happy growing...
peterb
Lophophora specie identification?
Wow nice cacti! i have wanted some A. fisiratus (sp???) forever. you ever get flowers/seeds? still too small? very pretty cacti!
more on the lophs.
So i guess the verdict is in for the bigger one, going by flower colour. L. williamsii, its pink. I guess this proves the firmness, colour of the skin theory wrong, no? I know its a graft so it cant be the same. anyway deffinatly pink flower. here are photos. i could not get a clear pic of the pollen without dye and i dont have any...so here is a 40X magnification of it.
This one i self pollinated. the other i will cross pollinate to see if they both set viable seed. they will be kept seperate from now till they seed.
flouro lighting:
Outside sun lighting (true colour):
smaller one with 2 buds:
more on the lophs.
So i guess the verdict is in for the bigger one, going by flower colour. L. williamsii, its pink. I guess this proves the firmness, colour of the skin theory wrong, no? I know its a graft so it cant be the same. anyway deffinatly pink flower. here are photos. i could not get a clear pic of the pollen without dye and i dont have any...so here is a 40X magnification of it.
This one i self pollinated. the other i will cross pollinate to see if they both set viable seed. they will be kept seperate from now till they seed.
flouro lighting:
Outside sun lighting (true colour):
smaller one with 2 buds:
Hi- I'd say those are L. williamsii due to the pronounced knobby tubercle-like podaria. L. diffusa looks more like a hastily poured dumpling. I only have one L. diffusa and it's actually about ten years old from seed (it had a few slow years); here it is surrounded by other somewhat younger seed-grown friends:
I do wonder sometimes what the effect is on the vegetative characters of certain cacti when they are grafted. I find some harder to identify because they sometimes grow differently than they do on their own roots.
The A. fissuratus in the previous picture is approaching flowering age. I bought it in 2003 at the San Diego Show and Sale from Miles Anderson, I think.(I used to live in Los Angeles).
happy growing,
peterb
I do wonder sometimes what the effect is on the vegetative characters of certain cacti when they are grafted. I find some harder to identify because they sometimes grow differently than they do on their own roots.
The A. fissuratus in the previous picture is approaching flowering age. I bought it in 2003 at the San Diego Show and Sale from Miles Anderson, I think.(I used to live in Los Angeles).
happy growing,
peterb
nice size! and nice that you grew it from seed! i had to give away all mine when i moved out of canada, so now my hard grown seed lophophora are 2 weeks 
If they were not cites 1 i would already have a bunch of A. fissuratus...but its not easy to get them legally so i don't. do you know if seeds are legal to trade of cites 1 species?
If they were not cites 1 i would already have a bunch of A. fissuratus...but its not easy to get them legally so i don't. do you know if seeds are legal to trade of cites 1 species?
It's a game. I go thru the same problems with moths (I raise giant silkmoths). "The man" makes the rules, We "little people" break them.
In the USA, we aren't allowed to import any live moths. So, the rest of the world just lies on the labels and we hope they don't get siezed. Some do, some don't.
I just planted a bunch of Arios & Lophs I got from England.
It isn't hurting anybody. And, frankly, it's none of their business. I feel no guilt. I've had many a go-round with the USDA. They can be VERY annoying - bureaucrats with power.
In the USA, we aren't allowed to import any live moths. So, the rest of the world just lies on the labels and we hope they don't get siezed. Some do, some don't.
I just planted a bunch of Arios & Lophs I got from England.
It isn't hurting anybody. And, frankly, it's none of their business. I feel no guilt. I've had many a go-round with the USDA. They can be VERY annoying - bureaucrats with power.
Careful there. When you generalize it's hard on the specifics.mikayak wrote: It isn't hurting anybody. And, frankly, it's none of their business. I feel no guilt. I've had many a go-round with the USDA. They can be VERY annoying - bureaucrats with power.
We've got a member here who helps keep on eye on the Mexico-US boarder and he has rescued a lot of cacti by identifying them and getting them to Plant Rescue Centers. (I do believe it is the USDA that employs him.)
