The Chileans Volume 17, # 57 : 126

EL GUANILLO by Frans Vandenbroeck

Translated by H.Middleditch from Succulenta 74.2.1995

One of the most fascinating experiences of our trip through Chile was undoubtedly our visit to “EI Guanillo“. This name is not so easily found an the map as it is a small deserted bay lying opposite a small guano island an the north coast of Chile. The existence of this spot was unknown to me. From the writings of F.Ritter however it was evident that the place of Esmeralda or Mina Esmeralda is an interesting cactus habitat.

When we stayed in north Chile in November-December 1990 we looked for this district.

Esmeralda lies not quite 300 km north of the town of Copiapo, on the north coast of Chile. The old Esmeralda mine, mentioned by Ritter is now abandoned. Now there exists a network of tracks which lead to various more recent mines. From a name board it seemed that the Compania Minera Esmeralda was still active, but now in other mines. The tracks which lead from the Pan-American Highway over a distance of about 30 km towards the coast go at first through a bare desert-like area. But as the coast and its accompanying mist-zone gets closer, a scanty vegetation becomes visible which in favourable circumstances can become exuberant and colourful.

The landscape is slightly hilly and displays all shades between yellowish white and reddish brown. The track runs alternatively over flat sandy areas and between bare rocky outcrops. Suddenly it drops away in front of us to an extensive flat sandy terrace filled with specimens of Copiapoa columna-alba growing quite close to one another, with their heads slanting away from the wind. They are more robust and more spiny than near Pan de Azucar, an area lying some 50 km or more to the south, where this species also occurs en masse. The weathered parts of the plants are overgrown with a crust of moss. Noteworthy are the numerous young plants of barely a couple of cm in diameter, which project freshly above the ground. Presumably these all germinated during the self-same period of favourable weather. Whilst overlooking this splendid spot a recollection comes to me of an image I know from a photograph. So I take Ritter‘s Part 3 of his Kakteen in Süd Amerika out of the vehicle and in fact Fig. 1039 is a precise reproduction of the landscape that now lies in front of us. Even the contouring of the hills matches entirely. In Ritter‘s picture is an ancient Eulychnia and we find that too!

We now drop further down towards the coast where thick mist hangs low - the start surely of a drizzle, an exceptional and beneficial occurrence in this area! The vegetation is helped by this luxury. The day is far advanced and now it is becoming chilly. The track turns northwards and now we see large clumps of fine Copiapoas of a sort which is not familiar to us. We decide to look for a camping site and keep the study of these plants until the following day. A small track goes westwards apparently going right down to the sea. On the flank of the opposite hill a primitive signpost points to the west to “El Guanillo“. To our surprise we even come to a marshy spot where bushes of a huge reed (Juncus sp.) grow which reaches up to 2 m high. Finally the ocean emerges before us with a rocky island covered with white guano in the distance: El Guanillo! In front of us lies a great white ribbon and behind us lie hills with the most magnificent crop of cacti. We pitch the tent between great hummocks of C.longistaminea which grow abundantly on the higher sections of the beach.

The following day started with radiant sunshine and we take a good look at the plants of C.longistaminea; the species name is well deserved; the yellow flowers stand wide open with the numerous stamens projecting above the stigma. Now we leave the immediate coastal area and trek further inland. Striking are the large bushes with yellow flowers. On the irregular sandstone slopes stand groups of Copiapoa grandiflora. They have a bluish-grey depressed globular plant body with a twisting spination and form open clumps. Unfortunately the “large flowering“ implied by the name was not to be fulfilled, as not a single plant displayed a trace of flowers. These plants are often surrounded by a curiously succulent like plant of the Convolvulaceae family with handsome bluish-purple flowers. The leaves of this plant are thick and turgid and moreover secrete a sticky sweet-smelling substance. [The individual clusters of leaves resemble an aeonium - H.M.]

