The return of Yo and copiapoas
October 7, 2006 | 12:00am
As many of our loyal readers will know, Johann Espiritu, that debonair high-flying lawyer and man-about-town, was this column’s photographer during the early years of Succulentophile. He is most probably one of the big reasons why many of our readers were attracted to this column in the first place, what with his fantastic and meticulously crafted photos of our favorite subjects. Johann’s photos were even featured in circulated Philippine stamps a few years back when the Philippine Postal Corporation issued commemoratives depicting cacti and succulents (in honor of the Philippine Cactus and Succulent Society’s 25th anniversary).
Well, as many of our loyal readers also know, Johann left for his Master’s in Law at Georgetown University and spent more than two years in the US. Fortunately for this column, Johann has returned and we can all look forward to his photographic genius in this column again from time to time.
For his inaugural return shoot, I asked Yo to capture in his unique way the copiapoas from Chile. I gave him carte blanche to depict each subject in whatever way he fancied. A typical amateur photographer like myself would have photographed each subject in its entirety. But Yo decided to shoot aspects of each plant that struck him the most.
So in certain instances, you will see ultra closeups of the beautiful architectural forest of spines in some subjects. In other cases, only a new offset or only half of the plant is depicted. The idea here is for the viewer to test his or her imagination and try to picture the whole plant from just a portion of the total subject, thus making for a much more interesting and captivating photograph.
I asked Yo to feature the copiapoas endemic to Chile because this is one of my favorite cactus groups. These plants are highly desired by collectors worldwide and are noted for their beautiful spination and forms – white to ash gray coloration in its most famous members, i.e., the cinerea complex – and the challenges these plants present in cultivation.
Graham Charles is one of the world’s experts in copiapoas. In his book on the subject, he writes: "Copiapoa is a most individual genus, with characteristics that are so clearly defined that there is no argument about which plants are contained within it – more than can be said for many other genera. It has no obvious close relatives in the family cactaceae, suggesting a long evolution away from the mainstream of development, brought about by the isolation of its habitat niche.
"Simple, globular to elongate-cylindric, or in one species forming large clumps or mounds containing hundreds of simple globular stems; areoles borne on definite ribs; top of plant covered with dense soft wool; flowers from the top of the plant, nearly hidden in the wool; campanulate to funnelform, yellow or sometimes tinged with red, with very short but broad tubes.
"The name of the genus copiapoa was derived from the Chilean province of Copiapo. Copiapoas occupy a specific ecological niche found in a defined area of northern Chile. They have adapted to exist in these conditions and occur nowhere else. The copiapoa distribution region is characterized by little actual rainfall, but frequent fogs or mists move inland off the sea on to the coastal hills, and to some extent up the valleys. Rainfall is irregular, with perhaps years between the occasional downpours. Even when it does rain the moisture can be of limited use to the plants, for it runs rapidly off the dry slopes and does not penetrate the ground."
While more and more collections worldwide are featuring copiapoas, these plants, particularly the hard-bodied species such as cinerea (and its beautiful variants), cinerascens, marginata and desertorum, are still quite rare in cultivation. More common are the smaller, softer-bodied species such as tenuissima and hypogaea. The softer-bodied species are also a lot easier to grow, although care at all times with watering is in order, particularly in our tropical climate.
In the future, I will discuss more of the cultural requirements of this beautiful and exotic genus. For now, I leave you to admire the breathtaking photos of Johann Espiritu.
Well, as many of our loyal readers also know, Johann left for his Master’s in Law at Georgetown University and spent more than two years in the US. Fortunately for this column, Johann has returned and we can all look forward to his photographic genius in this column again from time to time.
For his inaugural return shoot, I asked Yo to capture in his unique way the copiapoas from Chile. I gave him carte blanche to depict each subject in whatever way he fancied. A typical amateur photographer like myself would have photographed each subject in its entirety. But Yo decided to shoot aspects of each plant that struck him the most.
So in certain instances, you will see ultra closeups of the beautiful architectural forest of spines in some subjects. In other cases, only a new offset or only half of the plant is depicted. The idea here is for the viewer to test his or her imagination and try to picture the whole plant from just a portion of the total subject, thus making for a much more interesting and captivating photograph.
I asked Yo to feature the copiapoas endemic to Chile because this is one of my favorite cactus groups. These plants are highly desired by collectors worldwide and are noted for their beautiful spination and forms – white to ash gray coloration in its most famous members, i.e., the cinerea complex – and the challenges these plants present in cultivation.
Graham Charles is one of the world’s experts in copiapoas. In his book on the subject, he writes: "Copiapoa is a most individual genus, with characteristics that are so clearly defined that there is no argument about which plants are contained within it – more than can be said for many other genera. It has no obvious close relatives in the family cactaceae, suggesting a long evolution away from the mainstream of development, brought about by the isolation of its habitat niche.
"Simple, globular to elongate-cylindric, or in one species forming large clumps or mounds containing hundreds of simple globular stems; areoles borne on definite ribs; top of plant covered with dense soft wool; flowers from the top of the plant, nearly hidden in the wool; campanulate to funnelform, yellow or sometimes tinged with red, with very short but broad tubes.
"The name of the genus copiapoa was derived from the Chilean province of Copiapo. Copiapoas occupy a specific ecological niche found in a defined area of northern Chile. They have adapted to exist in these conditions and occur nowhere else. The copiapoa distribution region is characterized by little actual rainfall, but frequent fogs or mists move inland off the sea on to the coastal hills, and to some extent up the valleys. Rainfall is irregular, with perhaps years between the occasional downpours. Even when it does rain the moisture can be of limited use to the plants, for it runs rapidly off the dry slopes and does not penetrate the ground."
While more and more collections worldwide are featuring copiapoas, these plants, particularly the hard-bodied species such as cinerea (and its beautiful variants), cinerascens, marginata and desertorum, are still quite rare in cultivation. More common are the smaller, softer-bodied species such as tenuissima and hypogaea. The softer-bodied species are also a lot easier to grow, although care at all times with watering is in order, particularly in our tropical climate.
In the future, I will discuss more of the cultural requirements of this beautiful and exotic genus. For now, I leave you to admire the breathtaking photos of Johann Espiritu.
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