprid and clothianidin are chloronicotinoids, a synthetic compound that combines nicotine, a powerful toxin, with chlorine to attack an insect’s nervous system. The chemical is applied to the seed of a plant, added to soil, or sprayed on a crop and spreads to every corner of the plant’s tissue, killing the pests that feed on it….

Today the EPA’s own literature calls it “very highly toxic” to honeybees and other beneficial insects….

So is this what you’ve been using? It’s in Bayer Tree and Shrub products. Interestingly, they have a major research facility here in Berkeley just a few blocks from our home. What giant chemical company implicated in the die-off of bees do you have near your home?

…One more day in the 80s, but no, it’s freezing. A traditional Bay Area summer morning. Brrr.

Here, have a picture of two giant epi’s from our recent trip to Alaska.

They’re at Bell’s Nursery up on Dearmoun.

For a cactus only 1 inch across.

Rebutia narvaecense

Shoes! in Medford! (OR).

A Garden Chicks specialty is women’s shoes done up as planters, the more stylish the better. (Janice) Bettenburg shows visitors red, green, gold and purple high-heeled pumps planted with succulents such as hens and chickens and sedum. She’s done the same with cowboy boots and women’s purses.

Hap and I just got back from a short trip to Alaska where we stayed at a friend’s bed and breakfast, City Garden B+B, and they had some quite large and full pachypodiums in our room, plus lots of blooming orchids everywhere. We contributed a small Rebutia narvaecense in full bloom.

And in case you were wondering, we could not see Russia from our room, yes I have been to Wasilla, and the volcano was being monitored all the while, you betcha.

Parodia crassigibba

Is that a stigma on a pistil I see? It’s very red, indeed. And what about those anthers on the stamen? So covered in pollen you could just sneeze. The bees are aflame with passion.

I have no idea what I’m talking about. These people seem to know their peduncles from their sepals.

Amica

Parodia crassigibba

Do you want to know what the inside of the flower looks like? The stamens and the pistils? The stigmas and anthers? Stay tuned tomorrow, same cactus channel, same cactus time. You won’t be disappointed.

It’s not all just piracy on the high seas, there’s also some stunning succulents in Somalia.

Pseudolithos harardheranus from Harardhere, which has emerged as the piracy capital of the world.

More interesting pictures accompany the article, too.

PLANT SALE

“Fun in the Garden” Plant sale will be held Saturday, May 16, 9 a.m. to noon, by the Garden Club of Buzzards Bay at St. Mary’s Church Parish Center, 783 Dartmouth St., South Dartmouth, MA 02748. Free admission and parking. Community projects benefit from the proceeds. Club grown… succulents and geraniums will be for sale…

It’s certainly been awhile since I’ve been to a Buzzards Bay plant sale.

Lupinus arboreus

A northern Cal. native, so you know it’s good. This lovely plant will help renew depleted soils, and will survive in coastal sandy areas too. That’s a winning combo. Oh, and also the flowers, oh the flowers.