This is What Dichotomous Branching Looks Like
Mammillaria nejapesis is a pretty little cacti native to the Oaxaco region of Mexico. It is a bit different from other cacti in that it is prone to do something called dichotomous branching. I have two of them, and both have branched and are blooming on their...
The Melocactus are Developing their Tops
I've told you about my melocactus before, but more is happening with them all of a sudden, and I am having fun watching them bloom and develop their cephalium. These cacti, native to Brazil and the Caribbean, are distinctive because of the cephalium that grows from...
The Alpine Wildlife Weekend
The city of Alpine, Texas, hosted what they called Wildlife Weekend: Bats, Bears, Bighorns back in January. I am a bit late in telling you about it, but it is worth a story, late or not. On Friday, January 31, I drove to Alpine which took me through Seminole and...
The Gymnocalycium That Kept on Blooming
Gymnocalycium is a neat little cactus native to South America, mostly found in Argentina, but sometimes found in Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Sometimes nicknamed the chin cactus because the rounded ribs often have a "chin" below the areoles. The flowers can...
The Yucca and Cholla Dilemma
Back in 2009 I made two trips to Cibolo Creek Ranch near Marfa, the first time to learn about taking pictures with Wyman Meinzer, the second to plant cactus gardens for the ranch with their native cactus. On one of those trips they had just grated their roads. This...
Update on the Melocactus
I bought my Melocactus salvadorensis at a Texas Association of Cactus and Succulent Societies (TACSS) seminar in Austin in 2022 and showed it to you in "My New Melocactus," November 3, 2022. Melocactus are distinguished by the cephalium that develops in the center of...
Bright Spots in All the Dust
Friday, March 14, graced us with 75-80 mph winds, a coating of dirt that I swear you could measure with a ruler-not just dust-dirt, and tree branches and litter that became an obstacle course. The sky, the horizon, the ground, everything was brown. I had to check on...
When Caudiciforms Lose Leaves
Caudiciforms are plants of the succulent persuasion that store water in their caudex for prolonged periods of dry weather. If you have an adenium, commonly known as a desert rose, then you have one of these plants, sometimes called fat plants because of their...
The Carlsbad Caverns Trip
You may have read the previous post about my trip up Guadalupe Peak, "Guadalupe Peak; the Highest Mountain in Texas," December 15, 2024. My fellow trekkers and I stayed at the Whites City Inn which is conveniently located on the way to Guadalupe Mountains National...
Guadalupe Peak: the Highest Mountain in Texas
I climbed the highest mountain in Africa in 2007, so I thought it only fitting that I climb the highest mountain in Texas, too. Just like with Mount Kilimanjaro, no one wanted to climb Guadalupe Peak with me, either. I kept putting it off, thinking I would find...
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