HABITATS
Along the highway from Lake Arrowhead in Southern California toward Victorville and Palm Springs, out on the Mojave Desert, southward to San Diego and old Mexico, we may find these odd little baby cacti blossoming forth in early spring into striking clumps of variegated bloom, dotting the landscape far and wide—their only mission in life, to look beautiful. For above the ordinary tourist trails as high as five thousand feet, farther down in sandy and gravelly places on the foothills and bajadas or mesa-like mountain slopes, and along the lower levels around Los Angeles, California Pincushions make their homes. In sunny exposures where Nature’s boon of rain is scarce, preferring common sand and rock, these tiniest of the Fantastic Clan thrive best.
Out on the great Arizona desert the Pincushion Cacti appear in abundance; the vast stretches contain a surprise for the tourist and the wearied student in these bits of desert growth, peering from between rocks and cobblestones or lying in clumps in crevices of the rocks among the foothills. All colors of the rainbow, it would seem, are woven into exquisite patterns by Nature in her baby cacti, their brilliantly painted flowering segments spreading out in spring array like so many gilded rays of the spectrum and creating the mirage of a gayly tinted rainbow, dazzling the eyes of the traveler as he speeds along the highway across the desert. Deep in the recesses of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado, northward into southern Utah and Nevada, and southward again around the Superstition Mountains in Arizona and the Santa Ritas (near Tucson), these dainty cacti, when in bloom, color the landscape far and near, on the mesas and along the bajadas into Southern California, and far south into old Mexico, where they come forth in dozens of flowering varieties. And here we must leave our tiny symbols of the Cactacea clan, for the shadows are beginning to lengthen; the sun has finished his journey across the western heavens and we bid farewell to our baby cacti, beautiful rainbows of the desert, for to-morrow we continue our journey over sandy arid lands, and travel a different way among the weird Fantastic Clan.
The Pincushion Group; Baby Cacti (Mammillaria and Coryphantha)
How to identify and how they grow
These are funny little ball-like plants, an inch to a foot in diameter and height, often broader than they are tall, the upper surface almost flattened, while the main part of the plant is a carrot-shaped fleshy root. The stems are mostly simple, sometimes branched; they grow singly or occasionally in clusters, and are not ribbed but studded with numerous tubercles spirally arranged. These are the smallest of the Cactaceæ, hence called the Baby Cacti, and are full of star-shaped spines with an extra-long one in each cluster, all thorns hooked over on the ends. The spines are slender but stout, mostly of two kinds and generally less than a half-inch long, sharp and needlelike, and usually with hairs. There are no spicules nor leaves. The flowers are small or medium-sized and open in the forenoon, closing in the afternoon of the same day. The fruit is rather small, is smooth and has no tubercles, scales, nor bracts. These dainty cacti often cling together in groups, and the symmetrical arrangement of the flowers and spines, the brilliant harmony of colorings in both, and the spirally arranged tubercles give the plants a most attractive appearance.
How to grow
Transplant at any season, preferably early in spring, to a southern exposure if possible, in soil similar to that of the native habitat of the plant, irrigate once in two or three weeks sufficiently to keep the soil lightly moist but not wet. Provide some shade for species growing in their native habitats at high altitudes or in partial shade. These plants grow easily from seed sown a quarter- to a half-inch deep in sandy soil mixed with a small amount of ground charcoal and leaf mold in flats or pots, kept slightly moist in part shade. When a half-inch tall they may be transplanted to small pots. They grow indoors and outside.
Foxtail Cactus; Desert Pincushion (Coryphantha deserti)
How to identify and how it grows
The Foxtail Cactus grows as a single stem or in clumps. The stems are cylindrical and two or three inches in diameter, with tubercles nearly an inch long and also cylindrical. The whole plant is covered with a dense growth of white radial spines with dark tips, and a group of six to a dozen central spines whitish below, and with the upper half black shading off to a reddish brown. This gives the plant a striking appearance. All of the spines are very stiff. The flowers are straw-colored, about an inch and a half long, and have light pink tips. The petals are lance-shaped and narrow.
How to grow
Plants may be grown out of doors where the temperatures in winter are not lower than fifteen or twenty degrees below freezing, that is 12° to 17° Fahrenheit. In colder climates than this the plants must be protected in winter or grown in sunny, warm conservatories. They may be grown from seed in pots in sandy soil with partial shade and with enough watering to keep the soil moist but not wet. Transplant larger plants in sandy or gravelly soil in bright sunny exposures and give only occasional irrigation during dry periods.
