Astrophytum coahuilense near Lerdo, Durango
The railway line from Saltillo and Parras over Villarreal led about 1920 to the metropolis Torreon - Gomez Palacio - Lerdo. It is therefore not surprising that the most westerly location of Astrophytum coahuilense near Lerdo is named in 1925 by AV Fric, who used the railway extensively for his travels. He writes about this habitat: "...on calcareous, rocky cliffs near Villa Lerdo in the state Durango...
By structural changes the habitat is now directly near the suburbs and and is easy reached by car on a wide street. It is an abandoned lime quarry, at about 1200 meters above sea level in the immediate vicinity of the Rio Nazas. The mountain peak is due to dense ground cover very difficult to reach, because one does well to watch out for snakes. On Wednesday the 25.12.1985 I read in my field notes: "...the mimicry of Astrophytum arises mainly from the shape of the rocks lying around, only secondarily by plant color. Obviously, the population is already very over-collected, because there are only young plants in the barely to climb, steep demolition on the east side of the former mining..."
As the dominant accompanied vegetation is found Prosopis sp., Fouquieria splendens, Jatropha dioica, Larrea tridentata, Hechtia subulata and extensive fields of Agave lechuguilla. Their dried two to three meters tall flower stands are excellent suited to make loud noise on the floor completely reversed to warn rattlesnakes before the European invader. Highlights in cacti there are: Echinocereus stramineus, Echinocactus pectinatus, various Mammillaria, Opuntia leptocaulis, Thelocactus bicolor.
photos
Astrophytum coahuilense
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