Another walk among Hedgehogs..

[Silas_Sancona]

After a cold awakening, headed east again to collect more grit, and take a look around to see what was flowering ..or getting close.

Palo Verde are getting close..  Plenty flowering closer to Florence, but haven't quite started  further east. What were flowering were plenty of Echinocereus, and some Mammillaria grahamii.  Also came across a long sought observation of  " ..Something other than a Cliff Brake- type Fern "  ..All while keeping my distance from some watchful Cattle roaming the area while out there, and having another, not so welcomed meeting with the Chain Fruit Cholla while sniffing around another spot closer to Florence on the way back, lol..

Wanted to get further out east along the highway today but road crews are currently in the process of constructing a low bridge crossing across the large Wash ( Donnely ) just east of where the Boulders are located.. Supposed to be completed by June, so maybe i'll take a peek in the fall.. Hoping the improvement project is a sign the state may pave the rest of the highway out there all the way to Kearny.

Unlike the " Cactus Flowery " visit around the same time, back in 2020, no encounters with large Rattlesnakes ( or any Snakes for that matter ) guarding their spiny friends.  Good amount of Lizards out though, even as cool as it was.

Anyway,

Echinocereus englemanii   ..possibly ssp. fasciculatus,  Looking fantastic..









































More Mammillaria grahamii  to admire.. Many flowering.












One of a couple big boys.. Don't see too many specimens w/ a stem wider than a pair of sunglasses.





A perfect place to hide ..Among shed and dried out Chain Fruit Cholla stems..






Ocotillo, in flower.. " Weepy " one is kind of neat..










Figures the only Saguaro i noticed ..jusstt starting to bud,  is this tortured soul,  part of which looks to have collapsed recently.. Hopefully it wasn't the actions of some moron that caused that arm to fall..





Young Barrel ( Ferocactus wislizeni ) between a rock and a hard place..



A few,  non cactus-y things..

Myriopteris  ..possibly M. covillei  First, and only observation of any Myriopteris sp. out here, ..so far at least..







Desert Lavender, Condea emoryi    ..yep, still smells just like Lavandula..





Fluffgrass, Dasyochloa pulchella  Still amazes me such a tiny Perennial Grass can survive everything it endures out in the desert.. ( Specimen pictured is about the diameter of a Quarter )



Drought - dwarfed  Lupinus sparsiflorus .. one of just a few spring wildflowers flowering out there this year.

[Meangreen94z]

Great pictures, somehow I missed this. I’ve become a huge fan of Myriopteris and other desert ferns 

[Silas_Sancona]

45 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

 I’ve become a huge fan of Myriopteris and other desert ferns 

For the most part, they seem pretty adaptable.  Silvery / blue colored ones add a nice pop of color against earth toned or dark colored rock as well.  Biggest challenge at the moment is wider availability since wild collected plants will often have a tougher time surviving in a garden < if they do at all > 

[Silas_Sancona]

A few add-ons from yesterday's visit: 

First signs of flowers to come, and the always attention getting variability between different clumps.
















Handsome Mams..













..And this unexpected find.. There are a couple fairly rare cacti that have been documented nearby but not entirely sure if this is one of those. @Tom in Tucson Thoughts?? Form / spine arrangement points me toward Coryphantha or Escobaria, but not sure.   Not disclosing exactly where i observed this specimen regardless.







Having seen what seems like a gazillion Echinocereus ( ...eneglmanii ) specimens here,  this extra long-spined specimen is the first, obvious deter from the more typical forms i've encountered, even those that have fairly long central spines on them. 

Again, not disclosing exactly where observed to keep it protected.  If old enough to, and i catch it when doing so, will have to see if there is any differences in how the flowers look on it compared to the others. Even if just a one off, odd ball specimen, a very unique look to this plant.

[Tom in Tucson]

The upward pointing non-hooked central spines would point to the appropriately named small barrel called Echinomastus erectocentrus subsp. acunensis. It's mainly found on both sides of the border near Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, but they have been found just SE of Florence. They're spines are typically a reddish brown, but I have not grown this northern form to maturity yet. So that's my best guess.

Hi 78˚, Lo 44˚

[jimmyt]

Fantastic pictures!  Thanks for posting. 

[Silas_Sancona]

16 hours ago, Tom in Tucson said:

The upward pointing non-hooked central spines would point to the appropriately named small barrel called Echinomastus erectocentrus subsp. acunensis. It's mainly found on both sides of the border near Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, but they have been found just SE of Florence. They're spines are typically a reddish brown, but I have not grown this northern form to maturity yet. So that's my best guess.

Hi 78˚, Lo 44˚

Thanks again Tom   I actually looked around more after asking and found that yes, it is the Acuna sub sp. of Echinomastus erectocentrus. Internet went out again right after i posted, so i couldn't reply until ..now, lol. 

[Tom in Tucson]

I've got a couple questions for you too.

Did you only find 1 Echinocereus with those very long spines?

Were the Echinomastus SE of Florence?

Hi 80˚, Lo 44˚

[Silas_Sancona]

28 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

I've got a couple questions for you too.

Did you only find 1 Echinocereus with those very long spines?

Were the Echinomastus SE of Florence?

Hi 80˚, Lo 44˚

Yes to both questions.. 

