Some Cacti from Heber, AZ, ~6,600 ft

[Lil' Opuntia]

The Heber area (zone 6b) is an interesting place which represents a transition zone between the Mogollon Rim to the South and the Painted Desert to the North. The site I chose to survey back in July was just South of Heber itself, near a petroglyph interpretive site, which was within a mix of P-J and Ponderosa pine forest.

[Lil' Opuntia]

Echinocereus bakeri, the most common non-opuntia in the area. This species was lumped with E. coccineus until relatively recently.

[Lil' Opuntia]

Escobaria (currently Pelecyphora) vivipara occurs sporadically in the area. I like the fine, hair-like spines of this regional form.

[Lil' Opuntia]

Strange E. bakeri plants.

While I initially thought this could be hybridization with spp mojavensis and bakeri, this now seems to be unlikely due to the fact that mojavensis is a diploid while bakeri is a tetraploid.

While these plants are probably not hybrids, they are still very weird regardless!

[Lil' Opuntia]

Almost forgot the petroglyphs!

[Lil' Opuntia]

E. bakeri is still synonymous with E. coccineus. Unlike E. santaritensis or yavapaiensis, there is currently no phylogenetic basis for its separation from E. coccineus.

Its status as a sperate species is dubious