HOOCK, H. 1988 . Kakt. and. Sukk. Band: 39 Heft (12) Seite 294-298 Ein Zufall mit weitreichenden Folgen: Die Erstbeschreibung von Astrophytum asterias (ZUCCARINI) LEMAIRE

HOOCK, H. 1999 . CaVeKa (Belgien) Band: 12 Heft (10) Seite 155-158 Tijdschrift voor Liefhebbers van Vetplanten Kamerplant De nieuwbeschrijving van Astrophytum asterias (Zuccarini) Lemaire

A chance with far-reaching consequences: the first description of Astrophytum asterias (ZUCCARINI) LEMAIRE

After an anecdote the botanist and natural scientist baron Wilhelm of KARWINSKY has to thank chance for the discovery of Astrophytum asterias. On his second Mexico voyage, the first he did 1826 -- 1832 in the Bavarian order, he was away 1842 with a coach from Monterrey to Tampico. Someplace a helpful gust of wind has blown the sombrero just to the place in which he found the most beautiful species from the genus Astrophytum in the Tierra Caliente of Tamaulipas. Whether this event is correct now or it isn't at all, it is quoted with pleasure within the following 140 years again and again. A far larger, yes almost unbelievable chance was overlooked, which left its tracks to this day: at least one of the plants, which KARWINSKY sent for ZUCCARINI from the location, flourished pure yellow in Munich later!

It is natural for us, that the flower tube colour of Astrophytum asterias is red. It can tend orange or brownish though too and is very variable in this evolutionary young species at all. On the other hand, pure yellow flowers hardly ever occur. This was well also a reason for the Asterias friend WERY to report1982 about his success to this rareness at the genetic selection. KAYSER has 54 years before pointed out such a preciousness by Dr. MOELLER in the Neuhausener cactus collection, which came from the FRIC imports of 1924. Which correct quota the pure yellow blossoming Asterias have in nature isn't known. If one views larger seed of location material, then it might have to be measured in per cent or per mille, however. FRIC has collected 2000 copies and imported into Europe, about 500 only survived the winter shipment from Hamburg to Prague. Under this one single pure red blossoming plant was found. At that time, FRIC doesn't mention the quota of the pure yellow blossoming ones for good reason. His enemies doubted the trueness of his Asterias and in any case the pure yellow flower was still included at that time! So it was enormous chance that KARWINSKY has just selected such a plant at the described historical moment. Otherwise one should assume a pure yellow blossoming population has existed, which one has been found no more to this day. There aren't any arguments for such a hypothesis.

ZUCCARINI (1797-1848) got his plants from Mexico in spring 1843 and at least one flourished in summer 1844. In the following year he published his famous first description of the Echinocactus asterias in the treatises of the royal Bavarian academy to Munich. It is executed comprehensively for scales with unprecedented precision also for today's requests. Alone the part of the flower description surpassed almost ten times the size of the LEMAIRE's genus definition of 1839. ZUCCARINI would certainly have recognized and documented a red flower tube . Whether only one single blossoming plant was at his disposal remains questionable, though. 1941 reports GRÄSER that 1844 Astrophytum asterias was in store for Munich in several pieces in the botanic garden. However, unfortunately, his statement isn't covered. For the seed description ZUCCARINI had to go back to material which the council of state FISCHER from Petersburg made available. He had got this from KARWINSKY from Mexico in turn. If the possibility had been open to ZUCCARINI to pollinate two Asterias mutually, he would have hardly missed the opportunity to study fruit and seed formation.

At that time, KARWINSKY's Asterias didn't reach only to Munich but also to the imperial garden to Petersburg. The prince SALM DYCK, J. also leads it in his list of 1849. The "Collection" of the trade market garden HAAGE, F. A. jun. in Erfurt also was in the possession of this preciousness as RÜMPLER reports 1886. The plants were possibly exchanged between the two collections since the prince and HAAGE were in a regular connection. However, a flower description became known of no-one. Astrophytum asterias was already lost presumably in the 50th of the 18th century. It was found again in 1919 and then 1923 in Mexico.

