Page 22 - 2003 DT 12 Issues

March ○ ○ ○ Hooked on Cacti, Part I ○ ○ ○ globular shapes, which limit the surface

○ by H. Dan Wray ○ exposed to the blistering heat of the sun.
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DESK SCHEDULE ○ ○ ○ Then, it sinks the pores or stomata
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○ through which it breathes into its stems.
sk anyone where cacti grow and ○
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Sat/1 W. Barbuck W. Barbuck ○ ○ the immediate response is likely ○ It clothes itself with a waxy skin and
○ finally, it builds itself an air conditioning
Sun/2 T. Borg B. Kinn ○Ato be “in the desert.” Yet the cac- ○
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system. How does it do that? The spines
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Mon/3 C. Walker M. Augulis ○ tus is found in a variety of habitats ○ serve two purposes in this respect,
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Tues/4 D./V. Wray E. Rothfuss ○ ranging from our own Mojave Desert, ○ namely, to reflect the rays of the sun and,
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○ through the grasslands of South America
D. Gillette ○ ○ together with the hairs, trap a layer of air
to the high Andes. ○
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Wed/5 L. Vavak J. Geier ○ ○ which serves as insulation.
The cactus belongs to a family of
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Thur/6 G. Sayles J. Barrett ○ ○ How does it get its water in an arid
○ plants called succulents which store wa- ○
Fri/7 L. Landry L. Landry ○ ter in their leaves, stems and roots. ○ ○ climate like ours? It has a has a root
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Sat/8 T. Borg S. Kantrud ○ Sometimes people are confused system which usually is quite shallow, al-
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G. Gabbert ○ as to what are cacti and what are
Sun/9 J. McManus L./M. Utah ○ ○ succulents. All cacti are succu-
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○ lents, but not all succulents are
B. Wolin
○ cacti. What then distinguishes
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Mon/10 C. Williams M. Augulis
cacti from succulents? In a word
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Tues/11 R. Keough E. Rothfuss ○
it is the areoles.
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D. Gillette ○ ○ The areole is a round or oval
Wed/12 L. Vavak D. Powers ○ ○ structure varying in size from a
P. Oleson ○ tiny 1.5 mm to large ones almost
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Thur/13 G. Sayles J. Barrett ○ ten times that size. While the ar-
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Fri/14 H. Perlman E. Schliepp ○ ○ eole may look to be a single
entity, it is really in two parts,
○
J. Geier ○
○ the upper of which gives rise to the flow-
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Sat/15 J. Kisosondi R. Kinn ○ ○ lowing it to benefit from the lightest of
○ ers or farther growth, and the lower
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Sun/16 E. Meeks L./M. Utah ○ which produces the spines and, in the case rains. The spines can often point
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E. Turkin ○ of the Prickly Pear, the very tiny hairs ○ ○ downwards and serve as a drip system,
catching dew or rain and directing it to
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Mon/17 M. Slagle M. Augulis ○ called glochids. ○
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the roots.
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C. Gilmore ○ Does a cactus have leaves? Most are ○ What cacti are we most likely to see
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Tues/18 E. Schliepp E. Rothfuss ○ ○ leafless. Tropical cacti of the Pereskia ○ ○ in Red Rock Canyon National
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○ species, known as the Rose Cactus, have ○
Wed/19 M. Burk J. Geier ○ Conservation Area and how do we know
○ persistent leaves but most, including our ○
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Thur/20 G. Sayles J. Barrett ○ what sort they are? That’s a story for
Red Rock varieties, have what are called ○
Fri/21 L. Landry L. Landry “ephemeral” leaves. Look at a very young ○ next time.
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Sat/22 T. Borg B. Saperstein ○ cactus and you will see no hard spines. ○
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Sun/23 E. Turkin L./M. Utah ○ Instead you will see soft structures which ○ “The mission of Friends of
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Mon/24 P. Gertis M. Augulis ○ look like embryo spines. These are the ○
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C. Gilmore ○ ○ leaves. Their job is to protect the emerg- ○ Red Rock Canyon is to
ing spines and they usually drop off after ○
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Tues/25 R. Keough E. Rothfuss ○ support the Bureau of Land
○ a few weeks (hence “ephemeral”), ○
Wed/26 M. Burk D. Powers ○ ○
○ leaving a small bump or lump under the ○ Management in the
P. Oleson ○ ○
○ areole. ○
Thur/27 G. Sayles J. Barrett ○ How then does the cactus engage in ○ ○ protection and enrichment of
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Fri/28 H. Perlman E. Schliepp ○ photosynthesis and, how does it transpire ○
○ ○
J. Geier ○ if it has no leaves? The answer to the first ○ the Red Rock Canyon
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Sat/29 P. VanDooremaal P. Gertis ○ question is that it does so through its ○ National Conservation Area.”
○ stems. The answer to the second is that it ○
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Sun/30 E. Turkin E. Meeks ○
○ doesn’t really want to transpire and lose ○
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Mon/31 C. Williams M. Augulis ○
water, so it employs a few crafty subter-
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○ ○ ○
fuges: it has evolved cylindrical or
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Changes? Call Jim Cribbs (515-5354)