The gold of the Sierra Paila: Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum (MÖLLER) OKUMURA

Within the last weeks of the year 1990 my son and I had followed the former Wislizenus route of Santa Fe in New Mexico over El Paso and Chihuahua to Parras in Coahuila (1). Here we planned an excursion into the Sierra Paila to fulfil a long-cherished wish: the visit of Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum at his native location. When I studied the Astrophytums in this area five years before, I was missing nearer notes over the location about the "Aureums". The detail 'Sierra Paila' in the first description of Möller for a massif with over 150 square kilometres of extension, unfortunately, identifies the plants so exactly as the famous needle in the haystack. Still today this deserted mountains are completely undeveloped for traffic. One drives on bumpy and gravel ways drawn in no board without being able to question somebody over the locality. We at all events meet no other vehicle at this January day, no burro-rider, yes not even one of the otherwise usual, stray dogs. We are completely alone with us and our little reliable hired car...

The first stretch of road to the north leads us past at the prominent 'El Pilar' (2), a table-shaped mountain. Trucks which used the way in earlier days to the fluoride mines in the Canyon Verde (3) have condensed the rubble of the road by her weight, so that we get on with a surprising speed. The weather is still and at about 20 degrees centigrade in the early morning pleasantly warm. At noon, though, when isolated ground mist has dissolved the temperature increases to 30 degrees in the shade! The table mountain has disappeared in the outside mirror for a long time when we reach the southern runners of the Sierra on a winding path. It is the earlier country of the wild Lipan Indians (4). They still terrorized Mexican settlements down to Parras 145 years ago, as Wislizenus as an eyewitness reports. Although only armed with arrow and bends, they were dreaded warriors. They were frequently not afraid to announce her 'visit' before, so that the residents of the Hacienda of El Pozo filled the watering-place for her horses on time. (5)

We have accomplished our target toward 11 o'clock noon. Already for some time flat, grey limestone formations and the characteristic Chihuahua desert flora accompany us. Her manifestation is embossed by the evergreen Gobernadora bushes mainly here. Mesquite trees can be hardly seen on the other hand, many leafless, serrated Ocotillo switches are found in her striking, bag-formed growth form. Only Yucca carnerosana (Trel.) McKelvey surpasses them considerably in height. One could mistake from a larger distance smaller copies for persons who lonesome and motionlessly stand in the area. The area has to be used very well with gripping rock disks and pleasantly vegetation free interstices in the loose dry bush. Like at all Astrophytum locations of Coahuila are not missing here agave lechuguilla Torrey, the 'resurrection plant' and the 'dragon-blood' (10). Equal frequently grow Hechtia spec. and Euphorbia antisyphilitica Zuccarini. But most impressive are, however, the silvery-gray islands of Opuntia bradtiana (Coulter) Britton & Rose, this one permanently reminding me of the landscape at the Bolson of Cuatro Cienegas. Thelocactus rinconensis (Poselger) Britton & Rose (syn. Th. lophothele) are less strikingly but found in beautiful copies, also Glandulicactus uncinatus (Galeotti) Backeberg (syn. Sclerocactus uncinatus), Lophophora williamsii (Lemaire ex Salm-Dyck) Coulter and groups of Mammillaria pottsii Scheer ex Salm-Dyck (syn. M. leona). The ground flora up to knee height is dominated visually by gray-green till bright yellow dried grasses. It was conscious to me that Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum with his canary yellow spines 'hides himself' however, the reality then surpasses all idea anyway! The fit is so perfect that I knock tenderly many tufts of grass as putative 'Aureums'.

Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum grows here with ball till more cylindrical form one by one, partial also in smaller groups. It reaches at a body diameter up to 15 cm of about 35 cm height. Flakes are only seldom on the turquoise green epidermis. Unfortunately, also many dead and ill plants have to be found. One recognizes the latter at their purple-red colouring, mostly as a result of a large water shortage. The large number of injured copies is also astonishing which shoot more-headed. If the cause are game-bites obviously the animals must see through the mimicry of the Aureums better than me! As mentioned already it consists in the imitation of dried grass by the spines. These are canary yellow at the upper part of the plants, in the other body area by weather influence ash-grey. They surround the plant so thick that the body can be seen only for once. I counted per areole up to 20 spines. They are rounder in the cross-cut like those of the Capricorne-type and astonishingly rigid and pungent although they make such a soft, nest interwoven impression.

