Wild canadian cacti

Share info and Pictures about gardens, parks, nurseries, and other locations with cacti.
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7george
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Wild canadian cacti

Post by 7george »

Want to show you my pictures of native canadian cacti in habitat, Southern Alberta, shots from last couple of years. There is about four species of cacti growing in wild in Canada and 3 of them could be found in this province.

1. Escobaria vivipara. Most interesting of all cacti here for me. It is growing over eroded places along rivers, also on grassy hills. Local plants are flat and not so spiny as in South populations.
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Blooming time is in June or July and every flower is open for just 2 or 3 days max. You would need a real luck to find those spots with plants with flowers.
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You can see two species growing pritty close here.

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If not in bloom these small plants is hard to spot in grassy areas.

Last year at one of the localities I was too early, cought the buds only...
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At the end I found a strange specimen with narrow reddish flower leafs.
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And some fruiting plants from last fall.
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This tuft deserved some waiting to see the flowers but I had no that time then.
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(to be continued)
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
Gary
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by Gary »

nice habitat plants thanks for sharing. I never knew you had native cacti in Canada...every days a school day :)
cheers
Gaz
Ron43
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by Ron43 »

Also Opuntia fragilis grow in the Okanagan Valley and some of the Gulf Islands in B.C. They grow quite thick in the Vernon, B.C. area.
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7george
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by 7george »

2. Opuntia fragilis
Even Opuntia fragilis is the most Northern growing cactus at all I usually spot it not so often in Alberta.

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Photos from Drumheller area.

But the most interesting find was on a lawn in some meters of the real wild habitat.
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Because of growing very low, crawling - it can stay the regular mowing there with no problems.
8)
Last edited by 7george on Sun Jul 03, 2016 6:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
A. Dean Stock
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by A. Dean Stock »

It is interesting the many of the Opuntia fragilis plants that are found in Canada are introgressed with O. polyacantha as shown by their wider cladodes. Perhaps the hybrids are more vigorous and made it farther north.
Dean
Albert Dean Stock,Ph.D.
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tumamoc
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by tumamoc »

I never get tired of seeing Escobaria vivipara in bloom. Those fat fruits are something else.
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7george
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by 7george »

3. Opuntia polyacantha; Most common of cacti here.
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The biggest blooming clump I've ever found.
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Fading flowers are getting pink often.

In September the growth is completed and bodies are much dehydrated to be ready for the coming frosts (October) and deeper colds (November).
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Last edited by 7george on Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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Brunãozinho
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by Brunãozinho »

Thanks for sharing those pics, it's always nice to see their natural environment.
Bruno
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jp29
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by jp29 »

Brunãozinho wrote:Thanks for sharing those pics, it's always nice to see their natural environment.
I echo Bruno's comment. Habitat photos such as yours are so very interesting and important in better understanding these plants.
James
My cactus cultivation pages:
https://jp29.org/cactuscult.htm Image
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7george
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by 7george »

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And the blooming time is here again. Despite of a significant drought in the closest cacti habitat I visited yesterday.
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Pending Escobaria buds.
Pending Escobaria buds.
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Tiny seedlings next to momma.
Tiny seedlings next to momma.
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A bunch of seedlings next hill.
A bunch of seedlings next hill.
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Some rainy days passing through the region. I should go visit these cacti places again soon.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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7george
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by 7george »

Some other photos from the last trip, even not much flowers were seen.
Escobaria group
Escobaria group
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A single-stemmed guy
A single-stemmed guy
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Escobaria in the rock crack
Escobaria in the rock crack
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The habitat around Red Deer river
The habitat around Red Deer river
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Hiding in the grass
Hiding in the grass
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O. polyacantha seedlings
O. polyacantha seedlings
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Blooming can be hard
Blooming can be hard
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First flower ?
First flower ?
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Opuntia among juniper
Opuntia among juniper
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Opening at about 11 am
Opening at about 11 am
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If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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7george
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by 7george »

This year the bloom of Esobaria vivipara started very early in our South Alberta habitats. Most plants I saw in early June had faded flowers or even some early fruits already.

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Either was too early in the morning and flowers were still closed.

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Later in the afternoon some finally opened when the temperature at the ground level exceeded 20 C.

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I guess these two were first-time bloomers.

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More buds.
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And young seedlings.
Escobaria seedling.
Escobaria seedling.
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Cacti here live with snakes.

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Opuntia's (O. polyacantha) just started their bloom opening flowers one by one for several weeks.

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Some bees are hiding from the approaching storm in these flowers.

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Wild cacti habitat.
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Some fruiting plants (it is July 2nd) and 2 young seedlings at the right.
Last edited by 7george on Sun Jul 03, 2016 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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mmcavall
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by mmcavall »

thanks for sharing information and photos! very interesting !
Alexander
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by Alexander »

Nice!
One thing that came to mind, how wel camoflaged these litle cacti are.
Tr hard to spot between the rocks and the foliage.
Its hard to eat them if u cant see them, i.guess.
Plant survival stratigies, tr briliant.
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hegar
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Re: Wild canadian cacti

Post by hegar »

Thank you for letting us know, what kinds of cacti can be found in Canada. I fully understand, that you do love your native Escobaria vivipara cactus.
E. vivipara also grows wild here in West Texas. However, our plants do not have their sepals arranged as orderly as the ones you have photographed, making our E. vivipara blossoms look unkempt.

Harald
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