Further up, usually on the crowns of the small hillocks, we came across large groups of tiny, mysterious greyish-white spined miniature cactus. Each individual head had a diameter of about one cm. To our joy we were standing here in front of Copiapoa lauii. This plant was described by Diers in 1980 and seems not to have been found here by Ritter, at least he makes no mention of it. At closer inspection of the plants it was evident that immediately under the body stretches a narrow neck with offsets on which a new head can develop. Below the root neck stretches a 2 to 3 cm long enlarged root. On the self-same hill crowns, growing together with these miniscule Copiapoas, we found one other small sort of Copiapoa with grey and brownish-red plant bodies. These plants are more robust than Copiapoa lauii with short spines and sit so deep in the ground that they are commonly completely or half-covered with grit or dust. This was a Copiapoa unknown to us.

Another plant which leads a concealed existence here and there and which is only now and again compelled to give itself away by its flower is the small Thelocephala esmeraldana. We had the good fortune to see a single flower from this plant standing above the surface of the ground and thus we were able to take a closer look at this sort. The plant bodies are invisible on account of the gravel and grit and normally cannot be found. On removing the surface grit around the flower the brownish-grey plant body comes to light. Astonishingly enough it was evident that we had a quickly trained eye for later on we found a great number of these small mimicry plants, most of which however gave themselves away by flower buds, flowers, or fruit. Growing together with this Thelocephala we found a small elegant yellow flowering Oxalis with a fine narrow leaf.

In our search for the unsightly cacti we came across yet another of those leading a hidden existence - a small brownish-grey spineless somewhat soft-fleshy globular form shrunken in the ground, possibly Pyrrhocactus occultus - surely a plant with an appropriate name. We find only one specimen, which is not surprising. According to the literature it should only occur in a very restricted area i.e. around Breas to the east of Taltal. This area lies as the crow flies some 60 km away from the spot where we now found ourselves. Finally we find, somewhat lower down, mostly at the foot of the sandhills, solitary specimens of the black spined Pyrrhocactus taltalensis, a sort of plant which truly has a wide distribution area, but only rarely seems to appear.

After this undoubtedly exciting and successful search we trek via a narrow track northwards further along the coast. In this way we hope eventually to reach the bay of Cifuncho, which lies some 40-odd km further northwards. On the way we see huge specimens of Copaipoa columna-alba. Some plants here attain a height of one meter, which for this sort can be regarded as decidedly exceptional. Some scanty specimens of Eulychnia saint-pieana display their very typical short cup-like white flowers. The whole flower sits as it were packed in a thick woolly envelope. Unexpectedly the track dropped down towards the sea and we stand before an abandoned mine. There was no track going any further northwards, so we turned round and retraced our steps, to try our luck south-easterly from El Guanillo. We passed terraces where Copaipoa columna-alba and Copiapoa longistaminea grew together. lt is a fine sight, the solitary columns of Copaipoa columna-alba between the huge hummocks of Copiapoa longistaminea. Once again we pass the Ritter “field“ and take at random a track running in a south-easterly direction.

from A.W.Craig

During my second visit to Chile in November 1995 I attempted to find Esmeralda but by a different route than that taken the previous year when accompanied by a member of CONAF (Corporacion Nacional Forestal) based at Pan de Azucar.

On this occasion we turned west from the Pan-American highway at a sign indicating “Mina Maria“. Along desert tracks with various junctions but no sign posts we navigated only by aiming to reach the coast. We stopped at a point some 7 or 8 km from the coast still in the general surroundings of the coastal hills but in an area of smooth rolling dunes. These were not composed of fine sand but of compacted quartz grit with an average particle size in the region of 4 to 6 mm. lt was suspected that the area might be suitable for Thelocephala so a start was made to search the ground and some plants were quickly found which were taken to be a small Copiapoa.

These heads of these small Copiapoa were always flush with the surface of the ground and never protruding above it, often with a layer of grit almost obscuring the head. The heads were up to 40 mm diameter but they were generally smaller, about 25 to 30 mm or less, usually solitary but occasionally up to 3 heads which appeared to be due to the result of damage caused possibly by Guanacos. Attempting to establish the nature of the root system proved to be quite difficult due to the extreme compaction of the grit and the long tap root, often larger in diameter than the head of the plant and having a length of around 300 mm, being connected to the head by a neck of narrow diameter. The volume of the tap root would be many times that of the head, much greater even than that observed on Copiapoa hypogaea, Copiapoa mollicula, etc. The colour of the head was bluish green and due to the desiccated nature of the plants it was difficult to distinguish any rib pattern in the tubercles. There were no indications of any of the plants having recently flowered and also no signs of seed.