First literary notes over this 'gold' of the Sierra Paila are from Ochoterena 1922. He distinguishes them of the Astrophytum capricorne (Dietr.) Britton & Rose, which was already well known at that time more than 70 years, by the numerous spines and the missing wool flakes. The suggested name Astrophytum capricorne v. occidentalis (11) wasn't taken by Heinrich Möller's first description in 1925. He found less characteristic the occurrence to the north of the desert of Mayran than the impressive, canary yellow spines of the plants. Short before him, also 1925, A.V. Fric quoted in connection with the first description of his 'Astrophytum senile' also the 'Aureums ' under reference to Ochoterena (12). He didn't see them as a variety to the 'Senile' how late Backeberg did it merely because of morphological similarity and without location knowledge (13). From area geographical considerations and the almost identical structure of the flower inside with Astrophytum capricorne v. niveum (Kayser) Okumura one has to understand Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum as high derived arrivals of this group. Astrophytum capricorne v. senile is more closely related to the Capricorne type and has in his evolution convergently developed a similar appearance like the Aureums (14).

The Astrophytums in the Sierra Paila live in a very dry, hot climate with mainly summery rains. The precipitations reach hardly 10 mm in the winter months in January at average day temperatures around 20 degrees centigrade. The thermal response can be extreme in this season. While the freezing point is occasionally reached at night, during the day, temperatures aren't rare in the shade up to 35 degrees centigrade.

Unfortunately, the time is much too fast at this beautiful place in the former empire of the Lipan Indians. On the return journey to our hotel we try to find Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum according to an older bibliographical reference of K. Schreier (1972) at the connection street Saltillo-Torreon. This doesn't turn out well but instead of this we discover one for a still unknown habitat of Astrophytum capricorne v. minus (Runge & Quehl) Okumura. Back in Parras powerful, dark clouds pull up in the nightly sky. And what is so rare here in winter then happens: heavy rain drums under lightning and thunder on the dry landscape.

Footnotes and remarks in the text:

(1) Frederick Adolphus Wislizenus, born in Germany, for political reasons emigrated to Switzerland where he studied medicine. At first he carried out his doctor profession in Zurich, Paris and New York and followed later the practice of Dr. George Engelmann until 1846 in St. Luis. He made an expedition journey from here which took him away fateful from May 4th, 1846 till June 8th, 1847 from Independence to Santa Fe, El Paso across Chihuahua to Coahuila. His correct observations of nature and plant collections despite the adverse circumstances in the middle of the American Mexican war have made his journey famous. However, this is also a literary merit of his colleague Dr. George Engelmann who published a number of first descriptions of the Wislizenus discoveries.

(2) 'El Pilar' means 'pillar', 'signpost'.

(3) Fluorite is a main dismantlement product of this area. However, there were also isolated gold mines primarily in the north of the Sierra Paila, like at Casa Colorada.

(4) Presumable from the tribe of the Tamahuara.

(5) This insolence became a disaster for them on May 11th, 1847. They got into the ambush of a texan armed forces device, which one was on the way to general Wool at Buena Vista. Thirty Lipians were killed. Only some could escape back into the Sierra de los Alamitos and Sierra Paila.

(10) Jatropha dioica Cervantes, mentioned by the natives 'Sangre de drago,' eliminates at first a water clear juice when one cuts the finger thick shoots. It turns pinkly to firm red few minutes later.

(11) 'occidentalis', means 'western' under allusion to the more eastern locations of the Rinconada type of the first description. Unfortunately, several misprints are contained in the publication of Ochoterena mixing up the 'occidentalis' and 'orientalis', so for example the picture description of the 'normal' Astrophytum capricorne on page 113. Obviously this led to the name confusion at Fric who speaks in his first description of Astrophytum senile in 1925 from ' Astrophytum capricorne v. minor or orientalis Ochoterena ' nearby Saltillo.

(12) Following the meaning of Sadovsky (1951), Fric would have described the Aureum already in 1924 before Möller. This statement is idle. Also see the remark to the naming 'orientalis'.

(13) He describes in his recombination 1937 the Aureum completely incomprehensibly as 'blank', although he quotes Möller as an author in the same sentence. The complete text consists of the following words merely: 'Astrophytum senile v. aureum Möll., fast unbeflockt bis kahl, Stacheln strohgelb (Coahuila). Unbeschrieben, von Berger als Varietät genannt; gute Art'.