Cream Cactus (Mammillaria MacDougalii)
(Named for Dr. D. T. MacDougal, collector of western plants and Director of the Desert Botanical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution)
How to identify and how it grows
The Cream Cactus grows from solitary stems or heads, and in many instances in clusters four inches high and six inches in diameter. The tops of the plants are flattened with the centers depressed, or often growing level with the ground. The older plants are much taller and broader. The tubercles are placed spirally and are a half-inch long. If injured they yield a white creamy fluid. There are eleven to thirteen radial spines with one to three centrals whose bases are yellow and bulbous. The spine body is a pale red with brown or purple-brown tips. The flowers are a little more than one inch long and one inch wide, and of cream color to light yellow. The fruit is a deep rose-red and the seeds are reddish purple. This plant likes the gravelly clay loam soils best.
How to grow
These plants can be grown nearly anywhere with temperatures no lower than twenty degrees of frost; but with zero temperatures protection should be given, or the plants grown in rock gardens in sunny conservatories. They grow easily from seed in sandy or gravelly clay loam soil with partial shade and enough irrigation to keep the soil moist. Plants transplant readily to rocky or gravelly clay soils at almost any season, if the thick fleshy roots are not injured in digging. Water moderately once a month, and where convenient set plants among rocks.
Recurved Spine Pincushion; Bent Spine Pincushion (Coryphantha recurvata)
(Named recurvata from the spines, which are bent down against the plant)
How to identify and how it grows
The Recurved Spine Pincushion grows in clumps about three feet across, sometimes less, and has several stems four to eight inches long, which are globose, that is, longer than broad. These stems bear twenty-seven or so spirally arranged rows on which appear the angled tubercles. These rows or ridges also have the twenty-five radially grouped spines and one light yellow or translucent grayish yellow central spine. This arrangement of the spines forms a dense impenetrable mass or layer over the surface of the plant. The flowers are about the length of a walnut and have lemon-yellow petals and brown sepals. The fruit is quite small and is light yellow-green. This species differs from the others of the group in that the flowers are borne in a circle two or three inches in diameter about the center of the plant.
How to grow
These plants will endure twenty degrees of frost without injury; where the winters are colder than this the plants should be covered or grown indoors, preferably under glass. They may be grown from seed in sandy soil or sandy loam in pots with partial shade and with enough watering to keep the soil moist. Field plants may be transplanted at almost any season in gravelly or clay loam soils and given enough water to moisten the soil during dry spells.
Devil’s Pincushion; Pineapple Cactus (Coryphantha robustispina)
How to identify and how it grows
The Pineapple Cactus is the largest of the Pincushion cacti, with its large tubercles and coarse spines. It grows as high as nine inches, and six inches in diameter, single or several stems in clumps. They form in hemispherical mounds as wide as eighteen inches, with the larger stems suggesting a pineapple. The spines are straight and stout and slightly curved, and grow in groups of eleven to fifteen, one of which, a central, is a little longer than the rest; erect, and of a dull straw color fading to yellow-tan. The bases of the spines are bulbous. The flowers, about two inches long, are yellow or straw-colored or yellow-brown and are very showy, remaining open all day. The fruit is large, about two inches, and narrow or oblong and of a yellow-green with large light brown seeds.
How to grow
Plants will endure twenty degrees of frost without injury; where the winters are colder than this, protection must be given or the plants must be grown under glass. They grow readily from seed in sandy or clay loam in pots or flats, with just enough water to keep the soil moist, not wet. Large plants transplant with difficulty; the roots should not be injured in digging, and the plants should be set in gravelly clay and watered occasionally during dry spells.
Slender Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria fasciculata—Mammillaria Thornberi)
(Named fasciculata from its habit of growing in clumps; Thornberi in honor of one of the authors of this book, who rediscovered it)
How to identify and how it grows
The Slender Pincushion Cactus grows in the form of slender stems in dense clusters of fifty to two hundred plants of many sizes, all crowded closely together. The stems are four to seven inches tall, and an inch or so in diameter. They seem to be thickened a bit in the middle and taper off toward the bases and tips. The tubercles are arranged in eight to twelve spiral rows, all less than a quarter of an inch long, and somewhat four-angled in shape. The flowers are an inch or more wide and as long, with the inner petals broad and acute and of a purplish pink color. The fruit is club-shaped, a half-inch or so in length, and of a scarlet hue.
How to grow
This Pincushion is difficult to transplant. Plant in partial shade or in the protection of shrubs in very sandy soil. Water frequently to keep the soil barely moist. It is best set in clumps as it grew in the field. The plants will endure twenty to twenty-five degrees of frost without injury; with colder winters they must be protected or grown under glass or in conservatories.