From that point we drove further down towards the coast more or less following a dry quebrada towards Esmeralda and came within sight of the sea which lay ahead of and below us, possibly a mile away. Stopping at a spot where we could camp, at Planta Esmeralda, a short walk down the dry stream bed came to what can best be described as a dry waterfall, a sheer drop of seven to ten meters. In the November of 1996 we adopted to take a different turn off the Pan-American Highway and approached the coast down the Quebrada Guanillos which lies only a few km to the north of Esmeralda, confirming the location by G.P.S. From the mouth of the Quebrada Guanillos we were even able to drive south along the coast to the mouth of the Quebrada Esmeralda (Cachina valley) where we came to the base of the dry waterfall which barred our further downstream travel the previous year.

A day or two later we took the trail from Esmeralda towards Pan de Azucar. In the area of Las Lomitas, we found yet another population of small, buried Copiapoa, but with even smaller heads - about 25 mm in diameter maximum. These plants were smaller in all respects including the tap root, being a slightly scaled down version of the plants found in Quebrada Cachina. Again there was no sign of recent flowering. There were no obvious central spines, but the spines were about 2 mm long on some plants and about 10 mm long on others. Both the populations observed near Las Lomitas and when entering Quebrada Cachina seemed, in general appearance, to be a possible miniature version of Copiapoa grandiflora, which usually grows nearer the coast, above ground, and much better spined. lt is unclear whether these plants are stabilised miniature populations or whether they are merely variants arising from the local environment i.e. whether they would assume the mode of growth of the above-ground Copiapoa grandiflora if they were grown from seed and planted in the coastal conditions. The latter I would doubt, as the plants near Las Lomitas are frequently moistened by quite thick coastal mists - trips I have made in this same area have had to be curtailed due to the cloud/fog - and also from the quantity of lichen seen on adjacent plants.

There was no observable cline to be seen between these miniature Copiapoa and the larger coastal species/forms of Copiapoa grandiflora which form hemispherical clusters. These clumps of the larger form of Copiapoa grandiflora can exceed one meter in diameter, having approximately 100 heads in some extreme cases and with individual heads up to 150 mm in diameter. For the purpose of clarity in correspondence and until further information about these plants is gleaned, the epithet Copiapoa grandiflora v. minima might be suitable.

Whilst we were in the Quebrada Guanillos we stopped a few km from the shore, close to a conical rocky hill whose flanks rose in irregular steps, ledges, and slopes, with flat or sloping patches of grit. The ascent of the hillside was more of a scramble than a walk. Here again there were to be found small Copiapoas with singles and clusters of heads of up to 60 mm in diameter, with a greyish-brown body colour. There were thousands of these plants here. They grew either flush with the surface of the ground or slightly raised above the ground. They appeared to be quite different to the semi-subterranean Copiapoa found at Las Lomitas and in the Cachina valley, in respect of the texture and colour of the epidermis, and also the spination.

from H.Middleditch

lt is possible that Fig.978 of Copiapoa esmeraldana in Ritter‘s Kakteen in Sudamerika could pass for a small version of Copiapoa grandiflora. But the spination in Ritter‘s description of this species bears little resemblance to that indicated for the three populations of semi-subterranean Copiapoa found by A.W.Craig. Perhaps the unidentified Copiapoa found in Quebrada Guanillos by F.Vandenbroeck also fails to match Ritter‘s Fig.978 and associated description?

from F.Vandenbroeck

When I found this unidentified Copiapoa, most plants were hidden under sand or small pebbly stones. On this account I first thought of Copiapoa hypogaea, but the aspect of the plants is not like that species. The plants have a pronounced greyish-brown body of 5 to 6 cm in diameter, are clustering, with 12-13 rounded ribs, weakly spined, some indeed without spines, probably due to erosion. Ritter‘s description of Copiapoa esmeraldana hardly seems to fit here. Moreover he states that Copiapoa esmeraldana occurs on steep cliffs south of Esmeralda.

