April 11, 2018 by mattbuckinghamphotography

The Biodiversity of the Rio Grande Valley Part 2: The Cacti

Peyote

Spring in the Tamaulipan Thornscrub is a beautiful, albeit deceiving thing. When the chaparro, huisachillo, and guayacan bloom above a carpet of wildflowers, its easy to forget just what a harsh, unforgiving land this can be. I was bleeding through my jeans when I sat a moment to rest in the shade of a mesquite tree. I don’t think that Carolina, James, or Erin had fared much better. Despite being early March, it was pushing 90 degrees, and the sun was beating down. After taking a long draw from my water bottle, I got up and continued my search. I winced as I pushed through the allthorn, and felt the tasajillo spines pierce my skin. It’s safe to say at that point my spirits weren’t at their highest. But then I heard the voice of my wife as she called out, “I found one, with a flower!” In that moment, pain seemed like an insignificant consideration as I pushed through the tangle of thorns that lay between me and my succulent quarry. I saw Carolina squatting down looking at the base of a large shrub. There, under the shade and protection of a condalia I could see the iconic Peyote in bloom.

Despite being very un-cactus like, the Peyote may be the famous of all cacti. Once fairly common in parts of south and west Texas, decades of over-harvest, poaching, and habitat loss of significantly reduced the populations to the point that today they are a rare sight among the thornscrub. The reason that it has been so persecuted is the psychoactive compound mescaline contained within its flesh.

In fact, Peyote is one of the most well known psychoactive plants. It has been utilized for centuries by native peoples for both its medicinal and hallucinogenic effects. Today Peyote is a controlled substance in the United States due to its use as a recreational drug. It is, however, legal for many native tribes to harvest and consume for ritualistic purposes. And though it may be illegal to harvest or possess, poachers continue to devastate Peyote populations to sell them on the black market.

In the United States Peyote is known only from extreme southern and western Texas. Here it occurs in desert scrub and arid brushland, typically growing beneath dense shrubs. It is one of three spineless cacti in Texas. We were lucky enough to observe some in bloom on an extensive private ranch in the Tamaulipan Thornscrub of South Texas, with the help of our dear friends Toby Hibbits and Connor Adams.

Peyote

In our pursuit of Peyote we observed several other species growing beneath the shelter of their nurse plants. We seemed to catch the Heyder’s Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria heyderi) in full bloom. This small cactus grows low to the ground, and like many species with this growth habit, is very difficult to spot when not in bloom. In the early spring a single plant may put on a dozen or more flowers, generally organized in a ring along the top of the cactus. It occurs from Mexico through south and central Texas west across eastern and southern New Mexico into southern Arizona.

Heyder’s Pincushion Cactus

While the Heyder’s Pincushion Cactus may be difficult to spot when not in bloom, the Hair-covered Cactus (Mammillaria prolifera) is difficult to spot even when in flower. This species is tiny, with individual stems not much larger than an egg, though they may occasionally form large clumps. The Hair-covered Cactus is known in the United States only from Texas, where it occurs in only a handful of counties in southern and south-central Texas, most of them along the Rio Grande.

Hair-covered Cactus

Though it is superficially similar to the Mammillaria prolifera, the Runyon’s Pincushion Cactus (Coryphantha pottsiana) is easily differentiate when in flower. Like many species of cactus, the taxonomy for Coryphantha pottsiana is a bit cloudy. It has variably been known as Coryphantha robertii, Mammillaria robertii, Mammillaria bella, Escobaria bella, Escobaria runyonii, and Escobaria emskoetteriana. Some authorities still use the latter, though Coryphantha pottsiana seems to be more widely accepted. The Runyon’s Pincushion Cactus is known from northern Mexico and a few Texas Counties along the Rio Grande, where it is generally uncommon.

Runyon’s Pincushion Cactus

While the previous cacti are generally small, the Horse Crippler (Echinocactus texensis) can reach much larger proportions. While most seem to be about the size of a basketball, we saw some that were easily 3 or 4 times as large. They tend to occur in looser soil including sandy alluvium. They are also frequently found growing in the open, away from nurse plants, though its likely that many plants get their start in the less hostile microclimate of a nurse plant. Their impressive spines seem to be an effective deterrent against mammalian predators.

Horse Crippler

Among the most beautiful of all cacti are the hedgehog cacti of the genus Echinocereus, a few of which are endemic to the Tamaulipan Thornscrub of South Texas and northern Mexico. This year our trip coincided with the peak bloom of Echinocereus fitchii, the Fitch’s Hedgehog Cactus. Though they are generally hard to find, in the right habitat they can be abundant, and we saw dozens, blazing the thornscrub with their pink blooms. Like Coryphantha pottsiana and so many other cactus taxa, the taxonomy of Echinocereus fitchii is murky at best. It is considered by many to be a subspecies of the more broadly distributed Echinocereus reichenbachii. For anyone interested in the topic I strongly recommend reading “A hard-to-manage taxon: The Black Lace Cactus (Echinocereus fitchii ssp. albertii)“. Though it discusses the Fitch’s Hedgehog Cactus’s Federally Endangered cousin, it includes a good discussion on the taxonomy of E. fitchii and E. reichenbachii, including characteristics used to distinguish the two.

Fitch’s Hedgehog Cactus

In my opinion, the Lady Finger Cactus (Echinocereus pentalophus) is perhaps the most spectacular cactus native to the United States. Confined to northern Mexico and extreme southern Texas, they can form huge mats under the shade of mesquite and other trees and large shrubs. They have even been found growing upon protected ridges adjacent to the Laguna Madre. Their bright blooms shine neon pink under the midday sun.

