I had a chance to visit Devil's River State Natural Area and Amistad National Recreation Area in southwest Texas last month. After a wet winter, the previously parched area was green and blooming. I counted at least a dozen different species of cacti in the area, probably more if I could differentiate between Opuntia species better. The Devil's River is the clearest and cleanest river in Texas as there is very little access to it, this park being one of the few places you can get to it. It feeds into Lake Amistad about 40 miles downstream. This is one of the wildest and least visited parts of Texas and it was a real treat to get to see it, especially when it was looking so good from all the rains of the past few months. Here are just a few of the pictures I got.
Echinocereus enneacanthus in bud
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Ferocactus hamatacanthus
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Mammillaria heyderi
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Ocotillo in bud (Fouquieria splendens)
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Some of the biggest F. hamatacanthus I've ever seen. My keys are there for size comparison
Spectacular pics, looks like hamatacanthus sinuatus, at least some of them. Right place for them.
I wonder how those claret cups are related to all the others. It sure is a widespread and variable group with confusing morphology versus ploidy/flower details.
I thought that some of those might br F. sinuatus, but I'm still not sure how to distinguish them from variety hamatacanthus. I think sinuatus has more of a spiral pattern to the ribs/tubercules, doesn't it?
The coccineus group in Texas is comprised of rosea and paucipinus, I think, and I'm not sure where triglochidiatus fits in (can't find my Powell and Weedin book).
This is interesting to me, from the Flora of North America:
"Contrary to L. D. Benson’s (1982) map of Ferocactus hamatacanthus, all populations in southern Texas are var. sinuatus. The southern Texas populations form a geographically cohesive taxon superficially similar to Hamatocactus bicolor in their narrow ribs and overall green aspect unlike the coarse, strongly xerophytic F. hamatacanthus var. hamatacanthus farther west. Only the populations in the lower Pecos River region might be intermediates between vars. sinuatus and hamatacanthus."
Except this is definitely not the case: "The unusually large, southernmost plants at White Sands, New Mexico, shrink to the same size as northern plants when grown together in a common garden (D. Weniger 1970)." The White Sands plants are real giants, even in cultivation.
But the info is especially helpful if one reads it in conjunction with the info regarding Echinocereus coccineus in the FNA.
The new Intermountain Flora will recognize the western diploids as E. mojavensis. Individuals of E. triglochidiatus are distinguished from those of E. mojavensis "by fewer (2-8) sharply angular spines that lack papillae".
Dean
Last edited by A. Dean Stock on Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
daiv wrote:Truly fantastic photos. The Ferocactus pic with the keys look like Echinopsis don't they?
Good to hear the rains are back.
Daiv, The rains have fallen mainly east of Del Rio. Big Bend and most of the Trans-Pecos are still mired in the drought, now going on for almost two years. Big Bend has recorded only 1-2" since January 1 and is still in very bad shape.
Yes, those Feros do look like echinopsis. Quite a range of characteristics with that particular complex.
MJPapay wrote:Looks like an amazing place, and sounds like one too.
Definitely looks amazing.
But where I live nothing that sounds like devil sounds amazing.
Majcka, Americans are fond of naming spectacular natural areas after the devil. I once did a story for Texas Highways Magazine on just such places in Texas. A lot of them didn't live up to the billing, though.
