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UC Davis Botanical Conservatory

10/14/2014

6 Comments

 
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I recently had the chance to visit U.C. Davis's Botanical Conservatory.  I wandered on my own for a while, then went looking for plants for sale.  Soon, I met Ernesto and Marlene, two of the terrific staff members at the Conservatory. Ernesto took me through two greenhouses I hadn't been into, and we dorked out hard.  Ernesto is a wealth of information about all kinds of succulents, particularly ariocarpuses (about which he knew pretty much everything), haworthia, and various cacti. 

Of course, I ended up taking some plants home with me, including a tiny ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus and a tephrocactus geometricus!  Major excitement in GS-land, let me tell ya. 

The only kind of plants the Conservatory didn't have a ton of were crassulas.  As you know, I love crassulas.  I began having fantasies of bringing my own wee c. deceptor, c. maughanii, and c. barklyi cuttings to these greenhouses and propagating them like mad.  For now, I had to settle with taking a bunch of pictures, some of which I'll share with you here:
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By quite a long shot, this was the largest Echinocereus rigidissimus var. rubrispinus I've ever seen!
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uebelmannia pectinifera var. multicostata
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Haworthia emelyae
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This variegated haworthia truncata is off the hook! Looks like it could use a little water to plump it up, though...
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Gasteria sp.
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Can anyone help me ID this?
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Huge tillandsia clump
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Sedum mocinianum
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They had some big astrophytums! I put my hand next to it to give you a sense of the scale.
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A white-sloanea crassa. I have no idea what that means, other than that it's some kind of asclepiad.
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Euphorbia symmetrica
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Ariocarpus sp.
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Pelecyphora aselliformis
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Ferocactus sp.
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Ariocarpus retusus
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Mammilaria sp., crested
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This was labeled echinocereus pulchellus var. amoenus.
It was blazing hot in the greenhouses, and humid to boot.  I'm sure I cut a humorous figure in a striped wool suit, computer bag, and pearls (I was there for work and stopped by the Conservatory afterward).  But Ernesto and Marlene acted like I belonged there.  

All in all, definitely worth visiting.  I hope I'll get to come back soon!


6 Comments
Debra Lee Baldwin link
10/14/2014 07:14:50 am

There are some really crazy plants here! I'm so glad you had a chance to meet and hang out with Ernesto. I'm curious how big the leaves are on that hairy sedum. And that last plant, the echinocereus, do you think it's a crest?

Reply
Katie (GS) link
10/14/2014 03:06:01 pm

Thanks for commenting! I think the echinocereus must be monstrose. I didn't realize it when I was there (being more of a succulent gal than a cactus gal), because I didn't know how the non-monstrose ones look. Re: the sedum... I'm not terrific at estimating a size, but I'd say that each "rosette" was between one and two cm in diameter (probably closer to two).

Reply
Rosemarie Armstrong
10/15/2014 07:58:59 am

Great blog you have! Thanks for writing it! Love the photos (with names) & tales of your adventures. The plant you need an ID for looks like Avonia quinaria with buds. Could be another species, though. What a clump!

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Jess link
10/17/2014 09:06:52 pm

Lucky you living near such a fabulous facility... And for being able to explore! That Sedum mocinianum is cool - I want one!

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Candice Suter link
11/3/2014 12:17:50 pm

I'm so glad you got to meet Ernesto and see the amazing greenhouses. I went there last year with our club and it was incredible! Great photos!

Reply
Beckys Bucketlist link
12/14/2020 09:56:06 pm

Great read thank yoou

Reply



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