8 year repeat photograph of a leaning Ferocactus cylindraceus in Chuckwalla Wash
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| Fig. 1. Top: Photograph of a leaning Ferocactus cylindraceus in Chuckwalla Wash taken on 29 January 2017. Bottom: Follow-up photograph taken on 16 February 2025. Corresponding plants are numbered. |
Long before I began studying Ferocactus cylindraceus in 2025, I took a pix of a leaning Fero in Chuckwalla Wash on 29 January 2017, presumably because I thought the lean might result in the cactus falling over in the future; see two pano shots of this cactus and its surrounding area. I returned to this area on 16 February 2025, with one goal being to rephotograph this scene, to see what changes had occurred.
The Fero had indeed fallen in the intervening eight years. Don Rideout and I measured its dead length as 40 inches (102 cm), and estimated from its decay that it had been dead about two years. See my iNat observation of it and Don Rideout's post.
Other changes evident in the pair of photographs:
- Dead plant #2, whatever it is, is still dead, looking pretty much the same.
- Dead plants #3, 4, 6, and 7, of Cylindropuntia bigelovii, are still dead, and looking pretty much the same.
- Live plant #5 of Cylindropuntia bigelovii looks about the same, and live plant #8 has grown a bit at its top.
- Plants #9 and #10 of Cylindropuntia ganderi have grown, but become more ragged looking, with some stems going from being erect to drooping toward the ground.
- The ~12 ocotillos in the background all look unchanged.