^{(photograph = Cactus Explorer, September, 2015)}

Introduction

Sometimes cactus and succulent books are expensive. There is free information online, but where do you find free, quality magazines?

The Details

The Cactus Explorers Club based in the United Kingdom, is a group of cactus experts that travel the world studying plants. They also grow large numbers of species and varieties of cacti.

This group publishes an eMagazine that is free! There are over a dozen past issues online that cover many and varied topics about cacti and succulents. The September, 2015 issue is all about Echinocereus dasyacanthus. It is a great read and you can download it free.

E. dasyacanthus (some call it E. pectinatus dasyacanthus) is a perennial favorite for cactus growers because the plant is generally easy to grow and because the yellow flowers are astonishingly beautiful and bountiful. E. dasyacanthus grows in far west Texas and nearby New Mexico and Mexico.

Download the special issue here.

Wikipedia reports

Echinocereus dasyacanthus plants are usually found with a single stem or 2-3 basal branches. Though it is not uncommon to find plants with 3-10 stems. The stems of Texas rainbow cactus are between 11–24 cm long and 5.5–7 cm wide and usually have 15-18 ribs. The spines usually overlap making the stem not visible. There is a great amount of variation in the spines characteristics. There are typically 4-12 central spines that are .5-1.2 cm long and 14-25 radial spines that are .7–2 cm long. The basic coloration of the spines are tan to yellow to pink. Some spines may be ashy-white to reddish brown, but that is less common.