Recipe: Cabinet Pudding
The inspiration for this month’s recipe comes from the interwoven histories of Winterbourne and the…
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News Articles
Stay updated with the latest developments and discoveries in the world of plants and horticulture with our News Articles category. Here, you’ll find timely updates on conservation efforts, botanical breakthroughs, gardening trends, and industry news. Whether it’s a new species discovery, tips for sustainable gardening, or global botanical initiatives, this section keeps you informed and connected to the ever-evolving plant world. Perfect for enthusiasts, researchers, and nature lovers looking to stay in the know.
What are hybrid Aloinopsis, really, and what is a landrace?
Santa Fe Botanic emailed me recently and asked how to define and categorize some plants into their database, which I grew, and which Lauren Springer used in the memorial garden for David Salman. These are the “Aloinopsis hybrids” gleaned from friends and then re-grown and bred myself for some years.
Answering the question leads to a brain-twisting philosophical discussion I wanted to share with you that I’ve been mulling on for the last year.
What are the “Aloinopsis hybrid” plants?
” Well, it’s a complicated answer:
Those plants are truly unknown in exact species, and even genera, because they are a “landrace” of complex mesembs hybrids, open pollinated, from many generations in gardens. We’ve been calling them “ASx” in shorthand because most of them are in part, by a little or a lot, Aloinopsis spathulata. (But I suspect just a few individuals don’t have that species in their parentage!) But they include genes from several other species and at least two other genera, and science hasn’t given such intergeneric crosses actual genus names! (Genera: Aloinopsis, Titanopsis, Nananthus, and sometimes others like Stomatium, Hereroa. If you are not familiar with the concept of “landracing,” here’s a little wiki description. That sort of helps describe the situation, which is quite messy against traditional notions of cleanly defining organisms. The ASx plants are like if you could have a herd of things that are varying mixes of horse, zebra, donkey, and giraffe… which isn’t possible for those animals and why I think the plants are so intriguing! What on earth with the latin name be for such a beast!?
Two answers:
1. A truly scientific name for them would be Aizoaceae: Titanopsis-group genera hybrid landrace.
2. An easier but colloquial name is “Aloinopsis kin & hybrids.” (But like I wrote above, technically a small minority of the plants probably don’t have any Aloinopsis in them!)
Further notes, which nod to history and people’s legacy, in the spirit of the garden: these plants are a mixed “herd” if you will, descending from plants grown and bred by David Salman, John Stireman (UT), Kelly Grummons (CO), Floyd Jacketta (UT), Bill Adams (CO), and perhaps Jeff Ottersberg. Much but not all of the seed was probably collected in Africa by Steven Brack. I collated plants from everyone and re-selected progeny.
Once, when I asked David Salman what he felt was the most missing vacancy/representation of style or plants in public gardens in Santa Fe, and without hesitating, he said “African mesembs.” I think it is beautiful that it should come full circle like this.
My last tangent on this. The idea of landracing such plants, to me, harkens back to the relationship native Americans had/have with plants- they created and spread landrace plants and blurred the lines between species and domesticity/wildness. (Like the wild potatoes, devil’s horns for eating/weaving, and heirloom/feral agaves…not to mention amaranth, tomatoes, corn, peppers…) They didn’t see a hard line between nature and humanity and I think that is beautiful…”
Indeed, there are tons of plants in the Americas whose distribution suggests (or screams) that humans were a key “dispersal agent” in moved them around, and they naturalized. I’ve recently been on a reading bender learning that there are wild/domestic potatoes to the southwestern US, even in Colorado!
There are agaves that grow around ruins in Arizona which are not related to the nearby wild ones, and one awesome researcher, Wendy Hodgson, put in the massive effort for years to sort out their genetics to find that the plants were essentially “heirloom” veggies carried up by early Americans from modern day Mexico and went feral when they quit being cultivated in Arizona. For natural-history geeks like me who love to have living specimens in our gardens with such stories, unfortunately those agave are probably not quite hardy up here in Colorado…
But back to the Aloinopsis/Mesembs:
John Stireman wrote an authoritative article for International Rock Gardener on it, here. (His garden of them, above. )The annual NARGS seed exchange, which I think is still going at the moment for a few weeks, would be the best source of hybrid seed, coming from John and his brother.
