The Pregnant Onion is pregnant with a baby pregnant onion.

Ornithogalum caudatum

Happy 4th of July!

Now back to the barbeque.

Eriosyce esmereldana

That’s the greek meaning of the genus name, so I’ve been told.

Eriosyce esmereldana

This is a special plant, very sexy, with a very rot-prone taproot. From Chile, of course, as are all eriosyces.

I wonder what the rest of the plant looks like? It’s not very big. Check back tomorrow, and maybe we’ll take a look.

Parodia scopa

There are a bunch of subspecies of this little yellow-flowered plant. I don’t know which one this is, but we’ve also had some with white spines.

So for the past few days I’ve been mentioning how natural variation is a good thing, and we don’t need to give all variants their own cultivar names. But in this case there are more differences, so one would use the subspecies designation. If I knew which one this was, I would use the ssp. name. That’s just common sense, in a botanical sort of way.

Science!

Rebutia krainziana

These small cacti can get as big as 2 to 3 inches! Totally amazing, if you ask me. Usually the flowers are more red than this, but as we know from our discussions over the past few days, I’m a big fan of….

Natural Variation! Yay!

Also, the contrast in the dark stems with the white spine color is very striking even when it’s not in bloom. You do have to look beyond the brightly colored flowers when they’re open to see the small cactus lurking behind it, though.

Did I mention that the genus was named after a 19th century French cactus dealer by the name of Pierre Rebut? Well, since it’s rebutia season, I thought you should know. Oddly, it was grouped and named by a German botanist, Karl Moritz Schumann from Görlitz.

Science!

Rebutias are very popular because not only are the flowers brightly colored and quite large compared to the tiny plant, but there are a lot of them all spring and summer long (depending on the species.)

Here we have an attempt at a photographic study of the natural color variation of the flowers for the small cactus Echinopsis chamaecereus, also known as the peanut cactus. The stems also vary quite a bit, but that’s for another day.

I know a lot of cactus growers maintain stocks of named varieties of this plant and some call it other species entirely. But you know, I like this for its natural variation, and insist that it is all one plant.

On the other hand, the photographing of the shift from orange to red in these 3 photos was a tough order, so maybe you can’t even tell what I’m talking about. So on to the pictures!

Rebutia pygmaea

I love these tiny cacti with the big sherbert flowers that hold off until the late afternoon heat. Rebutias in general are very small plants, and this is the smallest of them. No more than an inch or so. But then they are a variable species, so over the years they have been given many names.

Dudleya cymosa

This is one of the more attractive dudleyas we’re growing. Fat green leaves with bright red edges, and these spectacular bloom displays – as much for the red color of the bloom stalks as for the pale yellow flowers.

Dudleyas were named for famed Stanford forester (and botanist) William Russell Dudley.

I wonder if I’ll ever get a plant named after me?

Tacitus bellus

This was once considered a Graptopetalum, but then someone who shall remain anonymous decided that the large flowers with lips around the carpels demanded its own genus. So now you know. I don’t know of any other species in this genus.

What is so different, besides the flowers, is the flatness of the rosette. Quite startling.

As is usual with crassulaceae, the aphids like the blooms.

2 very interesting common names, the first in english, the 2nd in zulu.

Albuca nelsonii

It is found “on coastal cliffs in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.”

It is an easy to grow perennial bulb that has spectacular bloom sprays right about this particular time of year, indeed. You can also make an infusion from the bulbs to ward off sorcery.

Echinopsis maximiliana sub. caespitosa

That’s quite a grand name for a low growing cactus.

South American and formerly in the genus Lobivia, until they all got moved to Echinopsis for reasons that remain unclear to this day.

Lobivia was a proud genus, home to many South American cacti with brightly colored flowers, all the better for South American bees to find them.

Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid

Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid

More blooms in our series of Echinocereus grandiflora hybrids

Echinopsis terscheckii

This is one of the larger cactuses to come around. Did I just type cactuses? I did! Maybe I should change that to cacti, although cactus is it’s own plural, too.