According to the first description almost 50 years passed in which the cactus friends mourned without message the loss of the missing Asterias. The cactus hunter REICHENBACH, well known at this time, with the results of his journeys at the Mexican highland, finally then provided a ray of hope. Under the numerous Astrophytums which the engineer collected from railway tracks were besides Astrophytum capricorne, plants similar the Asterias. One of his customers, the gardener NIKOLAI from Blasewitz near Dresden, introduced them to a larger circle for the first time on the occasion of the year general meeting of the society of the cactus friends on November 12th, 1893. Two years later the masters of the November session reached the conviction under the management of Karl SCHUMANN, these round Astrophytums must be Asterias. When disturbing, merely the low rib number was felt. But ZUCCARINI had already mentioned in his commenting words for the first description that the ribs, "almost always 8 at the number", also could be divergent. That historically occupied mistake of Astrophytum asterias with Astrophytum myriostigma has published SCHUMANN in his articles 1896 as well as his complete works in 1903. It was repeated by MEYER 1911 and was only possible in the end because the pure yellow flower of the Asterias as an essential diagnosis had to be consulted. MEYER comes to the result that every doubt must fade against a nearer connection of both forms and the Asterias form can without objection well be described as a variety of the E. myriostigma.

The described fallacy hardly decreased SCHUMANN's great reputation since he had to pull a wrong conclusion from the data on hand. Here fared another botanical capacity for a victim for the KARWINSKI' chance fundamentally worse. ROST raised the Astrophytum capricorne to a genus of his own, "Maierocactus", because it flowers yellow with a red throat. One has to ascribe it to his intellectual dishonesty also. In the same document he says to know the "grey form" of Astrophytum myriostigma from the mountains of Coahuila exactly, but also having studied the flowers of the Asterias in culture and at the location. Destiny wanted that ROST was not informed about the sensation of FRIC's recovery two years before. "Maierocactus" was said no and smiled unanimously in the complete expert world.

The FRIC 's cactus imports 1923-24 to Europe indicated the century event for the Astrophytum friends. BRITTON, N. L. & ROSE, J. N. reported that the collector SOLIS already had found the plants in the Rio Grande valley in 1919, however, the identity of these copies with Asterias is still doubted today. Presumable wrong because two years later CONTRERAS, F. collected there plants and unprincipled dealers destroyed the habitat in 1935. The advertisement from HAAGE, F. A. jun. in the magazine for Sukkulentenkunde from the year 1924 may give an impression of the value of the Astrophytum asterias found again. The price of 40 German marks for a plant with four centimetres of diameter corresponded to approximately half the monthly wage of an industry worker with a good salary at that time. It joined that FRIC kept back most of his Asterias for the seed extraction as well as crossing trials for the "Pragohybriden" and further limited therefore the supply.

The Astrophytum asterias with a red flower throat was a revolution looking at the evolutionary connections in the genus. We view the structure trials of botanists and enthusiasts in her historical sequence. One can clearly distinguish a time in front of and one after FRIC. If one frequently used the spines as a diagnostic key in front of 1925, it is afterwards most of flower tube colour as well as opening mechanism and colouring of the fruit. Merely some English-speaking authors like MARSHALL (1941), GILKEY (1944) and FEARN, P. (1960) still used the spines with regard to the temporary systems of HOUGHTON, A. D. (1930). These systems however, based on an article from MOELLER in which Myriostigma especially is treated. ROST, E. C. had actually the modern points of view cleaned out already with his structure after the flower tube colour. MOELLER H. formulated this with his two lines of the crossing ability between the species in 1927. They represent the actual evolutionary progressions fundamentally more aptly and correspond to the area distribution also in principle.

In the discovery history of Astrophytum there were also other chances beside KARWINSKY's one. This shows us the seven ribbed Astrophytum capricorne which sent POSELGER for the first description. But none was also only roughly connected to such far-reaching consequences. It has caused mistakes of experts and covered the connections of the genus for more than 80 years. However, a look back at the varied destiny of Astrophytum asterias shows us furthermore that we are possible witnesses of another, decisive event today: the definite wiping out of this perhaps most beautiful of all cactuses. Every plant friend is invoked by SANCHEZ-MEJORADA by the appeal not to buy any import plants and to help to save Astrophytum asterias in his native country with that.

