Today started as well as yesterday had finished, again another heap of taxa all in one location (S1432) : Cereus hildmannianus, Dyckia sp., Echinopsis oxygona, Frailea mammifera, Lepismium lumbricoides, Opuntia brunneogemmia, Parodia ottonis, P. linkii, P. arnostiana, P. permutata (Notocactus ritterianus), P. langsdorfii, P. sellowii – we were in a real area of cactus diversity!
S1433 gave us Frailea pygmaea, Parodia ottonis and Cereus hildmannianus according to Marlon’s list for his stop RS-051. Looking through my pictures I also find that I photographed P. linkii, P. sellowii, and Gymnocalycium denudatum and I now see that Marlon has added two extra reference numbers to his list for these additional plants. I also photographed a couple more Iris sp.
S1434 was an impromptu stop along the track, because the side of the road was a low rocky outcrop with lots of cacti in flower. we found Frailea pygmaea, Gymnocalycium denudatum, P. ottonis, and P. sellowii. Those yellow flowers really stand out and shout! We noted that while we had at most stops squeezed ourselves between tight strands of wire, here, and at various other stops before, the cacti were on the road side of the fence, not inside the fenced off area. That is where the cattle grazed, while roadside the plants were protected from these bovine bulldozers. I promised myself to look roadside first before squeezing myself between more wires.
Close to the gate to Fazenda Aurora we made another stop (S1435). Here we found Frailea densispina (and F. horstii?) growing on outcrops of metamorphic igneous rock together with P. langsdorfii and P. ottonis.
S1436 was almost continuous with the previous stop and had Frailea densispina with golden spines and F. horstii with white spines again together with P. langsdorfii and P. ottonis.
At S1437 all these taxa were joined by Parodia scopa ssp. succinea.
S1438 was another stop for P. succinea, a yellow spined subspecies of the white spined P. scopa.
By just reading these reports you might ask why we put ourselves through some expense and discomfort, just to see these same plants growing in nature. It is to see the diversity of these habitats that is interesting, with sometimes an expected taxa missing and sometimes a species not yet seen coming into the picture(s), literally. Yes, I know, we’re mad. But having harmless fun and seeing and learning a lot about foreign countries and its nature, people and climate in general.
The Cactus Trip Diaries 
Comments on: "Thursday, 22 October 2009 – Dom Predito to Sao Gabriel" (1)
Yes we are mad!