Argentina & Chile -- November 2008 -- Day 12-- JuJuy to Cachi --350km

[Paul in Essex]

Yup, that's the chap. Abromeitiella (should be Deuterocohnia but I can't get used to it) most probably A. lorentziana - there are two or three species but without scale it is hard to see for sure. A tiny, mounding terrestrial bromeliad with curious little tubular green flowers. Lovely to see habitat shot.

[Mike P]

A further Bromeliad form the cliff face.
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[Mike P]

And from the stop with the pasacana and just in case everyone had forgotten them.........Opuntia sulphurea.(With short spines this time)
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[Mike P]

Back into the bus and further up the narrow winding road. Meeting vehicles coming in the other direction was becoming more intersting as we climbed higher and higher up the valley. The clouds were low and dense and wreathed the tops of the mountains and the landscape took on all the attributes of an alpine meadowland.
The next stop was at San Martin to see Trichocereus smrzianus and to hunt for Lobivia / Rebutia.
As soon as we left the bus and made our way along the road my eye was caught by these....
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Austrocylindropuntia verschafeldtii much grazed by sheep/goats but nevertheless putting on a new spurt of growth. I don't feel so bad about the way they look in my greenhouse now....the spread of the plant was almost all by vegetative means via the the self shedding segments discussed on a recent thread.

[Mike P]

There were some very fine cacti right beside the road amongst the grass. This beauty would grace any collection if you has a spare 30" pot to put it in.......actually I would guess that these would be pretty hardy as we were at about 2,000 metres here and the air had a definite cool feel to it.
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[Mike P]

We climbed through the fence and edged along the edge of a fairly precipitous cliff looking for the other plants Willy knew at the site. It really was like cactus hunting in a meadow......
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[Mike P]

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Trichocereus smrzianus growing in a field.

[Mike P]

Progressing through the meadow we came across several familiar looking wild flowers.....
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An Andean Lupin but which one I don't know.

[Mike P]

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Rebutia nigricans...?

[Paul in Essex]

Mike - what is that please? It looks to my novice eyes like Soehrensia formosana but could easily be absolutely anything else






Mike P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There were some very fine cacti right beside the
> road amongst the grass. This beauty would grace
> any collection if you has a spare 30" pot to put
> it in.......actually I would guess that these
> would be pretty hardy as we were at about 2,000
> metres here and the air had a definite cool feel
> to it.
>