Cream Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria Johnstonii)
(Named for Ivan M. Johnston who collected the plant in Sonora)
How to identify and how it grows
The Cream Pincushion Cactus grows from solitary stems having several thick roots, which, however, are not deeply implanted. In outline the stems are hemispherical or depressed globose and have a deep green color. There are many angular tubercles, all spirally arranged, and as many as thirteen white radial spines with brown tips. The central spines are about a half-inch long and red-brown; one is directed upward, and the other downward. The flowers are bell-shaped and are formed in a circle about the center of the head, having white margins and pink or pink-tan centers. Like Mammillaria MacDougalii, the tubercles when injured exude a thick white milky fluid.
How to grow
Plants may be grown out of doors where temperatures are not lower than twenty or twenty-five degrees below freezing; where the winter weather is colder than this, the plants should be grown in conservatories. They grow from seed in clay loam in pots with enough water to keep the soil moist, preferably with part shade. Large plants transplant quite readily if the roots are not injured. They grow well in gravelly soil or among rocks and should be watered once a month.
Sunset Cactus; Common Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria Grahamii)
(Named in honor of Colonel J. D. Graham of the United States Corps of Topographical Engineers)
How to identify and how it grows
The Sunset Cactus, or Common Pincushion Cactus, is one of the most popular of the Pincushion Cactus species, perhaps because of its wide range from Texas to California and into old Mexico. It is quite symmetrical and small. It grows as a stem from two to ten inches tall and as much as two and one-half or three inches in diameter, in single stems or several together in a clump. They are cylindrical or globose and bear the tubercles closely set in a spiral arrangement of twenty to twenty-three rows; these tubercles are about a quarter-inch long and gray-green. There are about seventeen grouped radial spines a half-inch or so long, of a dull white with darker tips, and one or two central spines which are longer and stouter, whitish, with purple-brown or red-brown tips which are curved sharply upward. The flowers are formed in a circle near the tops of the stems and are about an inch long. The petals are rose-pink with pink or white margins, while the sepals are purple-brown with pink or white ciliate edges. The fruit is club-shaped and scarlet, about an inch long.
How to grow
These plants are not injured by temperatures of twenty or twenty-five degrees below freezing, and where the winter temperatures drop as low as zero they grow easily in warm, sunny conservatories. Plants grow readily from seed in pots or flats in moist clay loam, with part shade, and transplant easily at any season, growing well in sandy or gravelly soils with watering once or twice a month during the dry periods.
Brown Pincushion (Mammillaria Wilcoxii)
(Named in honor of General Timothy A. Wilcox of the United States Army, who collected many plants in Arizona and other western states)
How to identify and how it grows
The Brown Pincushion Cactus grows with flabby stems, two or three inches tall with as great a diameter. It is hemispherical or subglobose, and somewhat depressed at the top. The tubercles are loosely set and spirally placed, narrow and conical. There are eighteen to twenty sharp, slender, needlelike, wide-spreading radial spines which interlock with those of the other spine clusters; they are white with the tips a bright reddish brown. There are two to six slender but much stronger central spines which are spreading and erect with the hooked ends turned in several directions. These are a translucent red-brown throughout, which gives to the plant a reddish brown halo over the mass of the white radials. The light pink flowers are a little more than an inch long, and when full open are wider than they are long. There are from thirty-five to forty petals, narrow lance-shaped and somewhat recurved. The fifteen or twenty white sepals form in fringes.
How to grow
These plants will grow outside in temperatures nearly as low as zero. With colder winter weather they should be covered or grown in greenhouses or conservatories. Plants grow easily from seed in fine sandy soil in pots or flats, with part shade and with occasional watering to keep the soil moist. They transplant readily in gravelly clay with watering twice a month during dry spells, and should be set in partial shade.
Horned Toad Cactus (Mammillaria Mainæ)
(Named for Mrs. F. M. Main, who first collected the plant near Nogales, Mexico)
How to identify and how it grows
The Horned Toad Cactus grows from single stems, or several in loose clumps and is depressed globose or hemispherical, growing as short as two or three inches, with a diameter of three or four inches. The tubercles are of a pale green, arranged in thirteen spiral rows with compressed bases tapering above and upturned. The texture of the plant is flabby and loose. There are not many spines in this species, twelve wide-spreading yellowish radial spines and one central which is much stronger than the radials and somewhat twisted and curved. The flowers are quite slender and about one inch long, both sepals and petals pointed. The former have a brownish center while the latter have reddish centers with white-fringed margins. The style is much longer than the stamens. This plant is not conspicuous because it grows quite close to the ground and is not easily seen with its light-colored spines.