Lewisia longipetala is a native.

I wonder what Cal Flora says about it?

Communities: Subalpine Forest, Alpine Fell-fields

Lewisia longipetala, a dicot, is a perennial herb that is native to California and is endemic (limited) to California alone.

Observations by County: Click county name to view observations. [Number of observations in brackets].
El Dorado [7], Nevada [6], Placer [2].

OK, so then what does the USDA say?

Lewisia longipetala (Piper) S. Clay – Truckee lewisia

Symbol: LELO2
Group: Dicot
Family: Portulacaceae
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
Native Status: L48 N

Very interesting…

Of course, “Little Plum” is a hybrid, so who knows.

These blog posts where I farm out the tough work is pretty easy on me. I wonder what any of that info above really means. Well, let’s start with the word “Dicot.”

Dicot: Simply put, the first leaves of a flowering plant that come out of a seed are called cotyledons, and if there are 2 leaves the plant is called a dicot and if there is only one then it is a monocot.

Science!

Too many red cactus flowers, if you ask me, but then what am I supposed to do? Stop photographing them? I think not.

Echinopsis huascha – Red Torch Cactus

Well, I’m sick of it. Never again.

The  highly variable, reliably blooming, very popular Opuntia violacea.

I wonder what the Dep’t of Ag has to say about it.

Genus: Opuntia
Family: Cactaceae
Nomen number: 420186
Place of publication: W. H. Emory, Not. milit. reconn. 157, fig. 8. 1848
Comment: nom. provis.? Engelm.: “I must consider it as a distinct species to which I would give the name of O. violacea.” and “my descriptions … and the names given by me, must remain doubtful till we are able to obtain some more data …”

References:
* Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family. (Cact Fam) 506.
* Benson, L. 1982. The cacti of the United States and Canada. (Cact US Can).
* Hunt, D. 1999. CITES Cactaceae checklist, ed. 2. (CITES Cact L ed2)
* Irish, M. 2001. The ornamental prickly pear industry in the southwestern United States. Florida Entomol. 84:484. [accepts].

Arggh.

Echinopsis subdenudata

Another color than the white flowers I last posted for this species. Are they a variable species, or a cultivated variety? Or is that the same thing, after all?

The giant funnel blooms of Lobivias got moved into Echinopsis, along with pretty much everything else pretty from South America, in 1975 based on a treatment by Walter Rausch, however many growers are late to accept this change. Botanical arguments still rage about the size of the Echinopsis genus. Mats Hjertson believes Rebutia even should be added! Them’s fighting words!

Science!

Parodia ottonis

Yowza, that’s a vibrant yellow.

I recently posted a less vibrant yellow flower picture from this species. I also mentioned it used to be a notocactus. But I forgot to mention that Parodia was described and named in 1923 by Spegazzini. Also, while they are no longer in the notocactus genus (since the genus has been eliminated) it is still in the Tribe Notocacteae.

Science!

Mammillaria bocasana ssp. multilanata

This plant is a cactus. It has many spines, some of which look like hairs, some of which look like little hooks. It is globose, and slowly multi-stemmed.

It is in the family Cactaceae, Subfamily Cactoideae, Tribe Cacteae and the genus Mammillaria. The genus was named in 1812 by Adrian Haworth (of Haworthia fame) in 1812, making it an old and stable name. The name Mammillaria comes from the latin word for “nipple,” and is referring to the tubercles, not the round shape of the plant.

Science!

Echinocereus armatus

Echinopsis subdenudata

Echinopsis subdenudata

Maybe another picture tomorrow? Maybe. It is a very photogenic plant.

Leucadendron galpinii, also known as Conebush, but I like the common name in the title better, since those cones are so round.

Will grow shrubby to 6 to 8ft. tall. Primarily used in gardens for it’s twisting grey-green leaves, but those ivory cones with the little yellow flowers are astonishing and good for cut flowers too! You will be in its spell if you let yourself get absorbed.

“Pink Joey”

I have one word to say about this particular plant: “Fresh.”

Boy, that was disingenuous.

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

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