Lady Finger Cactus

The bizarre Pencil Cactus (Echinocereus pentalophus) seems less a cactus and more a tangle of dried branches resting at the base of some thorny shrub. That is, until it’s giant pink blooms open in the early spring and betray its presence to the world. Unlike most other members of its genus, the Pencil Cactus produces a massive tuberous roots that aid in water storage.

Pencil Cactus

The highlight our South Texas cactus hunt, however, was finding the Federally Endangered Star Cactus (Astrophytum asterias) in peak bloom, an experience which I will share in my next blog post.

Star Cactus

March 28, 2017 by mattbuckinghamphotography

South Texas Part IV: Star Hunting

Star Cactus

The Star Cactus (Astrophytum asterias) may be the rarest, most unique cactus in the country. It is known from only a handful of sites in the Tamaulipan thornscrub of extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It is so imperiled that it has been listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is severely threatened by land use conversion and habitat loss. Fortunately The Nature Conservancy in Texas acquired the property that may have the largest remaining Star Cactus population in the country. Here they undertake conservation measures and reintroduction efforts to ensure that this iconic cactus remains for generations to come.

I have donated a number of photographs to The Nature Conservancy in the past. When we decided on traveling to South Texas I reached out to them to see if I could arrange a visit to see and photograph these imperiled cacti. They graciously approved my request, and we met with volunteer Paul Bryant, who gave us an excellent tour of the property. Having previously worked for a non-profit land trust similar to the Nature Conservancy, I know how heavily we relied on our volunteers. I also learned to recognize the good ones, and I had no doubt that Paul was a valuable asset to the Nature Conservancy.

Star Cactus

Though many were growing in the open, the star cactus was extremely difficult to spot. When its not flowering, it is inconspicuous, blending in with the scattered rocks covering the gentle slopes where it grows. Also known as the Sea Urchin Cactus, Sand Dollar Cactus, and False Peyote, it is a spineless cactus that lies relatively flat against the surface in times of drought. Following rains, however it swells with water and can appear quite plump. I had hoped to photograph the bright yellow blooms, but it was not to be. We saw a number of plants that had recently blooms, and others that were preparing to, but we weren’t fortunate to catch any in the act. That was ok though, it was a wonderful experience just to get to see them in their element. The plant itself is beautiful, and made for some interesting photographs even without its bloom.

Star Cactus

There were several other cacti growing in the vicinity of the Stars. The most conspicuous was the aptly named Glory of Texas (Thelocactus bicolor). In Texas this species only occurs in the extreme western and extreme southern portions of the state. Though the populations are disjunct in Texas, they are more or less connected through Mexico. We saw many of their bright pink blooms, both in the open and at the base of nurse plants.

Glory of Texas

We also saw a few of the formidable Horse Cripplers (Echinocactus texensis) in bloom. Looking at these beasts, its not hard to see how they got their name.

Horse Crippler

I only saw one Runyon’s Pincushion Cactus (Coryphantha pottsiana) in bloom. Though not as scarce as the Star Cactus, this species is also rare in Texas, where it is known from only three counties along the Rio Grande.

Horse Crippler

And then there were more Lady Fingers (Echinocereus pentalophus). Though these proved to be fairly common during the trip I never tired of seeing them, and could not resist every opportunity to photograph them.

Lady Finger Alicoche

I found one particularly robust flowering specimen growing among a clump of Varilla (Varilla texana). I came to learn that where Varilla grows, there are usually other interesting things to be found.

Lady Finger Alicoche

We also observed several Strawberries Pitayas (Echinocereus enneacanthus), Fitch’s Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus fitchii), Heyder’s Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria heyderi), and a few Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) on the property, however these weren’t in bloom. I had hoped to photograph Peyote this trip, but a suitable opportunity did not present itself.

There were plenty of other flowering plants to admire, however. Perhaps the most striking was the Berlandier’s Nettlespurge (Jatropha cathartica). It seemed to prefer the same gravelly slopes as the cacti.

Berlandier’s Nettlespurge

While on my knees looking for Peyote I spotted a group of tiny yet striking blooms. The Glandular Milkwort (Polygala glandulosa) occurs in only a handful of South Texas Counties.

Glandular Milkwort

It was hard not to stop and admire the Guayacan (Guaiacum angustifolium), which was blooming throughout the thornscrub.

Guayacan

After arriving at the property, we split up to scour the area. Seth soon came to find me. He had an excited grin and told me that he had something to show me. He led me to a large Texas Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) that had crawled halfway down its burrow. I wanted so badly to photograph it, but despite waiting for some time, it refused to show its face, and we had to continue our hunt for the Star Cactus. I was luck enough to photograph another South Texas Treasure, the orb-weaver Argiope blanda. A. blanda occurs in the United States only in extreme southern Texas.

Argiope blanda

Though I did not get to photograph the Star Cactus in bloom, it was a day full of natural wonder spent in good company, and I left with a real sense of contentment, both in the things I had seen and photographed, and in the knowledge that organizations like the Nature Conservancy exist to protect our planet’s great biodiversity.

A Naturalist's Journey

My Quest for Biodiversity

Coryphantha pottsiana

The Biodiversity of the Rio Grande Valley Part 2: The Cacti

South Texas Part IV: Star Hunting