(14) One can see the Niveum because of his northern geographical position, also because of more different, conservative morphological characteristics as the Capricorne with the evolutiv oldest characteristics. The nude form of the Niveum beyond all doubt represents a derivation specified more highly in the Sierra Ovejas and Sierra de Anteojo. The Aureum has been different actually and only by the high specialized spines of the latter. On his migration to the south through the Sierra Purisima to the Sierra de los Alamitos it developed a completely pure, inheriting constant variety. His output form, the nude Niveum, is at his native country locations mixed regarding flocks and spines.

Pictures and map texts

Form 01

In the past, one could admire dense spined Astrophytum capricorne (Dietr.) Britton & Rose at the slopes of the 'El Pilar' at Est . Marte. Today, this location almost is empty collected by European cactus tourists, too. Despite his volcano good phenomenon the table mountain consists of lime sediments stored horizontally and not of eruption rocks. His plateau is table flat.

Form 02

The dry bush - succulent plant community at the location of Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum in the Sierra Paila. Evergreen 'Gobernadora' bushes and 'Ocotillo' crops dominate in the upper regions of the flora, up to knee-high agave lechuguilla as well as different grasses prevail. A typical cactus representative is Opuntia bradtiana (Coulter) Brandegee.

Form 03

This specimen of Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum growing between Agave lechuguilla and Euphorbia antisyphilitica developed several shoots after being bitten by animals. The spines weave around the cactus body completely in the upper part. The plants owe their name 'aureum' to the characteristic canary yellow colour i.e. 'gold colour.'

Form 04

Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum usually grows disguised visually in the yellow grass of his native country. This copy is for once visible very well. How the rolled up 'resurrection plant' beside, the cactus suffers under large water shortage and his epidermis, usually dark green, is discoloured crimson red. It has comparatively rigid, few turned spines. They are mechanically pushed off in the lower body part.

Map 01

Starting out from Astrophytum capricorne v. niveum in the Sierra de Anteojo one has to establish an increasing specialization of mimicry in related plant communities to the south. Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum is the most highly developed representative in the Sierra Paila with his canary yellow spines.

Map 02

Situation for the location board for Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum. The highlighted part corresponds approximately to the most important scenes in the American Mexican war of 1846-1848, where Wislizenus as an army doctor became eyewitness. Details see text.

Literature statement

BACKEBERG, C. (1937): Astrophytum senile FRIC var. aureum MÖLL., Blätter f. Kakteenforschung Jg. 1937-2 :

BERNHARD, U.; HOOCK, H. (1986): Die Astrophyten von Cuatro Cienegas, Kakt. and. Sukk., 37 (7): 141-147

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

HOOCK, H. (1988): Schutz der Nektarkammer bei Astrophytum-Blüten, Kakt. and. Sukk. 39 (3): 58-61

HOOCK, H. (1990): Astrophytum capricorne v. senile (FRIC) OKUMURA - Fortsetzung aus Heft 2/90, Kakt. and. Sukk. 41 (3): 56-60

HOOCK, H. (1990): Pa jagt efter Astrophytum i Bolson de Cuatro Cienegas, Kaktus (Nordisk Kaktus Selskab), 25 (3): 51-54

KUNDELIUS, J. (1981): Astrophytum senile FRIC, Kaktusy Sukulenty 2 (4): 82

MÖLLER, H. (1925): Echinocactus capricornus DIETR. und seine Varietäten, Zeitschrift f. Sukkulentenkunde 2 (7): 127-129

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

NEUTELINGS, T. (1981): Wat denk U van ... (14) - Astrophytum senile FRIC, Succulenta 60 (6): 125-127

OCHOTERENA, I. (1922): Las Cactaceas de Mexico, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico : 110-113

SADOVSKY, O. (1951): Bemerkungen zur Gattung Astrophytum LEM. (Schluß), Mitteilungen der SKG 10 (9): 33-34

SCHÜTZ, B. (1973): Astrophytum senile und aureum, Kakteen-Sukkulenten (DDR) 8 (4): 59-62

WISLIZENUS, A. (1848): A Tour to Northern Mexico, Rio Grande Press Inc., New Mexico: 1-141

Bilder:

Tafelberg, El Pilar, Coahuila
Pflanzengemeinschaft Sierra Paila, accompanied plants
Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum, drei Pflanzen, three plants
Astrophytum capricorne v. aureum, rote Epidermis, red skin
Verbreitungskarte (1), habitat map
Verbreitungskarte (2), habitat map

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