« Previous Day: Hebe 'Silver Dollar' |
Main
| Next Day: Retama raetam »
Aug 28, 2008: Xanthosoma mexicanum
Sep 7, 2007:
Trochetiopsis ebenus
Sep 7, 2006:
Magnolia grandiflora
Sep 7, 2005:
Arisaema consanguineum
January 14, 2008 : Echinocereus rigidissimus
Interested in subscribing? Visit the main Botany Photo of the Day page and fill out the form in the upper right corner!
Keywords: Cactaceae | Echinocereus rigidissimus (Engelmann) Engelmann ex Haage | Arizona Trail in Pima County, Arizona, USA
Another couple photographs and a write-up from Eric La Fountaine today – thanks again, Eric!
This cactus, with alternating rings of pink/red on its stem was an intriguing find on a hike with friends during winter holiday in Tucson. No one was quite sure what it was. When I showed the photo to UBC Botanical Garden's Curator of Collections, Douglas Justice, he returned from his office in minutes with a name and description that matched. The species is native to the Sonoran Desert in southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. Plants are generally unbranched and grow 6-30 cm tall. Along the trail we found them in small groups of solitary stems. The rainbow hedgehog cactus can sport some very bright colouration; very nice selections are available commercially.
The Sonoran Desert is not the lifeless wasteland that some might think. It is full of fascinating plants and creatures and can be quite green at times. For a quick description of the desert Blue Planet Biomes has an educational webpage for teachers and students. The Center for Sonoran Studies offers a Natural History Tour of the Region. Information for people wanting to visit the Sonoran Desert National Monument can be found on the US Bureau of Land Management website.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at January 14, 2008 9:44 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Beverley at January 14, 2008 11:38 AM
The world is a strange and beautiful place . . .
Was privileged to spend a couple of months in the fall camping in California Gulch, south of Tucson. Beautiful beautiful place.
Posted by: Peggy at January 14, 2008 5:44 PM
In Israel this cactus is nicknamed "mother-in-law's chair"
Posted by: David Hagadol at January 16, 2008 4:16 PM
Some very nice lichens on those rocks. Overall, a fine xerophytic garden.
Posted by: Anthony at February 6, 2008 9:02 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
Post a comment
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.
About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums
Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Echinocereus rigidissimus - Z9 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Echinocereus, ek-in-o-se-re-us; from Gr. echinos, a hedgehog, and cereus, an alllusion to the prickly plants. Plant Names Simplified, Johnson and Smith
rigidissimus ri-gi-dis-i-mus. Very rigid. Dictionary of Plant Names, Coombes