This is the post I answered.

Hello cacti lovers,

I'll be visiting the pacific northwest (washington state & oregon) soon & want to see cacti in habitat. Can someone suggest specific sites & directions. Which cacti are native to washington & oregon?

Thanks in advance for your help! :)

Geary Wong
Bay Area, California, U.S.A.

My Reply.

Geary:

The Pediocactus simpsonii is very common in my area of Central Washington. They can be seen on Monument Hill just north of Quincy Washington. I have a few pictures on the Washington Native Plant Society Homepage that I maintain.

The Opuntia polyacantha can be seen in the area around Vantage and further south in the Hanford area. They are also very common near the town of Malaga near Wenatchee Washington.

The Opuntia fragilis is more common in the Okanagon area, I have had numerous run-ins with it near Riverside north of Omak.

-- Don Woodworth

I have maintained a dialog with Geary off the list where I have given him a few directions to find the plants that are a bit more specific than those of Fritz. Mine usually consisted of turn left at the Cenex store etc. Though a discussion of his itinerary would seem to preclude his getting into Eastern Washington.

From the published expert on the species.

geary read my books you found the infos (esp from pedios) about the cacti in oregon and washington good luck

morning don,

< .. the o polyacantha, o fragilis can be seen ...vantage, hanford..... yes, yakima, palisades, chelan area.......

< the pediocactus simpsonii is very common in my area of central washington. they can be seen on monument hill just of..... = fh 53.o = pediocactus nigrispinus (not pediocactus simpsonii) other locations; fh 51.o ellensburg, 51.o.1 vantage, 58.o ephrata, 59.o yakima, 59.o.1 moxee city, 59.o.2 selah creek, 59.o.3 quilomene, 59.o.4 colockum, 59.o.7 wyatt ranch and......

sorry don, this is pediocactus nigrispinus see my books with ca 1o-15 colour photos from this area

nr 1 an den standorten von pediocactus und sclerocactus german nr 2 to the habitats of pedio- and sclerocactus english (front page pediocactus nigrispinus) nr 4 the genera pediocactus, navajoa, toumeya revised english

ciao fritz

hochstaetter navajo country germany hamlyn valley utah cotterell mts idaho

This was a private post to me from another expert and grower.

FYI!

I grow P simpsonii plants from WA, OR, NV, ID, UT, CO, NM, and WY (currently, > 35 locales) and I wholeheartedly disagree with Fritz. I think P. simpsonii is a wide ranging, variable group that cannot be split up easily. Heck, its tough to put a variety name on many locales.

I agree that the name "robustior" is inappropriate for the WA plants. The NV plants at the type-locality are not similar to the WA plants - NO RIBS!!

IMHO, the name "robustior" should be dropped as the western NV plants are similar to the Eastern NV P. simpsonii plants that are the "type" plants for P. simp. v. simpsonii. However, small (1" diameter) western NV P. simpsonii look much different from Eastern NV plants!.... (Again, P. simpsonii is a highly variable, group!!)

Ralph Peters
Albuquerque, NM

A response to Ralph

Thanks for the info Ralph. I only get the Cacti post as a digest during the evening so I haven't seen any of the 'controversy' my simple little pictures appear to have stirred up. Here in Washington the 'bible' for plant identification is still Hitchcock et al. _Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest_ or _Flora of the Pacific Northwest_. His identification of the plants is P. simpsonii var robustior which I use at the present time since the majority of people here in the NW agree with. The last thing I need to do is get involved in a 'what is this plant??' debate. Since its been twenty years since my plant taxonomy classes I have very little ammunition.

Of course if it gets to long it will at least give me something else to put on my Home page. Things have been pretty slow this summer and I need something fun for the page.

Since I started going to the Native plant society meetings I have come realize how much things have changed. I still have to stop when some one mentions Platanthera and remind myself I've been calling the same thing Habenaria. Its tough getting old. :( Well it could be worse, I suppose the names could be held hostage to public opinion like the birds. I just heard a story on NPR where the AOS reinstituted the names Baltimore Oriole and Bullocks Oriole, instead of the combined Northern Oriole, because of petitions from both the city and the baseball team. :))

Thanks again for the info.

-- Don Woodworth

A possible explanation for the slowness of adopting the new name.

Its possible that the Pediocactus from Central Washington and Central Oregon can be called Pediocactus nigrispinus. The recent revision of this form, has been validly published, even though it had to be done in a foreign journal, Succulenta, 3;99-106 1992, Netherlands, by Fritz Hochstatter.

Ironically, the resistance to the revision, here, also included the Native Plant Society, a group of "conservation oriented individuals", and of course, the BLM and all government and private land use interests.

Pediocactus nigrispinus is nearly as distinct as a species, as is Pediocactus silelri, and certainly more so than Pediocactus knowltonii. CITES does not consider Pediocactus simpsonii and its varieties to be threatened throughout its range!

As you probably know, the form here in question, had long been referred to as Pediocactus simpsonii v. robustior, however, this form has its type locale in Northern Nevada, and is a significantly different species.

The politics of land use are vastly superior to the easily managed motives of the Native Plant Society. The history of potential conflict, as another "Spotted Owl" that Pediocactus nigrispinus holds as a threat, should it get CITES 1 status, is enormous, particulary in BLM lands and cattle range, and housing development above Moxee City. To the few of us who have watched this, it appears that CITES its self, was influenced by the politics of land use, in regards to Pediocactus nigrispinus.