from A.W.Craig

The unidentified Copiapoa found in habitat in the Quebrada Guanillos does not seem to fit either the Ritter description for Copiapoa esmeraldana or his photograph Fig.978. However, I have a plant of TJ 74 labelled Copiapoa esmeraldana from Esmeralda, obtained from T.Jenkins and presumably seed grown. At first sight this has rather more than a passing resemblance to Copiapoa humilis in one of its many forms. This TJ 74 has some 13 ribs divided into quite prominent well rounded tubercles and a central spine just short of 2Omm, although the ribs are more clearly defined on the Ritter Fig.978. Otherwise these unidentified Copiapoa from Quebrada Guanillos might possibly adopt the appearance of Ritter Fig.978 or my TJ74 in cultivation.

from H.Middleditch

For Copiapoa esmeraldana, Ritter quotes a head size of 3.5 to 7 cm., freely offsetting, 13-16 ribs, 6-8 radial spines 5-10 mm long, 3-4 central spines 1-2 cm long; the head size and offsetting quoted by Ritter would appear to accommodate the plants seen by F.Vandenbroeck, whilst the rib count is no great discrepancy. However, the illustration of Copiapoa esmeraldana Fig. 978 in Ritter‘s Kakteen in Sudamerika gives the impression of a well-spined above-ground plant, not a weakly spined semi-subterranean plant, as described by F.Vandenbroeck and A.W.Craig. In his Kakteen in Sudamerika, Ritter does indeed describe the type location for his Copiapoa esmeraldana as “steep coast south of Esmeralda“. lt may also be noted that Copiapoa esmeraldana is included in the entries against FK 1052 to 1057 which are all from “Las Lomitas on top of bluff‘; if this is where the hills rise abruptly from the sloping coast, it may conceivably be described as “steep coast“.

From A.W. Craig

The site where we found the small semi-subterranean Copiapoa near Las Lomitas was in typical coastal hills. lt would be a walk of roughly 600 metres or so from there to a point where the ground descended sharply to the coast. Although it was not too easy to see the coast itself, on account of the swirling mists down below. From the foot of this steep cliff the beach looked as if it was not very wide and, as usual, appeared to slope gently down to the edge of the sea. This particular vantage point might well be described as “steep cliffs“ but I did not see any small, buried, Copiapoa at that particular spot.

If F.Vandenbroeck was so fortunate as to find Thelocephala in bud, flower, and fruit I wonder what time of year he made that visit?

from F.Vandenbroeck

We were in that part of Chile in the November of 1990.

From A.W. Craig

In approaching the coast near Esmeralda from the Pan-American highway, the road passes through the coastal hills, following the Quebrada Cachina. Some four km or so before reaching Esmeralda, the hills move away from the road both to the left and the right. The road now crosses a broad and almost flat area of sandy ground scattered with Copiapoa columna-alba, where there is good regeneration of these plants. This is probably where F.Vandenbroeck was reminded of the Ritter Fig 1094; in that particular picture the camera is probably facing north across the valley as the hills can be seen in the background. A couple of km nearer Esmeralda there are tracks leading off to the south-east so I imagine it was one of these that was taken by F.Vandenbroeck when he drove away from this area.

Esmeralda itself lies perhaps a couple of km from the shore, at a point where the coastal hills rise very abruptly indeed from the ground which slopes gently towards the sea. So steeply, in fact, that there did not appear to me to be any safe way of descending to the beach. At about a km inland from that steep drop there is a track (which may have been followed by F.Vandenbroeck) from La Cachina in the Quebrada Cachina, across a mountain spur to Quebrada Guanillos. From where this track joins the Quebrada Guanillos, it will be about a couple of km nearer the coast when we met with the somewhat swampy patch of ground where some reeds grow; presumably this was the same swampy spot mentioned by F.Vandenbroeck. Shortly afterwards, the guano-covered island does become visible out to sea. Very close to the coast, a short distance to the south of where the Quebrada Guanillos runs out to the sea, we also found what must be fisherman‘s huts. lt rather looks as though the spot at which Vandenbroeck found the Thelocephala, the Copiapoa lauii, and the unidentified greyish-brown Copiapoa in the Quebrada Guanillos is more or less the same place that we stopped and found what was probably the same plant. lt thus appears that we found Thelocephala AWC 258 and AWC 458 at no great distance from the Vandenbroeck location for the unidentified Copiapoa.

