[Sacred Succulents] Solstice greetings, further travelogue, new items

[benkamm at monitor.net]

(do not ?reply? to this email, send all correspondence to - 
sacredsucculents at hushmail.com )

6/21/10

Solstice greetings to all,

A few new plants and seeds listed at the bottom of this email. We have 
many new seed collections coming in from colleagues in Chile, South Africa 
and the Himalayas, but we have not had time to right up all the 
descriptions yet, so look for these in the coming weeks.

What follows is a further report on our recent Andean expedition. We will 
continue this travelogue over the next 2?3 weeks.
If you missed the first installment you can read it at- 
http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/sacredsucculents/2010-June.txt

Bolivian Travelogue part 2 - 
On our way out of Cochabamba City we made a brief stop to examine a 
monstrose form of the local San Pedro cactus. From the sides of otherwise 
normal columnar stems erupt a mass of small spines, areoles and contorted 
tissue. Close examination with a magnifying glass showed the presence of 
small mealy bugs, the likely cause of this monstrosity, such as we have 
seen in a population of monstrose achuma; Trichocereus bridgesii, near La 
Paz.
An hour out from the city we arrived at Tiatako (Quechua for ?there is 
Prosopis?) to experience a remnant old-growth stand of Prosopis alba, the 
largest of several native algorroba trees. Possibly millennia old, their 
gracefully twisted trunks tower 60'+ tall, the ground littered with their 
long caramel-sweet edible pods. A haunting relic, a momentary view of the 
nourishing forests that once blanketed many Andean valleys, nearly all 
consumed by the flames of the Spanish conquest and fallen to the axe of 
modern progress. What was once the foundation of nutrition for whole 
civilizations now forgotten, reduced to simple fodder for goats and pigs. 
Near these honorable ancient trees we collected Lycium bolivianum, one of 
the Andean ?goji berries?, and a few seeds of what we beleive to be the 
little known Trichocereus lamprochlorus; a spreading columnar cactus to 5' 
tall with a deep glossy green skin.
That evening found us in the lovely mountain town of Totora near 9,000'. 
This town was destroyed in a massive 1998 earthquake that shook the 
region, and amazingly the charm and beauty of its colonial origins was 
born anew during the reconstruction. In the courtyard of our hotel was 
planted a long spined Trichocereus riomizquensis, we took this as a good 
sign that we?d soon be encountering it in the wild. 
The following morning we made the two hour drive to the obscure Incan 
outpost Incallajta. This is arguably Bolivia?s most beguiling Incan site. 
Nestled in a remote valley at 10,000? on top of a flat mountain spur that 
afforded strategic views and expansive astronomical observation. The Incan 
reverence for water is highlighted here by the Rio Machajmarca that feeds 
riparian forest below site and a stunning waterfall that plummets through 
the central heart of the ruins. It must of have been a place of some 
import, as located here is one of the largest known Incan kallankas, a 
massive rectangular stone building measuring some 260' by 80' with 44 
large niches that may have housed ancestral mummies. It was here we 
introduced ourselves to some fine young specimens of Trichocereus 
totorensis growing right out of the stone walls. This is a goliath 
species, part of the T. tarijensis complex, with 10-12" diameter bristly 
stems growing to 12' + tall. This handsome species is surely endangered, 
for other than at the Incan ruins, we only observed small populations 
growing on rocky cliffs and a few scattered adult specimens in the remnant 
Polylepis forest near the town of Totora. In the region around Inkallajta 
we collected seed of the endemic Begonia baumanii whose tuber is used to 
curdle milk for cheese, a succulent Peperomia with a delicious 
balsam/lemon/mint aroma and taste, both a vining and an upright Wichurea 
type Bomarea, a lovely lobelioid Siphocampylus with yellow/orange blossoms 
to entice hummingbirds, an unusual Andean Alnus, the widely regarded 
Andean mint-bush Minthostachys (?muna?), the saxifragaceous medicinal tree 
Escallonia, another wild Ullucus with pink tubers, a few small Polylepis 
lanata trees, caudiciform Dioscorea,  Eryngium, Puya, and others. 
On our return to Totora we stopped  at remnant forests of ?Kewina?, 
Polylepis tomentella ssp. incanoides, an endemic tree now primarily 
restricted to the watersheds where agricultural development and grazing 
from cows and goats is minimal. An Andean genus of 26 species in the rose 
family, Polylepis forests once covered over 20% of the Andes up to 
16,000'+, massacred over the last 500 years and reduced to almost nothing. 
Polylepis are amongst the most echanting trees we have ever encountered, 
with their contorted trunks and peeling bark, not to mention their 
rebellious nature; this is a tree that actually dares to grow above the 
treeline. Worthy of whole volumes, we will discuss these fascinating 
beings in greater depth in a future email. 
Passing back through Totora, we wound our way through the mountains, some 
areas forested with Schinus molle and Tipuana tipu, though many slopes 
were badly denuded and eroded from the loss of tree cover and overgrazing 
by packs of seemingly feral goats. As we made the descent towards Chujllas 
we entered dry forest rich in cloumnar cacti such as Harrisia, Cereus, 
Cleistocactus, the gargantuan Neoraimondia herzogiana and small spiny 
pencil-like opuntioids and clumping Echinopsis. Any moment we expected to 
come across stands of wild Trichocereus riomizquensis. Then we arrived at 
the valley bottom and Chujllas where Friedrich Ritter originally found the 
plant growing on steep ?walls? in 1958. Chujllas is named after a now 
extinct tribe that once inhabited this section the Rio Mizque. At just 
below 7,000', Chujllas could hardly be called a town with 3 or 4 run down 
buildings, the only inhabitants we saw were a few hungry dogs and a very 
large pack of goats. Searching the columnar cacti in the area we 
encountered Cereus and Harrisia, yet not a single Trichocereus. This 
fruitless search continued on for the next two hours until we reached our 
lodging for the night at Aquile. 
We hoped the next day would yield this curious cactus, possibly growing 
with the disjunct populations of Prosopis pallida trees that were reported 
from the wide arid valleys we had come to...
... to be continued