As a former member of the Native Plant Society, I remain mystified as to why this 'activist' group did not want to take on this issue, even as general principle, an objective for which they are well known.

Bill Beaston

A second post to Ralph after reading Bill's article

Ralph:

Just got my Cactus digest and read Bill Beaston's article. I guess I stuck my foot in my mouth when I talked of the lack of politics in plant names. :(((

-- Don Woodworth

Hi Bill:

I want to thank you for the informative post. As a computer consultant, 20+ years removed from my last plant taxonomy class I feel a lot like the Dilbert character at times when Dogbert reminds him that 'a technical degree is only good for five years'. Since my only source of info for this area is Hitchcock et al. and the various BLM, Washington State Natural (Heritage) Program publications, I have to go with what I have and know. Though your post casts doubt on their motives.

Thanks

Bill Introduces Himself

Hi Don:

I'm a specialized tool maker in the machinist trade, and I havent had any formal education in botany. In the late 70s I started looking for cacti here in Oregon, after seeing the subject in Britton and Rose, about Pediocactus.

In the mid 80s, I was introduced to Fritz Hochstatter, and I worked with him on the field data I had for this area.

I have been up into Central Washington, and have seen the populations in some of the areas there. This is the same form that is found in North Central Oregon.

There are some interesting populations of Pediocacti here in Oregon. I have found 4 distinct forms, from the extreme N.E. corner of Oregon, to the Pueblo Mtns. There are also some interesting groups of Opuntias, in both Washington and Oregon, some of which had been a confusion to those who found them, such as the O. phaecantha form in the Gorge, at Avery Boat Ramp. Those were introduced about 40 years ago.

The origin of O. erinacea v. columbiana can be seen on Millers Island, This is the form found in the Gorge, and not the same as the ones in the Yakimah area. O. erinacea v. columbiana is an ancient hybrid between O. fragilis and O. polyacantha. The only orginal form of O. polyacantha still alive in the Gorge, is a small isolated population that covers about 500 sq. ft. in which about 2 or 3 dozen plants are still alive. It is a unique form in that it has elongated pads, some of which are over 6 inches in length, and 3 inches at the widest point.

I have spent a lot of time looking for Coryphantha vivipara, and havent as yet found it. Fritz found one plant at Soap Lake, with the Pedios there, but this may have been an introduction. The herbarium material I've seen, labeled as either Corypantha or Escobaria vivipara, at O.S.U., turned out to be Pediocactus. This cactus has been a puzzle for many over the years, as to why it does not seem to occur in this region, when it ranges much farther north into Alberta, and allegedly, into the Eastern part of British Columbia.

If you can download JPEG files, I can send you some which are from slides I've taken of the various forms of Pediocacti, and Opuntias here in Oregon. Also, Pediocatus simpsonii v. robustior from Battle Mtn Nevada. I think you would find them quite interesting.

Sincerely:

Bill

Bill sent some great photos

Hi Don:

If you have seen the Opuntia form in the Columbia River Gorge, near Wishram, you have probably noticed that it differs from the ones in your area, in that the joints are elongated. My theory is that because one of its parent forms is the long stemed form found in a very small population on the eastern end of Millers Island in the Gorge. The Island is virtually covered with forms ranging in the typical O. fragilis, up to what is called O. enrinacea v. columbiana. The progression of these forms can be seen radiating out from the isolated habitat of the above mentioned long stemed O. polyacantha.

It is logical to assume that the origin of Benson's O. erinacea v. columbiana is an ancient hybrid between O. fragilis and O. polyacantha. But, different O. polyacantha forms in different areas of the distribution of O. erinacea v. columbiana, with the more rounded stem segemented form in Central Washington, giving the character to the hybrid in that area.

I also have an "off the wall" theory about the distribution of the various Pediocacti in this region. It appears to me that there are 2 distinct lines, moving into Oregon; a low elevation form from the East, and a high elevation form from the South. I also believe that the form I call P. nigrispinus, with its main distribution in Central Washington and North Central Oregon, is a very old form that has been in the region much longer than the others. It is still a bit confusing to me, but I think that the form from the area north of Imnaha Oregon, and the area across Hells Canyon from there, in Idaho, is actually the pure form of the ancient race.

The confusion for me, is that only the form in Central Washington and N. Central Oregon, have the pink to magenta flowers, and as you noted, some have spiraling ribs.

Sincerely: Bill

Another informative Letter from Bill

I looked into your Home page, and I must say I was startled to see my picture come up.

I think it would be fun to set up one of these sites. I've been using the computer for 20 months now, and I still haven't taken the time to learn much about using the net.

I also looked into the WNPS part of this area, and I was not surprised to see how they have handled the issue of Pediocactus. My attitude is that if WNPS or the Oregon chapters, want to get serious about our native cacti, then it will take individuals who are interested in the cacti. Certainly, if anyone went into the habitats from Northern Nevada, at Battle Mtn, in the hills just outside of the town, or to Button Point rest area, just prior to the Winnemucca exit off the freeway, and started North from there, up through Oregon to your area, there would be no doubt about the distinction of our northern form of Pediocactus from v. robustior, and the progression of forms in between.

I could tell you how the mix up began with Coulter, and was finalized by a mistake Lyman Benson made, but it would take about 1000 words, and I'm a bit weary of the subject these days.

To be continued?