The next day we decided to head north to Wickenburg, AZ in search of Echinomastus johnsonii “lutescens” armed with a little info from PeterB. Drove all over but never did find them. I suspect we did not go far enough north or weren’t looking in the right places. But once again, the usual suspects were there to soothe us.

BTW, I'm using Benson's treatment for most of the names since the books i have are written by him

Elevation = 2000-2400 feet

Stop #1 – 25miles north of Wickenburg on highway 93. Small hills with black/dark rock.
Joshua Tree - Yucca brevifolia




Found these 2 plants interesting. With no more than 6inches between thier trunks, one has no spines, the other covered in all kinds of spines. Same specie! Very cool.
O. chloratica




O. phaeacantha v. discata (O. engelmannii)


O. phaeacantha v. major




F. cylindraceus (v. lecontei?)










I'm 6'1"...




Stop #2 – 5-10 miles along highway 71 from hwy 93. Small rocky hills
E. englemannii (boyce-thompsonii?)




Mammillaria tetrancistra


O. phaeacantha v. discata (O. engelmannii)


O. phaeacantha v. major


A seedling!


F. cylindraceus (v. lecontei?)




C. acanthacarpa v. major


More seedlings!







Stop #3 – 10-12 miles south of Wickenburg along hwy 93, Garden City?
Here's a great example of variability within the species. These 2 plants, no more than 6 feet apart couldn't be more different as far as spine color goes! TFS
E. englemannii and E. e. var. acicularis?






A HUGE cluster, atleast 6 feet wide.


E. boyce-thompsonii?




Opuntia basilaris




Saguaro using C. acanthacarpa v. major as a nurse plant


O. phaeacantha
Some crazy spined form. I really, really like this one!






C. bigelovii


C. fulgida v. mammillata

Nice habitat shot Darryl!

Alex

Darryl,
It's great to see what you can find up north.
It is a world away from our flora.
Thanks for the posts,
AZED

Thanks guys.
Yup, all kinds of different plants up north

Planning another trip soon...many more plants to see!