Literature:
BACKEBERG, C. (1941): Cactaceae Lindley; Systematische Übersicht (Neubearbeitung) mit Beschreibungsschlüssel, Cactaceae; Jahrbücher der DKG: Teil 2, Juni 1942: 55

BRITTON, N. L.; ROSE, J. N. (1937): The Cactaceae - Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family, Carnegie Inst. of Washington: 2. ed.: Vol.III; 182-185; Plate XXI, XXII

FEARN, P. (1960): The Genus Astrophytum LEMAIRE, Nat. Cact. Succ. Journ. (GB) 15 (3): 46

FRIC, A. V. (1925a): Rod Astrophytum, Zivot v Prirode 29 (10): 33-35

FRIC, A. V. (1925b): Povsechne o rodu Astrophytum, Zivot v Prirode 29 (12): 41-42

FRIC, A. V. (1925c): Odrudy astrophyt, Zivot v Prirode 29 (11): 37-40

FRICK, G. A. (1935): Fricks Notes, Cact. Succ. Journ. (US) 6 (12): 178

GILKEY, J. E. (1944): The Astrophytum Group, Cact. Succ. Journ. (US) 16 (10): 143-150

GRÄSER, R. (1941): Einiges über Astrophytum asterias, Beiträge z. Sukkulentenkunde Jg. 1941: 21-22

HIRSCHT, K. (1894): Die Jahres-Hauptversammlung der Gesellschaft der Kakteenfreunde Deutschlands, Monatsschrift f. Kakteenkunde 4 (1): 1

HIRSCHT, K. (1895): Aus der Gesellschaft der Kakteenfreunde, Monatsschrift f. Kakteenkunde 5 (12): 189

HOUGHTON, A. D. (1930): Tentative Key to the Genus Astrophytum, Cact. Succ. Journ. (US) 1 (8): 157

KAYSER, K. (1928): Neuhausener Kakteenkultur, Zeitschrift f. Sukkulentenkunde 3 (12): 259-262

KNEES, S. G.; TAYLOR, N. P. (1987): Changes to CITES Regulations, Brit. Cact. Succ. Journ.(GB) 5 (4): 112-113

KREUZINGER, K. (1935): Verzeichnis amerikanischer und anderer Sukkulenten mit Revision der Systematik der Kakteen, K. Kreuzinger-Verlag, Eger: 20-21

MARSHALL, W. T.; BOCK, T. M. (1941): Cactaceae, Abbey Garden Press, Pasadena, USA: 36-37, 153-154

MEGATA, M. (1944): An Account of the Genus Astrophytum LEMAIRE in: Memoirs of the College of Agriculture, No. 56, Kyoto Imperial University: 1-62

MEYER, R. (1911): Über Echinocactus myriostigma S.-D. und Echinocactus asterias ZUCC., Monatsschrift f. Kakteenkunde 21 (6): 89-91

MOELLER, A. F. (1930): Astrophytum myriostigma, Cact. Succ. Journ. (US) 1 (8): 156-157

MOELLER, H. (1927): Beobachtungen an Astrophyten, Zeitschrift f. Sukkulentenkunde 3 (3): 52-55

ROST, E. C. (1925): Maierocactus GEN. NOV., Zeitschrift f. Sukkulentenkunde 2 (8): 138-142

RÜMPLER, TH. (1886): Handbuch der Cacteenkunde in ihrem ganzen Umfange, Im. Tr. Wöller-Verlag, Leipzig: 2. ed.: 459-462, 469-470, 492-494

SALM-DYCK, J. (1850): Cacteae cultae in Horto Dyckensi anno 1849, Bonn: 27, 29

SCHUMANN, K. (1896a): Echinocactus asterias ZUCC., Monatsschrift f. Kakteenkunde 6 (2): 22-23

SCHUMANN, K. (1896b): Echinocactus asterias ZUCC. (Schluá), Monatsschrift f. Kakteenkunde 6 (4): 52-53

SCHUMANN, K. (1903): Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen, Monographia Cactacearum, 2. ed. mit den Nachträgen von 1898-1902, J. Neumann Verlag, Neudamm: 7, 290, 320-325

VAUPEL, F. (1923): Echinocactus asterias ZUCC., Zeitschrift f. Sukkulentenkunde 1 (8): 88-89

WERY, H. (1982): Reingelbe Blüten bei Astrophytum asterias (ZUCCARINI) LEMAIRE, Kakt. and. Sukk. 33 (1): 7

ZUCCARINI, J. G. (1845): Echinocactus asterias in: Abhandlungen der mathem.-physik. Classe der Königlich Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, IV-2: 13-19, Tab.III

Photos:
Astrophytum asterias
habitat Tamaulipas
Table 1 History
Table 2 History
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yellow flowers
normal flowers
Astrophytum asterias at Llera

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