We've all run into our share of people who let a little authority go to their head, but we can't forget, they've probably run into their share of people who don't show any respect for the authority they do have.
Daiv
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
i had some problems importing insects to canada as well. i don't even want to go into that discussion 
Iann. People say that the flower colour is the way to differentiate. There are also sites and people saying difussa has NO pink in the flower, no exceptions. that seems rather bold but it is said. so if flower colour doesn't differentiate them, and possible rib colour/texture/formation doesn't. what does?
I find it very strange that a cacti that has been used for hundreds (thousands?) of years is still not distinguishable from its sibling.
Iann. People say that the flower colour is the way to differentiate. There are also sites and people saying difussa has NO pink in the flower, no exceptions. that seems rather bold but it is said. so if flower colour doesn't differentiate them, and possible rib colour/texture/formation doesn't. what does?
I find it very strange that a cacti that has been used for hundreds (thousands?) of years is still not distinguishable from its sibling.
I agree Daiv,
But there is a BIG difference between trying to smuggle field collected plants from Mexico and buying Ariocarpus seeds from England.
One is a legitimate concern and the USDA <b>SHOULD </b>be seriously wathcing. The other is not causing anyone any harm - yet they treat both as a crime and end up diverting resources toward the latter that should be used for the former.
If something is truly endangered, wouldn't you want as many folks as possible growing it?? (as long as it can be done non-destructively). It's like having multiple copies of your data backed up and stored all over the world.
Even if entire land-masses disappeared, there would still be backups.
On the truly cactus-side of things. I am going to try my hand at grafting some of these little buggers this week. Wish me luck!!!
But there is a BIG difference between trying to smuggle field collected plants from Mexico and buying Ariocarpus seeds from England.
One is a legitimate concern and the USDA <b>SHOULD </b>be seriously wathcing. The other is not causing anyone any harm - yet they treat both as a crime and end up diverting resources toward the latter that should be used for the former.
If something is truly endangered, wouldn't you want as many folks as possible growing it?? (as long as it can be done non-destructively). It's like having multiple copies of your data backed up and stored all over the world.
Even if entire land-masses disappeared, there would still be backups.
On the truly cactus-side of things. I am going to try my hand at grafting some of these little buggers this week. Wish me luck!!!
The vast majority of cactus species are CITES Appendix II. That means that certification would be required to export the plants, but not the seeds. Only the small number of particularly endangered CITES I seeds are restricted.Loph wrote:SE Asia right now, but i am canadian. hybrids do not, correct? how is it that all these seed companies sell seeds internationally very openly with no paperwork? i ordered from cactus heaven while in canada no problem, there was no paperwork done. sloppy customs?
Individual countries may also have restrictions on the import of seeds, generally for plant hygiene reasons. Australia has very stringent rules to protect its indigenous flora, also Hawaii.
--ian
Hey Loph- If you are willing to pay an extra $37 US or so for phytosanitary and CITES permits, I think Mesa Garden ships worldwide even seeds of CITES I plants.
As for the effectiveness of the CITES treaty in regard to plants, well, let's just say opinions differ.
Opinions also differ on the somewhat controversial subjects of the relationship between amateur and hobby cultivation and actual conservation. Population biology and human nature/economics aren't quite as subject to common sense, in my humble opinion, as one might initially think. The article I wrote that's up on this site, Is Cultivation Conservation?, expresses a certain viewpoint, admittedly arguable.
peterb
As for the effectiveness of the CITES treaty in regard to plants, well, let's just say opinions differ.
Opinions also differ on the somewhat controversial subjects of the relationship between amateur and hobby cultivation and actual conservation. Population biology and human nature/economics aren't quite as subject to common sense, in my humble opinion, as one might initially think. The article I wrote that's up on this site, Is Cultivation Conservation?, expresses a certain viewpoint, admittedly arguable.
peterb
No worries. I was just pointing out that that might hit a little closer to home for some than you might have thought.mikayak wrote:I agree Daiv,
But there is a BIG difference between trying to smuggle field collected plants from Mexico and buying Ariocarpus seeds from England.
I agree, and I would bet Harald would too, that the system is far from perfect.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti