BajaNomad

Cardon forest south of San Felipe

BajaVida - 1-3-2014 at 08:40 PM

I have a vague memory of a post (by David K) years ago describing a side trip to a great cardon forest. Did I make that up?

Ken Cooke - 1-3-2014 at 10:59 PM

The cardon are massive south of San Felipe (near Punta Estrella Campo). This is on private land - it has a self-guided tour where you can view the different sections of the grounds with plenty o Cardon Cactii.

willardguy - 1-3-2014 at 11:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Cooke
The cardon are massive south of San Felipe (near Punta Estrella Campo). This is on private land - it has a self-guided tour where you can view the different sections of the grounds with plenty o Cardon Cactii.
is this by the giant saguaro's?:?:

Ken Cooke - 1-3-2014 at 11:12 PM

Photos from August 2001


Ken Cooke - 1-3-2014 at 11:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Cooke
The cardon are massive south of San Felipe (near Punta Estrella Campo). This is on private land - it has a self-guided tour where you can view the different sections of the grounds with plenty o Cardon Cactii.
is this by the giant saguaro's?:?:


They are indeed giant in stature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycereus_pringlei
http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Pachycereus&spec...

[Edited on 1-4-2014 by Ken Cooke]

David K - 1-4-2014 at 12:13 AM

Hi BajaVida... they are near Punta Estrella Beach turnoff, by that small mountain south of San Felipe that Hwy. 5 goes around.

As Willard says, the sign for them says 'Sahuaros', they are actually Cardon Cacti, the world's largest species. Here is a web post with photos for VALLE DE LOS GIGANTES (Km. 14): http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/Mexico/Es...

David K - 1-4-2014 at 12:24 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Cooke
The cardon are massive south of San Felipe (near Punta Estrella Campo). This is on private land - it has a self-guided tour where you can view the different sections of the grounds with plenty o Cardon Cactii.
is this by the giant saguaro's?:?:


They are indeed giant in stature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycereus_pringlei
http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Pachycereus&spec...

[Edited on 1-4-2014 by Ken Cooke]


That's a nice cactus link Ken. The main difference I see between the Baja Cardon and the Arizona/Sonora Sahuaro is the cardon usually will form multiple trunks or branches from the base and the sahuaro just a few and midway up. The cardon can also grow much larger.

BajaVida, that attraction 'Valle de los Gigantes' popped up after the new graded road was paved. Previous to that road being built, I used to drive to Shell Island from the San Felipe airport (was there since 1974) on the old road to Punta Diggs (near Pta. Estrella) and Percebu, passing through the cardonal (cardon forest) without thinking much about them being special (I had seen more and bigger ones further south).

The largest cardon cacti are south of Bahia de los Angeles in the Valle la Bocana. The photo on the older Baja Plant Field Guide was taken there.

treuboff - 1-4-2014 at 07:46 PM

Last time $10 us per carload and soft sand. Nothing of interest but the Cacti itself. Lots of stuff to do down the highway at Percebu aka Shell island.

David K - 1-4-2014 at 07:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by treuboff
Last time $10 us per carload and soft sand. Nothing of interest but the Cacti itself. Lots of stuff to do down the highway at Percebu aka Shell island.


Every low tide reveals new treasures!











Sometimes just nothing at all is enjoyable to see...



Or hang out with others at Percebu, across the lagoon from Shell Island...

CortezBlue - 1-5-2014 at 07:44 AM

In Fenix they are Saguaro's, and they are really nothing like the Cardon cactus in San Felipe.

Saguaro's in AZ are much fuller and look far less dry. Maybe as if they have absorbed more water than it's cousin. The Saguaro's also seem to be more green in color, probably due to a larger amount of annual rain in the Maricopa County area.

