Caudiciforms: Two New Caudiciforms, 2 by Baja_Costero

Baja_Costero wrote:
The fat bonsai cirios are either plants that have been taken from habitat years ago, or very old seedlings that have been forced to grow in pots instead of the ground... where they take a very different form, unless they happen to sprout in a crack in the rock, and then what results is nature's bonsai (see photo). They will eventually break through the rock if they live long enough.

That is the actual trunk of the tree. The cirio is like a normal tree in the sense that the body is above ground and there are some serious roots anchoring it in the ground. There is no subterranean caudex to speak of, just some fat roots (like lots of trees grow over time to stay anchored). Another BC giant from the same habitat (the cardón) also grows some very serious roots, but also not a caudex in the normal sense below ground. Photo below of a fallen cirio showing some of what's going on under ground.

Don't rebury a caudex that has been lifted. Maybe if it's very recent you can get away with it, no harm done, but otherwise that's a one-way road and you go the wrong direction at your own peril. So I have been told (these Pachyforms books will answer many of your caudiciform questions) but never had the inclination to test. The Fouquierias are all normal above-ground plants to my understanding, maybe with industrial scale roots where necessary. Ocotillos definitely have a big gnarly mass down there when they get old.

This message was edited Nov 12, 2015 7:45 PM