In Issue 22:

White Bugs with Red Juice
by Royal Akin from Cactus Corner, Palomar C & SS
(with photos)

Lithops & Conophytum
Small Scale Succulents for the Big Time Collector
By Stephen Cooley from the Cactus Patch, Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society

Desert Ferns
By Sue Haffner from Cactus Corner News , Fresno C& SS

How Can They Grow Cacti There?
by Emy de la Fuente, Jr. from Cereus Chatter, South Florida C&SS
(with photos)

Adromischus
by Phyllis Flechsig
from the "Cactus Courier", Palomar Cactus & Succulent Society

How Plants Are Named
Submitted by Bob Smoley from Prickly Pages, Greater Pittsburgh C&SS

The Dragon Trees
By Andrew Wilson
from the "Cactus Courier", Palomar Cactus & Succulent Society
(with photos)

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White Bugs with Red Juice
by Royal Akin from Cactus Corner, Palomar C & SS

[Picture 1]
[Picture 2]
[Picture 3]
[Picture 4]

For the first time in 50+ years of growing Opuntias, I finally have an infestation of cochineal insects. If you think your cactus is growing rice, you may have it too. Actually they look like cottony aphis, and apparently are closely related. If one is crushed, it will bleed an intense reddish juice. The pre-Hispanic Mexicans discovered this and found that an excellent dye could be made from the bugs. Like many other useful things, this discovery was carried back to Europe and up until the late 1800's was an important source of dye. A related insect called Kermes in Roman times was used for the same purpose but is far inferior in several respects. Aniline dyes took over in the last century, except in the cosmetics industry where cochineal is still an important colorant in lipstick. Certain chemical treatments allow various reddish or orange colors to be produced, among them, lake and carmine red.

The obvious infestation is caused by the female insect of the fly Dactyopious coccus which feeds on several Opuntias. It's favorite being guess what- Opuntia coccinellifera, which is apparently the Nopal of Mexican cookery. My source says the female is wingless and is found in a ratio of about 200 to 1 over the male. If so, how does it spread? The male is over twice as large, a deep red color with long white wings and has two hairs extending from the tip of the abdomen. It has no feeding apparatus. The female generates the white covering, fills it with eggs and then dies. Most of the color is in the eggs.

As of 1950, cochineal was produced in Peru, Algeria and Spain as well as Mexico. The bugs were brushed into bags twice during the summer season and then killed by heat. The resulting dry powder is sold to dye makers. Just in case you are interested, the coloring substance is called Carminic acid.

I have about 5 species of Opuntia and the other 4 seem to be resistant, with only minor infestations on the rims of the fruit. The bugs are easily washed off with a strong stream of water. If the infestations is heavy, the drippings look really bloody.

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Lithops & Conophytum
Small Scale Succulents for the Big Time Collector
By Stephen Cooley from the Cactus Patch, Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society

When it comes to succulents, it would not be unusual to find yourself short on space but long on enthusiasm. You could take over what's left of the back lawn and put in a few cold frames and a lathe house, or perhaps, try something different: scale down the size of your plants. Lithops and Conophytum are ideal for this. Both stay small and can be grown in small pots (the smaller the pot, the smaller the plant stays -- I have a Lithops terricolor that has been in a 1.5" tall X 1.5" wide pot for nearly 5 years!)

Though both have a reputation for being finicky and a little hard to grow, that is a distinction given them by those who have purchased them as novelties. The educated and enthusiastic hobbyist should have no difficulty in raising both. Though I will not go into how to cultivate them here, ask around at the next meeting and you'll get all the growing information that you need.

Some of the many attractions that Lithops and Conophytum have (besides their size) are the various shapes and patterns that decorate their leaves. They both flower abundantly and are readily raised from seed. They have a habit of replacing all their leaves every year, which means that any blemishes are tossed off and replaced with new, unmarked leaves. They look fantastic when staged with the right colored top dressing and a nice pot. And, there are 88 species of Conophytum and 36 species of Lithops -- with countless variations, both natural and horticultural. Lithops tend to be summer growers while Conophytum are winter growers, so there is always something going on in the collection.

My favorite source for seeds is:

Mesa Garden, PO Box 72, Belen NM 87002.

Free catalog or view it online at: www.mesagarden.com

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Desert Ferns
By Sue Haffner from Cactus Corner News , Fresno C& SS

Cactus and ferns? That's an unusual combination, isn't it. You may be surprised to find that some species of ferns, plants usually associated with shaded, moist habitats, have evolved to thrive in hostile desert conditions. The University of California Botanical Garden has experimental plantings of these ferns in their desert garden.