PaulW - 1-5-2014 at 09:06 AM

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
= = =
The cardon's are found in Baja and the deserts of South America. The saguaro's are found in Arizona and mainland Mexico. The largest cardon's are twice and large and twice as tall compared to saguaro.
No Saguaro's in Baja and no cardon's north of the border.
The valley of the Giants turn off highway 5 south of San Felipe is at KM 14.
PW
= = =
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
The cardon are massive south of San Felipe (near Punta Estrella Campo). This is on private land - it has a self-guided tour where you can view the different sections of the grounds with plenty o Cardon Cactii.
is this by the giant saguaro's?:?:


They are indeed giant in stature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycereus_pringlei
http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Pachycereus&spec...
[Edited on 1-4-2014 by Ken Cooke]


That's a nice cactus link Ken. The main difference I see between the Baja Cardon and the Arizona/Sonora Sahuaro is the cardon usually will form multiple trunks or branches from the base and the sahuaro just a few and midway up. The cardon can also grow much larger.

BajaVida, that attraction 'Valle de los Gigantes' popped up after the new graded road was paved. Previous to that road being built, I used to drive to Shell Island from the San Felipe airport (was there since 1974) on the old road to Punta Diggs (near Pta. Estrella) and Percebu, passing through the cardonal (cardon forest) without thinking much about them being special (I had seen more and bigger ones further south).

The largest cardon cacti are south of Bahia de los Angeles in the Valle la Bocana. The photo on the older Baja Plant Field Guide was taken there.

grace59 - 1-5-2014 at 09:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by treuboff
Last time $10 us per carload and soft sand. Nothing of interest but the Cacti itself. Lots of stuff to do down the highway at Percebu aka Shell island.

Still worth seeing....Park and take a walk there. The cacti are amazing and the scenery is beautiful. It is a nice little side trip. I like it there.

Yep, they be real big!

durrelllrobert - 1-5-2014 at 10:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Hi BajaVida... they are near Punta Estrella Beach turnoff, by that small mountain south of San Felipe that Hwy. 5 goes around.

As Willard says, the sign for them says 'Sahuaros', they are actually Cardon Cacti, the world's largest species. Here is a web post with photos for VALLE DE LOS GIGANTES (Km. 14): http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/Mexico/Es...


Ken Bondy - 1-5-2014 at 10:53 AM

BajaBlanca - 1-5-2014 at 10:54 AM

wow, the picture above is a HUGE plant!

Ken Bondy - 1-5-2014 at 10:56 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBlanca
wow, the picture above is a HUGE plant!


Pretty sure that is between Bahia de Los Angeles and San Francisquito.

durrelllrobert - 1-5-2014 at 11:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBlanca
wow, the picture above is a HUGE plant!


Pretty sure that is between Bahia de Los Angeles and San Francisquito.
..mine was actually taken right next to the highway at VALLE DE LOS GIGANTES

El Comadante Loco - 1-5-2014 at 04:51 PM

I have noted over the past several years that the Cardon have some type of infection that rots and eventually kills it.
Anyone have any idea what this is and what if anything is being done to preserve the Cardons.

What a loss of a Baja treasure if this infection is not brought under control.

durrelllrobert - 1-6-2014 at 10:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by El Comadante Loco
I have noted over the past several years that the Cardon have some type of infection that rots and eventually kills it.
Anyone have any idea what this is and what if anything is being done to preserve the Cardons.

What a loss of a Baja treasure if this infection is not brought under control.


February 2012, Volume 96, Number 2
Page 292

http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-08-11-0698


Disease Notes

First Report of a Bionectria sp. Associated with a Stem Rot of Cardon Cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) in Baja California Sur, Mexico

R. J. Holguín-Peña, L. G. Hernández-Montiel, and H. Latisnere, Laboratorio de Fitopatología, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La Paz, B.C.S. 23096, Mexico; and E. O. Rueda-Puente, Universidad de Sonora, Santa Ana, Sonora 84600, Mexico


Giant cardon (Pachycereus pringlei ((S.Watson) Britton & Rose) is the most common cactus in northwestern Mexico and is endemic to the Baja California Peninsula and Sonora Desert. A large part of the peninsula (El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve and Gulf of California) now consists of protected areas and is classified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1182).