RARE PLANT & SEED LIST - Issue 29 is available. A very large and diverse 
issue, don?t miss it! If you are not subscribed or have let your 
subscription lapse, we encourage you to sign up now. 4 issues for $5 or 8 
issues for $8. This is where we list our offerings of rarities and 
specimens. 

GIFT CERTIFICATES - are always available!

NEW OFFERINGS 

Andean Collections and Photos 2010- CD/DVD with 300+ photos from our 
Spring travels in Cusco, Peru, and Cochabamba, Bolivia. List of our seed 
collections with ethnobotanical notes and cultivation suggestions. 
Available by mid July. Pre-order now. $10 postage paid, foreign orders add 
$2.

Avonia quinaria  ssp. alstonii
Portulacaceae. Flat caudex to 6" wide with small snaky stems covered in 
miniature silver scales arising from the top. Purple flowers bloom late 
afternoon. Native to southern Africa. This bizarre and hopelessly cool 
plant is a traditional bushman yeast source for making mead with a ?kick?. 
Well drained soil and a dry Winter rest are needed to keep this oddity 
growing. Z10a.  1" plant 4 years old $10

Agave difformis ?Xixi?
Agavaceae. Freely clustering rosettes to about 2' with slender polymorphic 
yellow-green leaves, varying from straight to hypnotically wavy, toothed 
to unarmed, sometimes with a silver central stripe. Flower stalk to 10' 
bearing yellowish to pink flowers. Native to the limestone soils of the 
Sierra Madre Oriental, 5?6,000', Mexico. Seed collected from El Tephe, 
Hidalgo. The macerated fiber was reportedly used as soap. An attractive 
unusual smaller species. Z8b  2" seedling $6.50

Commiphora schimperi ?Seroka? ?Osilalei?  ?Myrrh?
Burseraceae. Deciduous bush to small tree. Green bark that peels in yellow 
flakes. Densely arranged clusters of small trifoliate leaves adorn the 
spined branches. Small red flowers. Aromatic sap sometimes considered to 
be one of the official sources for Myrrh resin. Native to dry areas of 
east Africa, from north to south. Elephant food. This species is used by 
the Maasai in antimalaria preparations, and the young roots eaten for 
their sweet flavor. Sticks are considered excellent firestarters. Z10a. 5 
seed $4

