3 minute read
Natures Notebook
In the slender beam of light, quartz crystals sparkled on the trail like tiny, glittering diamonds. Each step forward yielded a satisfying crunch in the silent night. The once proud Jurassic granite was now reduced to humble gravel by the ravages of time and hiking boots. Gaining elevation, the desert Mesquite trees yielded to scrub oak and subsequently, the oaks gave way to Ponderosa Pines. An overall glow of
light became noticeable in the East. Above tree line, we scrambled up the remaining steep grades of 9,254-foot-tall Mount Wrightson. Standing triumphantly, the sun rose like a Phoenix from the ashen east, engulfing the lands in the colors of Genesis. It was as if I were the King of the West, an immortal anachronism, a sequined cowboy. I resisted the urge to sing.
Crisp night air in the Sonoran Desert can transmit sound from a long distance. In the outdoor courtyard of my home, I paused, stared up at the visible band of the Milky Way as it arced across the Arizona sky. From across the canyon, I could distinctly hear the music of a small Mariachi band. An accordion, a trumpet, and a guitar fueled a party I regretted missing. The following morning, while performing the ritual of washing the desert dust off my car, I spoke with my neighbor Bill. “Did the Gutierrez family have a Quinceañera Party last night for their daughter?” Bill (who knows everything in the neighborhood) replied, “No, it was a Cactus Party.”
Living in the desert Southwest, I became intimately acquainted with cactus. There was no grass in my yard, only a collection of spiny specimens. When hiking in the desert I quickly learned to tread cautiously. The Cholla Cactus was particularly avoided because, they were known as “jumping cactus”. I don’t think I ever learned to escape the ubiquitous “shin diggers”. But at least I finally understood the purpose of Roy’s cowboy chaps. Despite my bloodletting lessons, I was unfamiliar with a “Cactus Party” and couldn’t conceive the absurdity of hosting one.
The flattened stem is green and fleshy, and the stem segments are about a foot long. The mass quantity of the stems that are leaning against the Sabal Palm seemingly overwhelm the palm. As an ornamental plant, it is little more than a green splotch for 10 months of the year. However, in middle to late summer the blob transforms into a cowboy queen. Each evening before midnight, large swelling buds from the stem high on the plant, burst into fist-sized white or yellow pincushion flowers. The fragrance is reminiscent of Gardenia or perhaps Magnolia. It is indeed an event worthy of a fiesta.
At Shell Point there are multiple Genus and species that all have the same common name of “Night Blooming Cereus”. It doesn’t seem to matter that the specimens are quite different, if the plant has cactus-like spines and a night flower, then it is a Cereus. Because we have multiple Cereus with the potential of differing blooms and blooming periods, it may be best to follow The Cereus Trail like Roy and Trigger. Saddle up pilgrim and ride to the Royal Bonnet Courtyard for the first Cereus, located in the center courtyard. Next, water the horses at Sand Dollar and find the Cereus in the small side courtyard west of the center court. Stay on the trail pardner and discover the large Night Blooming Cereus in the center courtyard of Cameo. Happy trails!
Roy Rogers is Riding Tonight