My own project has been planting them in number in cold enough places to kill m any of them (“cull the herd”) in an effort to push them as far as possible for winter hardiness.
There are several mailorder sources for this group of plants, hybrids or not : Ethical Desert and Cold Hardy Cactus, and of course, David’s legacy, High Country Gardens
I had only heard the word “landrace” in the context of heirloom/heritage domestic animal breeds, so I was mindblown to learn There is a book on the powerful, practical and under-documented subject of Landrace Veggies. Landracing has supplied all of humanity’s food until recently “for centuries by illiterate farmers…” (paraphrasing the book). Thanks to the author, who gave me some seeds, I’m one small link in a chain that is creating a landrace of hardy pistachios. In a few years, I’ll be looking for a client who is interested in such things to carry the torch and plant a small orchard of the seedlings I am growing.
For me, I found it easy to extrapolate from this lovely, fun, quirky little book to apply the idea to flowers, natives, et cetera. For years now I have been using landracing, as a rule, in my wildflower meadow seed projects. For some plants, it’s been the secret to success. After all, what is today, and this new year, but just a fine line between the past and the future?
What are hybrid Aloinopsis, really, and what is a landrace? Read More »
The Importance of Sharing Leadership Content for Companies in the Global Aquaculture Industry
Visitas: 16By: Salvador Meza In today’s interconnected world, the aquaculture industry stands at the crossroads of tradition and innovation. Companies that have cemented their leadership in the analog world through years of hard work, excellence, and meaningful contributions risk losing that position in the digital realm if they fail to adapt. This article delves into […]
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Shrinking trees and tuskless elephants: the strange ways species are adapting to humans
As people have shaped the natural world, so wildlife – from mahoganies to magpies – has had to evolve to survive
From the highest mountains to the depths of the ocean, humanity’s influence has touched every part of planet Earth. Many plants and animals are evolving in response, adapting to a human-dominated world. One notable example came during the Industrial Revolution, when the peppered moth turned from black and white to entirely black after soot darkened its habitat. The black moths were camouflaged against the soot-covered trees, surviving to pass on their genes to the next generation.
As human influence has expanded, so too have the strange adaptations forced on the natural world. We asked researchers around the world for similar changes they have noticed in the 21st century.
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Lava rock in garden beds
I went to Santorini a few years ago and they talked about how planting their tomatoes in the mineral rich lava rock helps add flavor and helps retain water since they hold water in their pores. They get little rain and the rock holds water. They often find the roots wrapped tightly around rock which helps break it down as well. Has anyone added lava rock not specifically for drainage or weed/pest control and more to add minerals or help with water retention during a drought?
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Modified RMH
Not sure if anyone has done this or posted about this but I had a thought that I am not sure will even work. Has anyone attempted to integrate an Ondol or radiant heat type system with a rocket mass heater? My thought would be to have the exhaust from the stove wind throughout the concrete foundation of the house (with clean out ports at a few ends of the house), then go up the side through a tall chimney. This might be a far fetched idea, but to use the whole foundation of the house as the mass I feel like would be very effective.
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Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) Care
The Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) is a beloved houseplant that brings joy and color to the holiday season and beyond. With its cascading stems and vibrant blooms, it’s a delightful addition to any home during the winter months. This tropical plant, native to Brazil, thrives indoors and offers a festive touch with its pink, red, or […]
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Plants of the Week – January 6th – Plants on Christmas cards
You might want to look carefully at your Christmas cards before you throw them away.
Plants of the Week – January 6th – Plants on Christmas cards Read More »
Excess onion uses
I regularly get about 1000# of onions. Is there a better use than composting them?
Edit: these are from a local grocery store chain. I pick up what the food pantry doesn’t want. I already gave a couple hundred pounds to my closest food bank.
Edit 2: I’ve freeze dried enough for now. I get these 1-2 times a month.
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