Dyckia Brazil: September 2015

Sep 24, 2015

Dyckia noelii

Yes, it was found in nature!!!!

Dyckia noelii. Yes, species and must be described.
It was found by Noeli Ramos and me. It also remember Noel and a Christmas ornament

Sep 21, 2015

Dyckia unguiformis and a bit of its history

A spectacular plant, native to Bahia in Brazil and found by Herr Karl Heinz Tank, a German friend of mine.

He found the plants when they were enduring a severe dry season and were in deep suffering.

These two first pictures shows the plant in Germany.

The first one is a plant now under cultivation and initiating its "crown opening"

Karls send me four plants to allow me observation and further description for we need flowers.
Karl choose the name unguiformis meaning clawn like or with the shape of a folded bird clawn.

This picture here below shows the very same plant above when it just got in Karl´s home in Germany, in the German district of Brandenburg.

Bellow plants under cultivation here in Santa Catarina Brazil.

This plant, possibly a Dyckia secunda related, shows a very very interesting behavior .

When this plant came to me it was a very suffered one. I had endured a long period without any water in nature and it was folded and did looked as a closed bird clawn hence its proposed scientific name: Dyckia unguiformis.

Now guess what? It was a white plant!!!

Now it is a plant that present many many narrow white lines and it is unfolded for it has regained its happy looks. This is a very weird and clever behavior. When the plant shrinks due to dehydration the white lines get together and the plant assumes the white appearance which is even whiter on the under surface of its leaves. After getting regular shares of water the crown unfolds and the leaves beguin to fill up with water and separating its many white lines... it turns green and well lined.

Why this plant acts this way?
This is the way it found to protect itself from heat and extreme Sun exposition during a period when it is weak due to dehydration.

Clever, isn´t it?

Dyckias, the do not cease to amaze me.

The more I come to know the more I realize I need to know....

As we can clear see here the plant wants to bloom.

Let us see it.

Here I must state and say to Karls: DANKE

Danke, dass du mein guter Freund Karl. Sie mehr allein und selbst gemacht, als viele zusammen und ich schulde Ihnen meinen Dank und mein Respekt.

Thank you my good friend Karl. You made more alone and by yourself than many together and I owe you my gratitude and all my respect.

Dyckia unguiformis

Dyckiahb Brittle Star fungus attacked

Fungus attack the growing tissues and alters the spination and the scales.

This is a Dyckia BS head just separated from the its twin plant.

Fungi are opportunistic and they use to infect fragile plants.

Now this plant is treated and the fungus is dead.

Sep 20, 2015

A young hybrid Dyckia

Dyckias, you can make your own beauties

This is a very young seedling and Dyckias are very unusual plants for the older the better.
I can imagine this one here some months ahead from now.

Notice the beautiful big thorns are getting bigger and whiter.

Dyckia sp, what does this mean? ...and what else?

Dyckia sp is the very same as Dyckia species, in fact short for Dyckia species. It refers to an unnamed Dyckia species.

A Dyckia sp can not be a hybrid Dyckia and never a Dyckia you do not know the name but a nameless Dyckia species. The fact that you do not know the plant it does not mean a nameless one.

A new Dyckia species must be published in order to have its name valid. This obligation doesn´t counted on Iternet publications as The World Wide Web didn´t exist and publication meant : journals, books, magazine, scientific report magazines.

Nowadays nothing is better published than in the WWW.
Publishing means getting public and there is nothing equal nor close to the WWW.

Public means everybody not just a bunch of selected guys.
These are mates, collegues, fellows not public. Here people publish new Plant species on very restricted magazine or very specialized magazines and assume as published. Publishing means everybody who is willing to know of it. Also the world doesn´speaks Portuguese, nor spanish and less than this doesn´t understand old Latim ( Not even those who publishes a new species. They rely on claves and many mistakes are made.) Today publishing means WWW!!! Today it means English!! If a new species is published here in Brazil it must be in Latim as in any other place on the Earth, Portuguese and for God´s sake also in English and entirely not a sinopsis only. Publications with a very restrictec and exclusive public is out of question. Publications with on purposal omitted data is also out of question and not valid. A bunch of readers is not public. A group of readers are collegues never public!!!Public is WWW and your reader may be in Reykjavick or Auckland, Rio or Tokyo and everywhere in between. Portuguese is a lovely sounding language. It makes feel home...but who is going to undertand me in ...in...everywhere else besides people which countries speak Camões´ language? English, English for Gods´sake.
Also there is no sense publising without precise data.
Preservation means showing, educating not hidding an less yet iluding.
What Light is for if it doesn´t Brighten up high above everything? Light is to iluminate or it is not Light and if it isn´t Light it isn´t Science!

Species and Hybrids understand their names

Understand Latim names. Latim names identify species. Usually they have two words. The first one begins with a Capital letter and the second doesn´t. The second identifies the species and the first tell the genus it belongs to.
e.g. Dyckia brevifolia
Dyckia is the genus and brevifolia the species (brevi = short folia = leaf)

e. g. Dyckia MammaMia
Hybrid plant , the second name also begins with a capital letter.

Do you want to know lots about this?
Are you willing to know what is in a Botanical name?
Hit:
http://www.plantapalm.com/wianame,htm