The ferns of dry habitats are variously called rock, dryland, desert, or xerophytic ferns. They belong to several genera in the family Pteridaceae, a family that includes the more typical wet-growing maidenhair ferns. These are widely distributed in many dry regions of the world and are particularly diverse in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico. They are not succulents, as their roots are the delicate threads typical of all ferns, but the rest of the plants show adaptations to arid environments. In some, the leaflets are very small, have a waxy cuticle, are covered with dense scales, or are colored to reflect sunlight. Some have the ability to dry out entirely during prolonged dry spells, then rehydrating after a rainfall and seeming to spring back to life. At the U.C. garden, under experimental conditions, some of these ferns have survived up to five years of desiccation and have been revived by a heavy shower.

Genera of desert ferns in clued Notholaena, Cheilanthes, Astrolepis, and Mildella. Yes, these are rare, but some are available from specialty fern dealers. Be on the lookout for some of these, as they can add an interesting, softening element to your cactus garden.

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How Can They Grow Cacti There?
by Emy de la Fuente, Jr. from Cereus Chatter, South Florida C&SS

[Picture 1]
[Picture 2]

How can anyone grow cacti under extremely harsh conditions such as the following?

Average annual precipitation 1092 mm (43 inches)

Absolute maximum temperature 38.0degC (100degF)

Absolute minimum temperature minus 30degC (-22degF)

Average annual temperature 9.1degC (48degF)

Average monthly temperature
January, -4.8degC (23degF)
February, -3.2degC (26degF)
March, .7degC (35degF)
April, 8.3degC (47degF)
May, 14.0degC (57degF)
June, 19.2degC (67degF)
July, 22.0degC (72degF)
August, 20.8degC (69degF)
September, 16.7degC (62degF)
October, 11.3degC (52degF)
November, 4.9degC (41degF)
December, -2.4degC (28degF)

USDA Hardiness Zone 5a/5b (Think about the fact that South Florida is in Zone 10a/10b)

Just looking at the Picture 1, it's hard to imagine that they could grow cacti there.

However, the fact of the matter is that students at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts are growing cacti and many tropical plants quite well thanks to the facilities provided by The Lyman Conservatory which houses the following within its 12,000 square feet 1,114 m2) of glasshouses and 127 acres (51 ha):

-- 1,100 types of woody trees and shrubs
-- 1,200-1,500 types of hardy herbaceous plants
-- 1,500-2,500 types of tender herbaceous and woody plants
-- 4,000-5,000 different kinds of plants, with altogether approximately 8,000 total on campus

The Conservatory glasshouses were built in 1895, 1901, 1952 and 1981. Inside, their average temperature varies by house, with a minimum of 50degF (10degC) in the coolest house and 70degF (21degC) in the Palm House, and a summer maximum of over 100degF (38degC) in all greenhouses, even with shading and hosing down! To survive New England's bitter winters, the glasshouses are warmed with a low-pressure steam system. Believe it or not, irrigation is all done by hand.

Long known as The Lyman Plant House, the Conservatory is named for the Lyman family of Northampton, owners of one of the homesteads making up Smith's original campus. The primary donor of seed money for the Conservatory was, you guessed it, Edward H. R. Lyman, whose summer estate is now the site of the campus preschool and also the Botanic Garden's 15-acre (16 ha) Fort Hill Nursery. The Smith College 150-acre (60 ha) campus is itself an arboretum--a living museum of plants. There is also a collection of 60,000 dried plants available for research in the herbarium.

Founded in 1875, Smith College is a private liberal arts college for approximately 2.500 undergraduate women. It admits both men and women as graduate students.

Having experienced a New England winter, for me, it's hard to imagine that these ladies (and a few gents) would be growing cacti well up there; however, the picture provides the proof.

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Adromischus
by Phyllis Flechsig
from the "Cactus Courier", Palomar Cactus & Succulent Society

Some lovers of succulents are enchanted by fiercely armed plants, some by gorgeous flowers, some by a thickness of stem that indicates great age; but some of us are really delighted by plants that look good enough to eat. If you are of this last persuasion, then Adromischus is just what you are looking for. It doesn't hurt that the plants are permanently small, have pretty (if not really showy) flowers, often have thick or tuberous roots, and are easily propagated from leaves. It is these leaves that are the real draw: oddly shaped, interestingly marked, sometimes (you might think) dipped in coarse sugar, and endlessly variable.