How to grow
Plants grow outside in twenty degrees of frost, but with colder weather than this they must be protected or grown in warm conservatories. They grow easily from seed in the usual way in pots with part shade and with occasional watering to keep the soil moist. They may be transplanted at any season in sandy or gravelly clay, and given enough water to moisten the soil well once in two or three weeks during dry months.
Snowball Pincushion (Mammillaria Oliviæ)
(Named Oliviæ in honor of Mrs. C. R. Orcutt, who shared her husband’s interest in these plants)
How to identify and how it grows
The Snowball Pincushion is covered with a dense coat of white spines, looking much like a snowball lying on the ground. It grows on solitary stems or in some instances in clumps, is globose, and has twenty-five to thirty-five thorns. The plant is covered with radially placed spines about half an inch long, translucent white and somewhat twisted. There are four centrals in the spine groups. The flowers of this plant resemble those of the Sunset Cactus, and are pink and pink-rose with the margins fringed in white. They are very showy and about an inch long. The pink flowers contrast well with the glistening white spines, making this cactus one of the handsomest of its kind, growing on the deserts and foothills of southern Arizona.
How to grow
The same care and treatment is suggested as for the Sunset Cactus.
Green Flowered Pincushion (Mammillaria viridiflora)
(Named from its green flowers, which are very uncommon among cacti)
How to identify and how it grows
The Green Flowered Pincushion Cactus grows from single stems or in small clusters and is cylindrical or globose. The stems are two to four inches long and as much as three inches in diameter. This plant, also, has a flabby texture, with the tubercles arranged in eight to twelve spiral rows, which are disposed rather loosely. The radial spines, slender and needlelike and wide-spreading, loosely interlocking with those of the other spine clusters, are white with brown tips. The central spines are hooked and slender, longer and stouter than the radials, about two inches in length, brown and brown-red. The flowers are not at all showy and are less than an inch long and wide; the sepals and petals are green. The fruit is ovoid and less than an inch long, with a dull purplish or green-purple color.
How to grow
Plants will endure outdoor temperatures of twenty or twenty-five degrees below freezing. In colder climates they will thrive in warm, sunny conservatories. Plants grow readily from seed in sandy loam with occasional watering and part shade. Transplant older plants in gravelly clay with enough water to keep the soil moist. Watering once in two weeks during droughty spells is sufficient. This cactus is very attractive as a potted plant, and outside should be given some shade.
Showy Pincushion Cactus (Coryphantha aggregata)
(Named from the plant’s habit of growing in clumps)
How to identify and how it grows
This plant is a fine and showy Pincushion cactus growing from single stems or in clumps, six to fifteen inches in diameter across the top of the clump, the stems globose or cylindrical, two to four inches in diameter. The tubercles are arranged spirally in fifteen to seventeen rows, with twenty to forty radially placed spines in two series like the teeth of a comb. They are less than a half-inch long. There are six central spines in the more mature plants, and all the spines are of a translucent white, toning into the reddish brown tips. The flowers are very showy and are formed around the center of the plant, two or three inches in diameter and bright pink to rose-purple. They remain open all day, and are quite abundant in southeastern Arizona and New Mexico on prairie lands and bajadas.
How to grow
Plants grow outside and are not injured by temperatures as low as zero. They grow easily from seed in sandy or clay loam in flats or pots with some shade; transplant at any season in almost any soil; give enough water to keep the soil moist during dry spells, about five gallons of water at a time.
Arizona Pincushion Cactus (Coryphantha arizonica)
How to identify and how it grows
This cactus grows in dense clumps six inches to two feet or more across, with the heads close together. They are shortened, globose or cylindrical, one to two inches in diameter, and as high. The plants are almost hidden by the dense growth of reddish brown or almost black spines. There are from fifteen to thirty radially placed spines and three to seven stouter central thorns, all of which have yellowish bulbous bases, with red-brown or almost black tips. The flowers are about an inch and a half long and as wide. The petals and sepals are narrow and lance-shaped, and from tan-purple to rose or rose-purple. The fruit is oval and light green. This cactus grows in the prairie lands and on foothill slopes, and needs a little modern irrigation.
How to grow
This Pincushion is not injured by temperatures of twenty to twenty-five degrees below zero and hence is well suited for growing in cactus gardens throughout the country. It thrives also in the warm Southwest. Young plants grow readily from seed in pots or flats, in sandy or loamy soil, with enough irrigation to keep the soil moist; part shade is desirable. Large plants prefer sandy or loamy soil, especially limestone soil with irrigation about once a month, and some shade.
