Cactus Tears: Friedrich Sellow & Notocactus sellowi

An excerpt from my self-published book, Splendor in Spines. [Few copies were printed, and I expect scarcely any remain.]

First, a short history of the taxonomic origins of the genus Notocactus.
References Cited

  • Link & Otto, 1827, Echinocactus, Negotiations of the Association for promotion of Horticulture in the Royal Prussian States, Volume 3: 420-432 [Link & Otto, 1827, Echinocactus, Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Beförderung des Gartenbaues in den Königlich Preussischen Staaten, 3: 420-342]
  • Karl Moritz Schumann, 1898, Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen, page 379.
  • Tony Mace, 1975, Notocactus

NOTOCACTUS: In the early days of cactus taxonomy, few cacti were yet discovered, and precious little was known about them. At the beginning, of course, there were just a few described genera in which to place any newly discovered cactus. Thus, many species were at first placed in the genus Echinocactus - established by Link & Otto in 1827. As more cacti were discovered and more was learned about them , here and there species were gathered into groups. Sometimes the taxonomists proceeded with caution, and created subgenera within Echinocactus for the different groups. Eventually these subgenera were given status as genera in their own right. This was the path for Notocactus, made a subgenus in 1898 by Karl Moritz Schumann, then raised to genus by Albert Vojtec Fric in 1928.

By recent taxonomic treatment the Notocacti are to be placed in the genus Parodia. However, you will find many nurseries still recognize Notocactus, which in fact will save you a good bit of trouble if you are a grower of cacti. For truth be told, the Notocacti are almost embarrassingly easy to grow, whereas the species of Parodia are difficult at best.

The reason the Notocacti are so easy to grow is that they are native to non-arid, temperate regions of southern South America, essentially Rio Grand du Sol, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The species hardier to cold (10F, -12C) occur in southern Uruguay, and in the Argentine Provinces of Cordoba and San Luis. Tony Mace reported that the Notocacti prefer a soil that is acidic or at most neutral (pH 5 to 7), and occur in places where "the average rainfall is quite high, between 20 and 40 inches per annum, and there is usually only a very short dry season." He continued, the Notocactis "are found growing . . . frequently on well-drained rocky outcrops". I can report that if given at least 4 hours of direct sunlight, a more or less south-facing exposure, and soil that does not hang wet, many Notocati are a lead pipe cinch in USDA Zone 7b or warmer.

Cactus Tears: Freidrich Sellow & Notocactus sellowi
References Cited

  • Kraush, H.D., 2002, Friedrich Sello, ein Messenger Pflansammier aus Postdam, Sandra 17(2):73-76
  • Link & Otto, 1827, Echinocactus sellowi, Negotiations of the Association for promotion of Horticulture in the Royal Prussian States, Volume 3: 425 & Tab. XXII [Link & Otto, 1827, Echinocactus, Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Beförderung des Gartenbaues in den Königlich Preussischen Staaten, 3: page 425 & Tab. XXII]

Many a cactologist has fallen under the spell of Notocactus sellowi. It was in fact Friedrich Sellow, A Prussian from Potsdam, who was this plant's first European discoverer. He collected it whilst exploring the natural history of Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina from 1814 through 1831. Friedrich Sellow sent his natural history collections back to Prussia (now Germany), where his friends Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link and Christoph Friedrich Otto analyzed them. In 1827, Link & Otto published several new cactus species collected by Sellow, and named the most handsome of the species for him, calling it Echinocactus sellowi. An exemplary illustration of the species was provided in Tab. XXII of the publication, and cannot be confused for any other species of Notocactus.

Friedrich Sellow did not have long to enjoy the distinction of having a cactus bearing his name. Tragically, in October 1831, at age 42, Sellow drowned in Argentina's Rio Dulce. Perils are omnipresent at un-bridged river crossings. Today we are unaware of the countless lives saved by the feats of engineering exemplified worldwide in ancient and modern bridges that span waterways hither thither and yon. All those years ago, Argentina's Santiago del Estero had no bridge over the Rio Dulce for a traveler's safe passage. Misfortune, and a river named for its sweet water, took Sellow's life.

A testament to its attractiveness, Notocactus sellowi has many synonyms given by cactologists who wished to be the author who named it. Synonyms of Notocactus sellowi include: N. corynoides, N. courantii, N. curtinensis, N. erinaceus (where your will errantly find it filed at present), N. leprosorum, N. leucocarpus, N. macroacanthus, N. macrogonus, N. orthacanthus, N. pauciareolatus, N. rubricostatus, N. stegmannii, N. tephracanthus, and N. vorwerkianus. Everyone wanted to stamp a name on this cactus. It, however, belong's to Friedrich Sellow.

NOTE: In the heady days of early discoveries and description of cacti, cactus taxonomy was in a very transient condition. This is evident in the 1827 publication by Link & Otto. To understand what appears to be an error, one must first realize that before there was a genus that Link & Otto named Echinocactus, the species that comprise it were assigned to the genus Melocactus - the first cactus genus ever described [a separate story of which I have written, but not yet shared here]. Thus, when Link & Otto created the illustration for Sellow's cactus, they commissioned it under the name Melocactus sellowi. By the time their publication was ready for print, however, they had created a new genus, Echinocactus, and described Sellow's cactus as Echinocactus sellowi, and referred to the illustration that had the older name, by then a synonym, Melocactus sellowi. You can see it all for yourself here, thanks to Biodiversity Heritage Library:
[Link & Otto, 1827, Echinocactus, Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Beförderung des Gartenbaues in den Königlich Preussischen Staaten, 3: page 425 & Tab. XXII]

Publicado el diciembre 17, 2023 11:59 TARDE por mjpapay mjpapay
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