Desfontainia spinosa ?Taique? ?Borrachero?
Desfontainaiceae. Highly ornamental evergreen shrub. Holly like leaves and 
1" tubular red flowers with yellow tips followed purplish yellow-green 
fruits. Grows in a limited range from the Columbian Andes south to Chile. 
Generally considered a monotypic species with a family all its own. We 
first encountered this beautiful plant in Cusco, Peru between the ruins of 
Sayacmarca and Runkurakay, at 12,500'. Used throughout its range as an 
ethnomedicinal inebrient, possibly as a delirient entheogen. The chemistry 
is unknown. Easy to grow, in full sun it stays a bush, to 6', in part 
shade it can reach 15' or more. Well drained rich acid soil. Drought 
tolerant once established, but prefers ample water. Rare in cultivation. 
We offer a Chilean clone. Z8b  6"+ plant $14.50

Dioscorea caucasica
Dioscoreaceae. From an underground caudex arise twining vines to 10' with 
prominently veined heart shape leaves. A rare endemic of the forests of 
the western Caucasus Mountains where Holubec collected this seed. 
Medicinal. Easily grown, dormant in Winter. Z5?6.  Plant $9.50 (limited)

Fabiana viscosa
Solanaceae. Shrub to 3' with small sticky cylindrical leaves. Tubular 
yellow flowers cover the plant. Occurs up to 6,500' in Region 3 & 4, 
Chile. Another beautiful and bizarre erica-like tobacco relative. 
Medicinal, aromatic, and possibly psychoactive. Drought hardy. Z9a   Plant 
$9.50 (limited)

Peperomia dolabriformis v. multicaulis Pino 1909  ?Congona?
Piperaceae. Beautiful upright branching succulent species 1?2' tall. Seed 
collected by Guillermo Pino in Cajamarca Dept., San Marcos Prov., District 
Eduardo Villanueva, Peru. Road from San Marcos to Cajabamba, near La 
Grama, 7100'. Growing with Sedum, Peperomia cymbifolia, Lasiocereus 
rupicola, Matucana intertexta, Thrixanthocereus cullmannianus, 
Weberbaurocereus longicornus, Puya sp. Used as a topical painkiller and 
antiinflammatory.                  1" seedling $10 (limited)

Peumus boldus ?Boldo? 
Monimiaceae. A monotypic genus. Attractive evergeen tree 20?50'. Aromatic 
leaves. Scented white flowers, tasty edible green fruit. Endemic to the 
sclerophyllous forests of central Chile. The camphor scented leaves are 
used in cooking and as a tea for liver and gallbladder health. Considered 
something of a panacea. Drought and cold hardy to at least Z8a. Slow 
germination; 6+ months, give cold or try GA-3.      5 seed $3

Phytolacca insularis
Phytollacaceae. Bush to 10' with simple leaves, red stems, pinkish flowers 
and black berries. An endangered and rare Korean endemic poke, 
conservation through propagation is encouraged. The leaves have anti-viral 
compounds. Part shade and rich soil. Z6?  Plant $7.50

Trichocereus pachanoi BBG 64.0762
Upright stems to at least 8'+ tall and 6" in diameter. 5?9 fat ribs and 
miniature spines. Sweet night blooming white flowers. A really gorgeous 
wild San Pedro that we purchased from the Berkeley Gardens years ago, 
their mother plant has since died. Originally collected above 8,000' by P. 
Hutchinson, J.K. Wright & R.M. Straw (#6212)  in the Canyon Rio Maranon 
above Chagual, just below Aricapampa, Huamachuco Prov., La Libertad Dept., 
Peru.                            5?6"+ cutting $16 (limited)

NEW BOOKS
We?ve added over a dozen new titles. For the complete list see- 
http://www.sacredsucculents.com/books.html


SHIPPING & HANDLING:
Seeds? First class mail USA $2.00; Air mail international $4.00
Plants (USA only)? First class priority mail= $6.00 for the first plant 
$1.50 each additional plant.
Seeds ride free when ordered with plants.
Add $1 per plant if you want them sent potted.

CA RESIDENTS ADD 8.25% SALES TAX
We still only take Cash (USD$ or Euros), Money Orders, or Checks.
You can print out an order form- 
http://www.sacredsucculents.com/orderform.pdf
and mail it with payment to our Po Box

SACRED SUCCULENTS
PO Box 781, Sebastopol, CA 95473 USA

Email: sacredsucculents at hushmail.com
http://www.sacredsucculents.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.sonic.net/mailman/private/sacredsucculents/attachments/20100621/639e5a0b/attachment.html>