Greetings
Bloggers! I do apologize for the long
delay between posts! Today’s post features the photos of the beautiful blossoms
of the Fish-hook Cactus. I found these beauties on a local ranch in Western
Texas, Near Del Rio. I have created many new Products for my Zazzle store with these Photos, including Skins and cases for the Kindle and Iphone 5. To see these and other Products Visit my store here http://www.zazzle.com/meganrene88
Hamatocactus
setispinus
Description
Habit: H. setispinus is a typically solitary cactus that sometime
will offsets from it’s base. This species produces a lot of fragrant yellow,
orange-eyed flowers at the top of the stem. An attractive blooming machine.
Stem:
Globular to cylindrical,
yellow-green to dark bluish green of flabby texture like Echinocereus, up to 15
cm tall, 10 cm in diameter; distinctly ribbed.
Ribs: About 13 high and 1-2 mm wide, very
evident, thin, wavy on the margin, straight or more or less spiralled.
Roots:
Long fibrous.
Areoles :
± circular, 5-8(-14) mm long,
2-7 mm wide, 15 mm apart, with short wool and finally naked: Areoles typically
bear extrafloral nectaries.
Spines:
Both radials and centrals,
white or yellowish and brown radials 12 to 16 (10-30 mm long), central 1 to 3
one of them usually hooked, longer than the radials, 6 to 40 mm long (or more).
Tubercles absent.
Flower:
Silky yellow with orange to
darker red throat , 3 - 7 cm across, 3,8 - 5,2(7) cm long. Inner perianth
segments oblong, acute, widely spreading. Flowers-bud pointed, covered with
imbricated naked scales (whithout wool or bristles in the axil). Flower-tube
narrow, funnelform.
Fruit:
Red and fleshy, nearly naked,
globular to ovate, 8-11 mm long, that dry and fracture basally at full
maturity.
Seeds:
1,3-1,7 mm long and 0,5 -0,8 mm
diameter, black tuberculate, hilum large basal, circular.
Phenology:
Summer grower.
Blossoming
time: It flowers very
well, even when quite young, producing lots flowers in succession all Summer.
Distribution:
USA (Southern-Texas) and
Northern Mexico (Taumaulipas ; Nuevo Leon, Coahuila) Habitat: It is often found
growing under Mesquite scrubs on costal lowlands. Altitude 0 – 550 m
Cultivation:
This species is easy and well
worth growing, wonderful when grown in containers as a patio plant in colder
climates. Require little care once they have reached a nice flowering size H.
setispinus is suited for any rich, well drained soil in full sun throughout the
year (But do better with some light shade in summer). Pot culture: grow best in
a well-drained container filled with a porous cactus soil mixture that doesn't
contain too much humus. To insure robust plants water and fertilize during the
aestival growth cycle, this plant need plenty of water (indicatively to about
once a week) But needs to be avoided wetting the bodies of these plants while
they are in sunlight. A wet cactus in the sun light can cause sun burning which
can lead to scars or even fungal infections and death. Care must be taken to
prevent sooty mould forming on the sugary secretions from near the areoles.
Frost
Tolerance: In winter
keep completely dry at 5°C this usually aids in maintaining a healthier plant,
but it is hardy as less as -12 to -7°C depending on the origin. (Temperature
Zone: USDA 9-11)
Reproduction: Seeds or cutting. Seeds are the
typical way of reproducing. These cacti will easily grow from seeds and some
from cuttings. Seeds can be sown in the spring or summer in well-drained pots
of cactus soil; sow the seeds thinly on top. Cover them with a bit of fine
quartz grit. Moisten and lay a piece of glass across the top. The pots should
be set in a warm greenhouse until they start to sprout, after which the glass
should be progressively removed so they can receive full light and air. It isn't good to keep the glass over the
seedlings. Well-developed seedlings can be planted separately in small pots.
Cuttings
made from pieces of the stem of any size can be detached and laid aside for a
few days, to allow a protective "skin" to form over the cut. They can
then be planted in pots. Place them in a spot where they'll receive sun, and do
not water until the soil becomes fairly dry. After a while the soil should be
moistened regularly, but never kept constantly saturated.
Etymology: The genus name "
Hamatocactus" derives from the Latin word “Hamatus” meaning “fish-hook” to
describe its central spines furnished of a terminal hook and the word
"cactus", the genus from which this segregate was removed. ( The
genus name implies: "hooked cactus").
The species
name "setispinus" Derives from the Latin name “seta” meaning
“bristle” or “stiff hair of an animal” + “i” (connective vowel used by
botanical Latin) + “spina” meaning “thorn, prickle, spine” + “us” (latinizing
suffix) ( The specific name implies: " bristle-like spines ").
