Chile 2015

[DaveW]

We moved on. The Camanchaca (the mist, or really low cloud) which waters most of the plants was just starting to form and move inland.

On to the well known locality for Copiapoa humilis on the steep ridge behind the Virgen Del Carmen, Cuesta del Paposo. You have to go up the concrete steps and around the Virgin to get onto the narrow top of the ridge, which falls away quite steeply each side. Unfortunately I failed to take a picture of the Virgin itself, but Paul Klaassen illustrates and describes it here:-

https://pkcactus.info/2013/10/16/

further on we found another population of plants in the Copiapoa gigantea complex.

[DaveW]

On to Taltal for Copiapoa cinerea ssp. albispina

There were some in the population with longer more honey coloured spines showing their relationship to the haseltoniana form Copiapoa gigantea.

Colin Parker photographing the plants.

[DaveW]

The next day we went to a Copiapoa cinerea site in the Taltal region. Roger says this is Paul Hutchinson's site which he featured in his American Journal article on C. cinerea many years ago. Here we found C. cinerea and also Neoporteria occulta. As you can see in the background they dump road stone anywhere, hopefully not killing too many cacti.

Roger searching for Neoporteria occulta and Colin Norton more interested in the Copiapoa's

Down between the stones among the Copiapoa's are Neoporteria occulta.

[DaveW]

Another Taltal site.

[DaveW]

On to Chanaral where we found Copiapoa calderana.

Roger climbing among the rocks to find the very well hidden Neoporteria pulchellus, which lives up to its Latin name since pulchellus = pretty or beautiful. Fred Kattermann called this plant Eriosyce pilispinus, but it is Ritter's pulchellus. This was why I said to Nick earlier you really need to go in a party with somebody who knows where the plants are, since those of us who had not visited Chile before would go straight past these places because they are not obvious habitats from the roads and even then it takes quite a bit of diligent searching to find the small plants. I am sure there were many more than we found in the time available.

[DaveW]

Last stop of the day and back to my favourites the Thelocephala's.

Even when in flower you have to cover a lot of ground to find them. They are even harder to find most years when out of flower and more dehydrated.

[DaveW]

A new day, another site.

T. aerocarpa (aero + carpa) gets it's name from the windblown fruit which scatter the seeds as they roll along on the long bristles, as in the picture below, although some other Thelocephala's also have quite bristly fruits.

The length of the spination varies in the population.

[DaveW]

I think this one is Neoporteria carrizalensis, though evidently Neoporteria atroviridis occurs here too.

Also Copiapoa.

[DaveW]

Another population of Thelocephala lembckei. These can be variable, ranging from spination similar to longer spined T. napina to white spined forms verging on T. challensis among some populations (as shown earlier) and growing mixed in with the reddish spined forms more familiar to us in cultivation.

[DaveW]

Another Frierina site. Alticostata = high ribs.