I'd seen iNat observations of the Echinomastus from in the vicinity (  all the observations for the area outside florence are labeled under a "general area" description, rather than the more pin pointed observation marker. Believe this is done to try and lessen any opportunity for poachers to find listed threatened / endangered species ).  and figured i might eventually find one.. That said, i'm sure i've walked right past this specimen on every visit out there when walking this particular area.  Now that i found this one, will be on the look out for more on future visits.

Overall distribution map for Echinomastus erectocentrus.  Both subspecies:



Specimens observed S.E. of Florence:



Another area of the species distribution on the S. E. side of Tucson w/ both observation markers ( General area = circle. Pin point = closest to where it was observed in person. )



The Echinocereus is also the only specimen w/ such long spines i've seen out there -to this point anyway- Also on the lookout for any others on future walks there.

[Tom in Tucson]

On 3/9/2023 at 8:08 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Yes to both questions.. 

I'd seen iNat observations of the Echinomastus from in the vicinity (  all the observations for the area outside florence are labeled under a "general area" description, rather than the more pin pointed observation marker. Believe this is done to try and lessen any opportunity for poachers to find listed threatened / endangered species ).  and figured i might eventually find one.. That said, i'm sure i've walked right past this specimen on every visit out there when walking this particular area.  Now that i found this one, will be on the look out for more on future visits.

Overall distribution map for Echinomastus erectocentrus.  Both subspecies:



Specimens observed S.E. of Florence:



Another area of the species distribution on the S. E. side of Tucson w/ both observation markers ( General area = circle. Pin point = closest to where it was observed in person. )



The Echinocereus is also the only specimen w/ such long spines i've seen out there -to this point anyway- Also on the lookout for any others on future walks there.

Thanks for the diligent research. I wish we could do some more exploring of the area. It could prove very rewarding. Keep up those 'Walks among Hedgehogs'.

Hi 82˚, Lo 40˚

[Silas_Sancona]

2 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

Thanks for the diligent research. I wish we could do some more exploring of the area. It could prove very rewarding. Keep up those 'Walks among Hedgehogs'.

Hi 82˚, Lo 40˚

The area where i visit is all ..or mostly.. BLM land ...from roughly the Florence Kelvin,  north to the Gila River,  and east toward Kearny.  If i had a vehicle with better tires / clearance, there are some areas closer to the Gila, along Cochran Rd ( gravel / dirt ) that really need to be looked over.

Good portion of the land south and east of the highway may be BLM / State Trust land also, but i know there are sizable, private ranches on that side of the highway as well.  Does seem as though that entire area might turn up some unexpected surprises..  For what little has been looked at there, a list i'd seen posted somewhere documenting stuff found growing on Black Mountain ( N.N.W. of Oracle ) seemed interesting.

If accessible, eventually would like to get out to areas just to the south of Parklink, ...near where it and the 79 intersect  where Escobaria vivipara  populations have been observed.

[Tom in Tucson]

4 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

The area where i visit is all ..or mostly.. BLM land ...from roughly the Florence Kelvin,  north to the Gila River,  and east toward Kearny.  If i had a vehicle with better tires / clearance, there are some areas closer to the Gila, along Cochran Rd ( gravel / dirt ) that really need to be looked over.

Good portion of the land south and east of the highway may be BLM / State Trust land also, but i know there are sizable, private ranches on that side of the highway as well.  Does seem as though that entire area might turn up some unexpected surprises..  For what little has been looked at there, a list i'd seen posted somewhere documenting stuff found growing on Black Mountain ( N.N.W. of Oracle ) seemed interesting.

If accessible, eventually would like to get out to areas just to the south of Parklink, ...near where it and the 79 intersect  where Escobaria vivipara  populations have been observed.

Escobaria vivipara is common alongside the road as you head north of Oracle Junction towards Florence. I don't know how far north they grow, but I suspect they won't tolerate the heat much further north. What elevation is that Parklink intersection?

Hi 82˚, Lo 40˚

[Silas_Sancona]

17 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

Escobaria vivipara is common alongside the road as you head north of Oracle Junction towards Florence. I don't know how far north they grow, but I suspect they won't tolerate the heat much further north. What elevation is that Parklink intersection?

Hi 82˚, Lo 40˚

Looks like the observation closest to Parklink sits somewhere just above 3-3,200 ft.. Hard to judge actual altitude using Google Earth though.  Observation was made in July of this year.  Rest of the next-closest  observations look to be from the N.E. side of the Tortolitas, roughly due west of Oracle.. Elevation there seems to be above 3,900 ft. A little suspect of the " Parklink" observation  since i've seen observations of stuff made from say in- town Tucson, but the landscape in the picture(s) posted seems more up in the mountains rather than in an urbanized part of town. 

Because of all the over crazed cactus folks out there who'd use location info to go and dig up specimens, can understand if the person who posted the observation wouldn't want to give a more focused location though.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[Silas_Sancona]

Wandering off my usual path closer to the campgrounds, some new, -to me-  Echinocereus groups encountered up at Oak Flat yesterday, w/ some ledge-dwelling Agave chrysantha  thrown in..  Bittersweet finding these knowing the looming threat the area faces in the not too distant future, depending how the battle to save Oak Flat turns out..