An adromischus ( the name means "stout stalk") is a small shrublet, native to South Africa's Cape Province or Transvaal, with persistent leaves arranged in a spiral on the main stem and a spike of small upright flowers with five fused petals. Flower color is usually white to pink to lavender, except for A. phillipsiae, where the flowers are orange and hang down; there is some controversy as to whether this species really is an adro. Some adros were originally described as cotyledons, and many new species were named over the years since the genus was first described in 1852. In 1978 Helmut Tolken revised the genus, divided it into five sections according to flower form, and combined, or "lumped", many species. After much study he had to conclude that some species were extremely variable in leaf shape; for instance, he combined A. hallii, A. geyeri, A. kubusensis, A. blosianus, A. antidorcatum, A. alveolatus, A. herrei, and several others into A. marianae and its varieties. As a result, just about any adro with spindle-shaped leaves, plain or fancy, rough or smooth, can be confidently termed Adromischus marianae. All members of this group are well worth owning; they are all very attractive. Other, well-known species are such ones as A. cooperi (A. festivus is a synonym), with fat leaves mottled with dark red; and A. cristatus with green leaves that have wavy edges. A. leucophyllus differs from all other adros in having flat leaves that are completely white.

Adromischus are fairly easy to grow and to propagate. Bear in mind that many come from winter rainfall areas of South Africa and therefore want winter water. To start a new plant, twist off a leaf; dry it a few days, lay it on a pan of soil with the stem end inserted just a little way into the soil, and it will do the rest. Do not remove the original leaf until it has dried up.

LITERATURE CONSULTED:

Pilbeam, John. The complex Adromischus marianae complex. Cactus File, v. 1, no. 2, Aug. 1991, p. 4.

Tolken, H. R. New taxa and new combinations in Cotyledon and allied genera. Bothalia, v. 12, no. 3, p. 377.

Pilbeam, John, Chris Rodgerson and Derek Tribble, Adromischus.

Cactus File Handbook 3, England, 1998.

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How Plants Are Named
Submitted by Bob Smoley from Prickly Pages, Greater Pittsburgh C&SS

Names given to plants are recognized as being of three types. Example:

Dumpling cactus or peyote...these are common or colloquial names.

Lophlophora williamsii Coulter...understood by botanists throughout the world and universally accepted...these are scientific names. This name is binomial - that is composed of two parts: a generic name (Lophlophora) followed by a specific epithet, (williamsii). The former comes from the Greek lophos, a crest, a phoreo, to bear, and refers to the hairy crown of the plant. The latter commemorates C.H. Williams, an English plant collector in the 1860's. Coulter is the botanist first responsible for this name, the author of the name. A species can be subdivided into a smaller unit based on an isolated community of plants such as Lophlophora williamsii var. diffusa...these would not warrant status as a separate species.

Lophlophora williamsii `Cristata'...this is a cultivar name and applys to plants artificially maintained in horticulture but not (usually) established in the same way as a species in the wild, although they may have been found there in the first place. The name can also be written Lophlophora williamsii cv. cristata (not quotation marks when written this way).

Additional categories can be interpolated, where needed, into the system below. For example a large genus can be divided up into subgenera, a sub genus into sections and a section into series. Some words such as `kind', `sort' or `group' have no special rank.

A synopsis of the main taxa using the dumpling cactus as example:

Suffex

Kingdom Vegetable

Division Spermatophylla Flowering Plants -phyta

Order Caryophyllales -ales

Family Cactaceae Cactus Family -acaea

Subfamily Cactoideae -oideae

Tribe Cacteae -eae

Genus Lophlophora Dumpling cactus

Species L. williamsii

Varieties L. williamsii var. diffusa

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The Dragon Trees
By Andrew Wilson
from the "Cactus Courier", Palomar Cactus & Succulent Society

[Picture 1]

It began with a load roar, a tearing sound and then a horrible sound of branches snapping. Early on a recent Sunday morning I looked out of a window and saw a massive acacia had been uprooted by Santa Anna winds. It had smashed through an orchid house I had just constructed but, even worse, it had torn limbs from the Dracaena draco. In the following weeks the damage has been cleared away, but the severed limbs of the Canary Island dragon tree cannot be reattached, at least not without massive surgery. After twenty-five years it has developed from a four-inch pot plant into a handsome, luxuriant specimen almost twenty feet tall.

These are not short-lived plants; they grow and develop slowly. A famous specimen of D. draco on Teneriffe was seventy feet tall and had a girth of forty-five feet when it was finally blown over many years ago. It was believed to be well over a thousand years of age, but records are uncertain. With these, as with other monocotyledonous plants, ring-dating is not possible.