California Pincushion (Mammillaria tetrancistera)
(Named tetrancistera in allusion to the four central spines)
How to identify and how it grows
The California Pincushion grows from single stems a foot high and two and one-half inches in diameter, or several in a cluster. Sometimes the stems are branched and cylindrical with a loose flabby texture. The root is narrow, conical, and fleshy. The tubercles are usually less than a half-inch long and loosely set in eight spiral rows. There are from forty to sixty-five radial spines placed in two whorls, slender and white with red-brown tips; also one to four central spines which are strongly hooked, dark reddish brown or blackish. The flowers are usually about two inches long and are purplish. The sepals and petals are ciliate and covered with many fine hairs.
How to grow
This pincushion is not injured by temperatures fifteen or twenty degrees below freezing and hence grows indoors or out; it thrives in hot, sunny conservatories or greenhouses. The plants grow easily from seed sown in sandy soil with partial shade, the soil moist but not wet. Plants may be transplanted at any season in sandy, stony, or gravelly soil, and watered once in two or three weeks during dry spells.
Black Spined Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria Milleri)
(Named for Dr. Gerrett S. Miller, Jr., who first collected it near Phoenix, Arizona)
How to identify and how it grows
The Black Spined Pincushion, another of the Mammillaria genus of Cactaceæ, grows from single stems or several stems in clumps which are sometimes branched, and from two to nine inches high, two to three inches in diameter. The stems are globose or cylindrical with the tubercles crowded close together on their lower parts. These tubercles are about one-third of an inch long, and are arranged symmetrically in eleven to fourteen rows. There are from seventeen to twenty radially placed spines, widely spreading and about a half-inch long, with a white body and reddish brown tips; also one to three central spines with upturned hooks, brownish red appearing black at a distance. The flowers are purple fading out to a pink, and bell-shaped. This handsome desert species strongly resembles the beautiful Sunset Cactus, but has much stouter and darker central spines.
How to grow
This plant should be treated similarly to the Sunset Cactus. Young plants grow readily from seed in moist sandy or loamy soil in pots or flats in part shade. Older plants may be transplanted at almost any season in rocky or gravelly soils and watered once or twice a month during dry seasons. They are not injured by temperatures twenty or twenty-five degrees below freezing, but with greater cold than this must be protected or grown in warm sunny conservatories.
CHAPTER IV
THE PARADE OF THE DESERT FLOWERS
The lover of plants and flowers which thrive on the desert wastes has often but little conception of the mystic beauty which lingers there, wrapped up in the delicate waxlike coverings of these wondrous blossoms. Exotic and strikingly beautiful, some of them are. It would seem that Nature, the Great Gardener, has caused the mountains to grow their huge trees bedecked in evergreen, snow-crowned and haloed in gorgeous golden sunsets with tints of spectral beauty; the humid plains to grow their grasses, somber and uninviting, the providers of mankind, and their trees, low and squatty, with shade for the tired herd and the dusty traveler, and also their velvet grassy slopes lovely to look upon.
But what of the desert! Well, we do not intend to paint you a picture of desolation, where no living thing can grow. Out of the débris of worlds in the making, so to speak, there was left the great Amphitheater of the Sun where the scorching rays beat down. In this hot caldron of alkali and sand and rock Nature went to work, and soon there appeared tiny spiny shoots, leafy but devoid of color. All were hungry and thirsty, and soon rain came, and then the transformation! Water appeared under the surface, and slowly rose saturating the tiny roots. The hot winds of the day turned to cooling zephyrs of the night which gently kissed each plant and flower until the coming of the sun. With each kiss of the dew-laden night air came the delicate perfume and the wonderful color scheme which make all the cacti so attractive to the eye and so stirring to the senses. From crannies and nooks, crevices and rock-cracks, along the foothills and on the slopes, began to appear the haciendas of the flowers; in time they thrived and multiplied. To-day on the great deserts of the Southwest along the Arizona-California line and eastward, there are vast stretches of cacti of every weave and pattern imaginable, as symmetrical in design as though each were first wrought on the Infinite Draughting Board and then carefully and wisely planted by the Great Gardener to live forever.
Our third trek starts from one of the beautiful California or Arizona sites that dot the Colorado River bounding these two states, leading into the gullies, draws, or cañons that are so numerous there, in search of a peculiar and striking growth commonly known as the Hedgehog Cactus. Since the species are very thorny, the comparison to the little animal so full of bristles is an apt one. The scientific name, Echinocereus, taken from the Latin echinus, hedgehog, and cereus, torch, or the Hedgehog-Torch.