Opuntiads of the USA

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Introduction (Day 1)

My wife and I recently took a trip to Peru to visit cactus and bromeliad habitats. We went with Cactus Expeditions, our third trip with Guillermo. The name of his company is being changed to South America Nature Tours because he also does birding tours (www.southamericanaturetours.com). I'll post a day or two of the trip every day.

We left Sacramento, CA at 6 AM Sunday Sept. 6, and after 3 flights and 2 layovers, arrived in Chiclayo, Peru at 7:30 AM Monday Sept 7. We are arriving early; the trip starts officially on the 9th. We check into the Hotel and that afternoon visit one of two Inca museums in a neighboring town. It is full of Incan gold and pottery discovered in tombs in Sipan. One mummy is also on display.

Tuesday Sept 8 (Day 2)

Our tour oganizer has arranged a trip to Chaparri Nature Preserve about 20 miles from Chiclayo. We picked up a guide in a small town on the way. We had passed some hills along the way that were covered in cacti, once inside the preserve we spotted one in bloom and stopped for photos. It was Neoraimondia gigantea ( now N. arequipensis) the only species of the genus accepted in The New Cactus Lexicon.

There is water in Chaparri year round. We were visiting at the end of the dry season and the reserve is full of birds and other animals. As we walk around, a fox is following us at a distance, probably hoping we will drop some food. We see a few nice specimens of Furcraea andina and our guide tells us they are native to Peru, but not here, they have been planted. Along the trails we see several Opuntias, Trichocereus pachanoi, and Melocactus peruvianus that have also been planted. Native plants include Armatocereus Cartwrightiana, Espostoa lanata and Haagocereus versicolor.

Chaparri rehabilitates spectacled bears. They have eight currently, six are to be soon released back into the wild. These are almost strictly vegetarian and not very aggressive, so are used in circuses. Of the two that won't be released one is very old, the other has had its teeth removed. We also see several rare birds here.

As we are leaving we spot a large tropical cactus vining up through a tree, possibly Hylocereus megalanthus, and probably planted.

Craig Howe

Armatocereus cartwrightianus

Espostoa lanata

Espostoa lanata

Espostoa lanata

Furcraea andina

Neoraimondia gigantea

Neoraimondia gigantea

Opuntia pubescens

Opuntia quitensis

Opuntia quitensis

Opuntia quitensis