Contents Volume 17. No 1

Spring 2006

The Cover Picture

Editorial and more

Trevor Wray

Dear Auntie G

Gertrude Greenfly

Disapora 

Trevor Wray  

Coffee with live rabbits  Ian and Julie Priestley

Advanced terms for beginners - Scorch 

Trevor Wray

Concerning Cacti

Betty Wilde

A crazy start in the cactus world

Warren Withers

The tea bag collection?

Jeff Capel

Brambles Patch to Brambles Patch 2 Ian and Julie Priestley
Odds and endpieces

 

Trevor Wray

Cover picture: 

This picture of the flower of Senecio grantii was taken last summer in the Ed’s greenhouse. The plant is a curiosity; from a cutting it quickly grows a series of knobbly caudexes with fat leaves of pastel mauve on lax stems. It probably has some merit as a succulent bonsai with the roots exposed and the stems pruned. At least that’s how I am trying it. The startling flowers are where this and a few other Senecios fail, they completely lack any subtlety and should be cut off immediately.

Just kidding! Oh dear, I expect Colin will cancel his subscription.

The IHSP would like us to call this plant Senecio sempervivus ssp. grantii and I recently bought a S. coccineus which looked similar because it is also apparently the same species. Another raffle prize.

EDITORIAL and more.....

The M word and others

When I type words that are new to my computer I can add them to a personal dictionary so they can be recognised in the future. I was searching through this list, (the file is called the ‘custom.dic’), on my computer and clearing out the things that had been added that should not have been. Quickly into the frame were carrettii, carettii and carretii; surely only one of these was the correct specific name for a small Mammillaria from near Monterrey, Mexico. There is something a bit magic about a name with two r’s, t’s and i’s (I always think of that often misspelt word ‘committee’) but I am afraid that ‘carretii’ is the correct one. I expect you knew that and that the Mammillaria was named for a Mr. Carret in 1898, which was before my time.

Use of the M word reminds me there might be a case for Mammillaria to be spelt Mamillaria (though not in my custom.dic). Backeberg, the German cactus guru of the 50’s, spelt it like that in his publications (though the English translation of his Cactus Lexicon uses the more familiar spelling). We have an echo of this in the name Mamillopsis, a genus generally included in Mammillaria these days. Mammilloydia retains the ‘m’s because the name was suggested as an intermediate between Mammillaria and Neolloydia. The one species, M. candida, is an attractive plant which is also now considered a Mammillaria and is a worthwhile plant for both beginners and experts to grow. It has white or pink tinged spines and prolific flowers.

You may wonder why I have added this note about a genus I have been known to be rude about. Did you know that among my New Year resolutions was one to be kind to Mammillarias. I have bought several recently; yes there are very many attractive ones, and I am judging at the Oxford Cactus and Mammillaria Show, so I thought I better show willing. Would I be judging the Mam(m)s? Well they never asked me and perhaps I wouldn’t be that willing!

A new book for your library?

I was idly surveying books on the internet and wondered what was the most expensive book I could buy on cacti or succulents. Abebooks soon found the answer with a search for ‘cactus’. For £6,433.82  I could purchase the following tome;

Versuch bey angehender Frühlingszeit die Vergrösserungs Werckzeuge zum nütz lich und angenehmen Zeitvertreib anzuwenden by Ledermueller, M.F.

I suppose if you spend that much money you expect a long title and goodness knows what it means. The text is in German and French. For my money I would get 12 engraved hand coloured plates of ‘the iris, the rose, and the Ranunculus’ which apparently formed the original book and a bonus of 12 hand coloured engraved plates on South African succulent plants. You might wonder how the word ‘cactus’ comes into this: one of the South African plants is ‘Cactus tuna flavicans’ an old name for an Opuntia from Mexico!

Anyway if you thought this was a trifle expensive you needn’t bother with the most expensive book mentioning ‘sedum’ at £24,200. Actually it is about Astronomy in the 17th century and the ‘sedum’ is part of the Latin title and nothing to do with the Sedum we know and love. At least Ray Stephenson can relax that he does not need to add this to his library!  

Guess the species

‘This species….. ‘is indeed one of the few species that have just about all the most desirable qualities that lovers of miniature living sculptures look for: a rounded, sub spherical body, beautiful tessellate-tuberculate texture, subtle mottled color patterns - a living sculpture and painting in one’. If you give up, you will find the answer in 'Odds and Endpieces'

2006 and all that...

Roland has put together a programme of talks and events that is as good as ever. There are speakers that are new to us and old favourites. Set aside time for the Zone events especially the open day at Harrow - this is one of the Ed’s faves and he will be looking for a map reader. Then of course there is the National Convention… The Ed is going to be busy this year!

Oh, the magazine…

Please excuse the cryptic titles in this issue - rest assured they are about cacti and succulents, (mostly!) There is a selection of articles so the editorial board (the cat and I) hope there is something to entertain you.

Enjoy the mag!

Cactophilitically

Trev_trevorwray@aol.com

Here’s a nice err… Matucana isn’t it? Well a Matucana it certainly is but ‘nice’ is perhaps not the word you would use with a closer look. Click the picture to see why.

 

LINKS

Northampton and Milton Keynes Branch of the B.C.S.S.

Back issues of Northants News Volume 16.3

Back issues of Northants News Volume 16.2

Back issues of Northants News Volume 16.1

Back issues of Northants News Volume 15.3

Back issues of Northants News Volume 15.2