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David K
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Monster-size Cactus, in 1895
Here is that 1895 photo by Santa Rosalia's, French mine's chemical engineer, Léon Diguet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_Diguet
Come on Nomads, lets see more Baja trip reports and photos!
[Edited on 3-9-2024 by David K]
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AKgringo
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My Gawd that's huge!
I have never seen one even remotely close to that!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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4x4abc
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supposedly it still stands. Somewhere around Los Planes.
Harald Pietschmann
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JZ
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Photoshop or real?
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AKgringo
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If that is true, I would sure as heck make a side trip to see that ancient plant!
It had to be several hundred years old when that photo was taken. I have seen some really tall ones before, but nothing with that kind of spread.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David K
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Well, after dozens of comments on my two Baja Facebook groups where I also posted this photo (VivaBaja and BajaMissions), I am bowing to the potential
truth that this is neither a cardón nor in Baja California. Seems to be a photo taken in Puebla according to Nathan Velasco and others.
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chippy
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That cactus is a Pachycereus Weberi, more common in Southern Mexico.
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mtgoat666
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Looks like an organ pipe cactus
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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chippy
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycereus_weberi
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David K
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Thank you. What are the common names?
One I see is 'candelabro' which makes sense. Any English common names?
[Edited on 3-9-2024 by David K]
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PaulW
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So you all wont have to look it up
Pachycereus weberi is known as candelabro, or Cardón. Espinoso (the common name being an obvious. reference to the resemblance of plants to
candelabras). Its distribution ranges across desert scrub.
Pachycereus weberi is widespread in the Mexican states of Puebla, Guerrero, Morelos, Chihuahua and Oaxaca at altitudes of 600 to 1,500 m.
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David K
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Thanks Paul. So, because it is called cardón, as is the Baja giant cactus, and photographed by Léon Diguet of Santa Rosalía (in 1895), the error of
thinking this was a Baja cactus is understandable.
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BigOly
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About 25 years ago we had a large cardon cactus fall down by our new pool due to water leak damage. Our gardener told a story about a huge cardon his
family usually had lunch under when he was a kid to help beat the heat. One day while they were leaving the cactus after finishing lunch, a cow as
usual came by to pick up leftover scraps. The family heard this loud crunching sound, turned to see the cardon had fallen over on the cow and killed
it. Close call!!!
[Edited on 3-11-2024 by BigOly]
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surfhat
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Not a Cardon but in the 70's my friends and I were on our way out the Palo Escopeta to the East Cape and came across a truly beautiful fig tree at a
bend in the trail that had grown around the 30' high rock face. This was off the main road which wasn't much of a road at the time. The smooth fig
tree had molded itself around every boulders shape.
We did go back a couple of times over the years in the 80's to find it when the surf was not happening for a cool picnic spot and a couple of cold
beers in the shade with a nice wisp of a breeze that had made its way up the arroyo from the beach around Vinorama, maybe 5? miles away. It was a
great diversion with nothing but the desert birds a chirping and that slight cooling breeze in the shade of Fig tree. It felt almost spiritual being
out there.
I doubt I could find it these days and hope it has survived. It was Mother Nature's artwork at her finest with that Fig trunk and limbs wrapping
itself around the boulders so perfectly smooth and tight against the rock wall.
I have some pics somewhere of our visit this specimen if I could find them. That is a big if after 40 plus years. Happy trails to all of you Nomads.
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David K
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Cool story, surfhat. Those wild fig trees seem to grow out of and across the face of cliffs!
Here is a reported old (1895) vs new (2016) photo of the big cactus... I am not convinced it is the same plant. I see what looks like large boulders
on the right background in 1895 but are missing in 2016...?
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BigOly
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Looks like the same plant to me. The soil has washed away making changes. The base(trunk) looks the same to me.
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geoffff
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Cool find, David!
Is the photo is taken from the opposite side?! The lone straight finger on the left (1895) is on the right in the 2016 photo.
So little change in 100 years makes me think it's much older than 200 years
[Edited on 3-12-2024 by geoffff]
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geoffff
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The 2016 photo says, "I took this picture somewhere between Puebla and Guadalajara Mexico. It's right next to the highway and absolutely beautiful."
https://old.reddit.com/r/ImagesOfMexico/comments/560ayt/i_to...
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geoffff
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Though this cactus "en Oaxaca" looks very similar. Hmmm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carlosrgz/3802670061
[Edited on 3-12-2024 by geoffff]
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geoffff
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"Baja California, Mexico, circa 1895 by Léon Diguet
The French historian and naturalist Léon Diguet made six scientific expeditions to Mexico between 1893 and 1913. An autodidact, he wrote over 40
articles based on his travels (on such diverse subjects as botany, archeology, anthropology and linguistics) and was one of the first scientists to
use photography to illustrate his research writings. With only a few copies of this photograph known to exist in the world, this image of a Cardon
cactus (nearly 8m tall and weighing roughly 10 tons) shows a spectacular example of a plant of this species."
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