The dragon-trees form a succulent subset of the Dracaena genus, a member of the Agavaceae1. Dracaenas are found in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world and comprise over 50 species. The succulent tree subset is much smaller, recently increasing to six species. It includes, apart from the well-known D. draco from islands off the western shelf of North Africa (Teneriffe, Gran Canaria, Cape Verde), the dragon's blood tree D. cinnabari from Socotra, an island off the eastern side of the continent. Two lesser known species are found on the mainland of east Africa, (D. ombet, D. schizantha) and D. serrulata occurs in southwest Arabia. Recently, a new species has been discovered in very small numbers in the southwest corner of Gran Canaria2. It is a smaller species than D. draco and is said to be closer to the east African species. Also, Myron Kimnach has reported seeing a separate form of D. draco from the mountains of Morocco. It was discovered in 1997 and is now termed D. draco ssp. asjgal. This form is taller than the normal type.

Tree dracaenas are found naturally on or adjacent to the north-western and north-eastern African shores. However, their fossils have also appeared in southern France. It is currently thought that all species of succulent tree dracaenas were inhabitants of the coastline of the Tethys sea, the large body of water once separating Africa from and the Eurasian continent that now, after millions of years of continental drift, has been compressed into the much smaller Mediterranean sea.

Of these species only two are grown in southern California. D. draco is by far the more commonly cultivated. It was introduced to this area early last century and large specimens can be seen in gardens from Santa Barbara all the way to the Mexican border. The specimen in front of the Hotel del Coronado is noteworthy; its presence in Hollywood movies of the forties elevated the fame of the plant. Some specimens in Balboa Park approach thirty feet in height. It has been found possible to move them even when large, an expensive but feasible operation. The leaves can be used for basket weaving.

The other species grown, D. cinnibari, was introduced to California more recently. To my knowledge there are no more than a few specimens that have reached tree-like proportions. In this area the plant at Grigsby's nursery, now about fifteen feet tall with a heavy trunk, was planted nearly thirty years ago. The leaves are narrower and are hollowed. Recently, it has begun to flower and should provide seed that was not available previously except from Socotra. It will be interesting to see whether the famed dragon's blood, a red sap that is obtained from incisions made in the trunk, will possess the same properties as it does in its habitat. The resin, also known as cinnabar, was used as a pigment in paint, for treating dysentery and for enhancing the color of precious stones and staining glass and marble. It has found fame in the burnishing of wood for Italian violins, including those of Stradivari. Of all species known it is probably the most dramatic in outline.

In cultivation, neither species presents special difficulties in coastal southern California. By coastal, I mean regions within thirty miles or so from the coast. Further inland more watering is required and protection from desiccating winds is beneficial. Both species are native to islands and will withstand severe coastal winds without difficulty. Neither species will tolerate more than a few degrees of frost. It also appears that, apart from being well drained, soil requirements are not special. By providing additional water, particularly in the younger years, growth is increased. They are not untidy plants and can be planted next to pools. Leaf shedding occurs just once per year.

These plants can be raised from seed or ``cuttings''. Seed-raising of the dracaenas does not generally give good germination results. However, seedlings appear plentifully around established plants. This results after the seeds pass through the digestive systems of birds that enjoy the orange, succulent fruit. Incidentally, the fruits of D. cinnabari were once the food of the dodo, the now extinct bird that inhabited several islands of the Indian Ocean, including Socotra. It has been suggested that the low numbers of D. cinnabari seedlings seen on the island is a direct result of the lack of this bird to process the seeds.

The term ``cuttings'' is somewhat misleading when applied to these plants. A cutting would be a two or three feet length of stem terminated by apical growth and might weigh several hundred pounds. However, these massive shoots will root if placed in a container in the shade, watered occasionally and misted more frequently in hot weather.

These are trees to be planted for future return. You will not see them planted within instant gardens or in shopping malls. If given ten or twenty years, their presence will focus attention in a scene; if given fifty years they will dominate it. They offer a more massive, tree-like structure with softer edges than tree yuccas, agaves, palms or other monocotyledonous species can provide. With relatively low height and compact, aerodynamic profiles they withstand fierce winds without flinching. As true succulents, they are unlikely to burn in brush fires. There are no signs so far that they succumb to insects or diseases except in old age. So, planting them for posterity is a worthwhile consideration. But give them an open space. They are not immune to the falling limbs of fifty-foot trees.