The succulent-like convolvulus with the bluish purple flowers seen by F.Vandenbroeck will very likely be a Nolana.

from H.Middleditch

The Schulz Copiapoa book includes a photograph (114) of an isolated hill in the Quebrada Guanillos which is described as a habitat location for Copiapoa longistaminea, Copiapoa esmeraldana, Copiapoa grandiflora, and Copiapoa lauii. Perhaps this was the same location as that visited by F.Vandenbroeck and by A.W.Craig where the unidentified Copiapoa were to be found.

from A.W.Craig

Looking at the photograph 114 in the Schulz Copiapoa book, taken in the Guanillos valley, I am fairly certain that it is the hill where we stopped and climbed, finding all the plants mentioned by Schulz from there. But we did not find all the plants mentioned by F.Vandenbroeck.

from R.Ferryman

We found what is probably this same small Copiapoa to the north of Pan de Azucar when I was travelling in company with A.Hoffmann. My travelling companion was quite convinced that what we had found was a Thelocephala.

from H.Middleditch

There are some quite good illustrations in the Schulz Copiapoa book of plants which may well be this same small Copiapoa, identified there as Copiapoa esmeraldana. Most of these pictures are of plants which appear to be growing partially or wholly above ground and yet lack the prominent ribs of Ritter‘s Fig 978 and also lack a strong armament of spines. But the Schulz photo 44 is sufficiently close-up to suggest that it is growing above ground and does bear a closer resemblance to Ritter‘s Fig 978. However, there appears to be no statement in the Schulz book to the effect that these plants have been found in a virtual subterranean state, nor that rib and spination development is more prominent the more the body is growing above ground.

In many of the Schulz pictures of this plant may be seen the nature of the gritty gravel of which the surrounding surface of the ground is composed; the grit appears to be about 5mm or so in size. On one photograph these plants appear to be growing in ground composed of solid rock patchily covered with what may be merely shallow pockets of grit. On account of the small size of the plant bodies it is not clear if they are growing more or less entirely above ground, as might be expected in such circumstances; unless the tap root had found a crevice in the rock, giving the plant an anchor to draw the head below surface level. lt might be surmised that the more or less ribless and spineless plants would be of semi-subterranean growth, in gritty ground, with a substantial tap root, whilst the well ribbed and well-spined plants may be growing overground in rocky ground. However this neat idea is scuppered by picture 70 in the Schulz book of a well-spined plant apparently growing in gritty ground, with a very robust tap root indeed.

from A.W.Craig

Even if these plants are growing in relatively shallow pockets of gravel on solid rock, the roots will still find their way down into clefts in the rock. The Schulz photograph 44 does show fairly well defined ribs but these do not give the appearance of being as acute as those to be seen on the Ritter Fig.978. Over the course of the years the body of these plants will contract at ground level in proportion to the new growth so that old spines will accumulate at the rim of the body. This can be seen in the Schulz photo 70 and should not be mistaken for a head that has been growing well above ground level. Nowhere did we see one of these small Copiapoa where the complete head was growing naturally above ground level, the few exceptions being in areas of erosion, for example.

from H.Middleditch

For the time being it may be practical to accept the small and mostly semi-subterranean Copiapoa seen by A.W.Craig and by F.Vandenbroeck in Quebrada Guanillos, as well as the Ritter Fig.978, as representatives of the same species of Copiapoa esmeralda illustrated by Schulz. And quite possibly still distinct from the Copiapoa grandiflora v. minima.