Cardon cactus is an important ecological resource for indigenous people and is used as feed for range cattle. Since 2000, in the central and southern part of the State of Baja California Sur, an apical stem rot has spread to ~17% of the natural cardon population around San Pedro (23°29′N, 110°12′W), La Paz (24°08′N, 110°18′W), and El Comitán (24°05′N, 110°21′W).

Affected cacti display necrosis of apical branches, dry rot, cracks in the stem and branches, bronzing of mature spines surrounding the affected area, and reddish brown gummy exudate. Thirty samples from the edges of symptomatic lesions were surface disinfected for 2 min in 0.8% (wt/vol) NaOCl and ethanol (70%), rinsed in sterile, distilled water, and grown on potato dextrose agar at 27°C.

A cottony, brownish fungus was consistently isolated from affected tissues. Koch's postulates were performed in pots of 10 cm in diameter with 5-year-old cacti inoculated (9-day-old mycelia) and incubated (15 days) at room temperature (26°C). The rough, dry, brownish, circular lesions that appeared were the same as those observed in the field.

Healthy cacti inoculated with potato dextrose agar plugs were symptomless. The fungus was always reisolated from infected cacti and morphological examinations (2) were performed: one-septate, olive-green, smooth, ellipsoidal conidium and two-celled ascospores (15 to 20 × 5 to 7 μm) were present. Also present were conidial masses from monomorphic, penicillate conidiophores in sporodochia.

Cottony and white-to-light yellow PDA colonies were observed. Genomic DNA was extracted from lyophilized hyphae using the method described by O'Donnell (1) or with a DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions 1 and 2 of the 5.8, 18, and 28S ribosomal RNA genes were amplified with the primer pairs ITS1 and ITS4 (3).

The expected amplicon of 571 bp was sequenced and compared with fungal sequences available from the GenBank-EMBL database using the BlastN and CLUSTAL programs (MegAlign, DNASTAR, Madison, WI). The closest nucleotide similarity had 99% identity with a Bionectria sp. (GenBank Accession No. HM849058.1).

To our knowledge, on the basis of morphological characteristics, DNA comparisons, and pathogenicity tests, this is the first report of a Bionectria sp. causing an apical stem rot disease in cardon cacti in Mexico.

Since there are no control measures in Mexico there is a permanent risk that the disease will spread to healthy areas.

willardguy - 1-6-2014 at 11:48 AM

I thought maybe I had dreamed this but finally found the story of shipping a giant cardon from san felipe to spain for the worlds fair! interesting story if you're interested

http://www.blueroadrunner.com/giant.htm

Along the road to Shell Island, 2005

David K - 1-6-2014 at 06:39 PM

About 20 miles south of San Felipe, and 12 kms. south of Valle de los Gigantes..



N2Baja - 1-6-2014 at 11:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
I thought maybe I had dreamed this but finally found the story of shipping a giant cardon from san felipe to spain for the worlds fair! interesting story if you're interested

http://www.blueroadrunner.com/giant.htm


It was a lot of fun watching that cactus come out of the ground. All week people came out with picnic baskets and coolers and cheered the workers on. The frame they built around it was impressive.

A few years later I was telling a friend from Spain about the cactus and she showed me home video of her and her husband walking by the cactus in spain, turning and posing in front of it. It was nice to know that it actually made it.



willardguy - 1-7-2014 at 11:17 AM

wow! that must have been a pretty fun event. heres some pictures I found, one has our cactus in it, 1992 worlds fair spain.

BajaGeoff - 1-7-2014 at 11:22 AM

Valle de los Gigantes is a great spot to check out and the cacti are very impressive. Here is a picture I took of of my sister and our friend Lori a few years back.

Cardon and the moon

David K - 1-7-2014 at 11:36 AM



Photo from April, 2001 near Tinaja de Yubay and Rock Palm Hill, north of Desengaño.