Hey Peterb!
Thanks to your efforts, the Echinomastus section of the guide has really filled out. I see that no pics of Echinomastus gautii have yet been added. Is this one especially rare in your experience? Have you thought of growing it?
Daiv
Echinomastus - 1 remains!
Echinomastus - 1 remains!
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
I'm not convinced Echinomastus gautii exists. 
It's wrapped in obscurity. The supposed type location is Sour Lake in Hardin County, Texas, between Houston TX and Lake Charles Louisiana. I'd have a hard time coming up with a more unlikely spot for an Echinomastus. I'm not sure a population was ever found. The description is based, I believe, on a single plant. Zimmerman and others think it was an etiolated form of a turbinicarpus from cultivation. I've never found the paper by Mosco and Zanovello from 1997 supposedly confirming its existence or confirming its identity.
In all my searching around I've only ever been able to find one image, from the French grower "Gargamel."
http://www.gargamel-cactus.com/photos/a ... tus_gautii
Is that really it? Who knows. The plant he pictures on his website doesn't really look like an Echinomastus to me. This could be because it has been grown in lower light than it would in the wild. But it does look a bit like Turbinicarpus beguinii, the plant Zimmerman said "E. gautii" was. (Also, Gargamel's plant doesn't match the description in Anderson, by a long shot).
Anyway, I'd love to get my hands on more info about this mysterious plant.
peterb
It's wrapped in obscurity. The supposed type location is Sour Lake in Hardin County, Texas, between Houston TX and Lake Charles Louisiana. I'd have a hard time coming up with a more unlikely spot for an Echinomastus. I'm not sure a population was ever found. The description is based, I believe, on a single plant. Zimmerman and others think it was an etiolated form of a turbinicarpus from cultivation. I've never found the paper by Mosco and Zanovello from 1997 supposedly confirming its existence or confirming its identity. In all my searching around I've only ever been able to find one image, from the French grower "Gargamel."
http://www.gargamel-cactus.com/photos/a ... tus_gautii
Is that really it? Who knows. The plant he pictures on his website doesn't really look like an Echinomastus to me. This could be because it has been grown in lower light than it would in the wild. But it does look a bit like Turbinicarpus beguinii, the plant Zimmerman said "E. gautii" was. (Also, Gargamel's plant doesn't match the description in Anderson, by a long shot).
Anyway, I'd love to get my hands on more info about this mysterious plant.
peterb
Zone 9