Hechtia ghiesbreghtii Lem.
Taxonomic Change:
- Considered a synonym of Hechtia glomerata Zuccarini —See Smith & Downs 1974 p. 597
- Lectotype designated, fig. 1 en Ill. Hort. 10: t. 378, 1863 —See Smith & Downs 1974 p. 597
- Considered a good species on its own —See Espejo et al. 2017 p. 63
- Considered a synonym of Hechtia glomerata Zuccarini —See Espejo et al. 2020 p. 1007
- Epitype: México, Chiapas, Municipio Ocozocoautla [de Espinosa], carretera de terracería que va de la carretera federal Cintalapa-Ocozocoautla hasta las Cascadas del Aguacero en la Reserva del Ocote, al SE de la reserva, 16° 45’ 27.01’’ N, 93° 31’ 32.86’’ O, 690-700 m, 10 de julio 2009, G. Carnevali, R. Duno, G. Romero y J. P. Pinzon 7488 ♀, ♂ y frutos (CICY-74395, CICY- 74396, CICY-74397, CICY-74398, CICY-74399, CICY-74400, CICY-74401). —See Ramírez et al. 2026 p. 6
- Considered a good species on its own right —See Ramírez et al. 2026 p. 5
Literature references:
Comments:
- by Katherine L. Clint in Brom. Soc. Bull. 7(2): 19-21. 1957
On April 20, 1950, my husband, Morris, and I were returning with friends to Brownsville from Laredo, Texas - the last lap of a successful plant collecting trip in Mexico. We had planned on a slow, plant-scouting drive home, but the illness of one of our party necessitated a change in plans and speed became our prime objective. Not much plant detail can be picked up when scanning the roadside from a rapidly moving automobile so I was not devoting my entire attention to this task - which makes it all the more amazing that the brief image of large, purplish, whorled clumps of plants registered "bromeliads" on my mind. So far as I knew at that time, terrestrial bromeliads were unknown in this part of Texas, so I disliked to ask for even a slackening in speed on such dubious evidence. Instead, I concentrated for some time on the rapidly vanishing roadside with every trick we had acquired on our plant collecting expeditions. Suddenly, and so unexpectedly that I was startled, one of the plants came into sharp focus for a fleeting moment and I spoke excitedly and rather wonderingly, "Why, those really are bromels! Please slow down for a few minutes." But, alas, no more plants appeared, for I had delayed speaking too long and we had driven out of the range of the species.
At home, we checked into all of our information on terrestrial bromeliads and decided they must be Hechtia, but could find no record of a species with purplish leaves. Two species of this genus were reported from Texas, but who would dream of finding them this close to the coast? We talked endlessly all summer about the plants but did not have the courage to brave the heat of those semi-barren hills until cooler weather. Finally, about the middle of November, we made the return trip and had no difficulty at all in locating our plants - in Starr County, about 12 miles west of Roma - for the hills were simply covered with them.
They were, indeed, Hechtias - acres of them! They were immense plants, a few up to 4 feet in diameter, and were growing in huge clumps. Seen at close range, I soon discovered why they had looked purplish to me in April, for the leaves were heavily stained bright purplish red at the tips and along the edges. There would have been even more color in April, after the long dry winter.
We wandered around for some time, admiring the plants and trying to locate specimens which were small enough to take home. Most of the plants were undoubtedly very old and we thought it very strange that there were no seedlings at all and very few small plants, but this is often true in arid or semi-desert areas. The Hechtias were a little "choosy" as to where they grew for we found few plants at the top of the hills and none at all at the bottom. Most of the largest and prettiest plants were about half way down the western slope of the hills but we could not decide just why some were colored so beautifully while others nearby had little color or none at all. Perhaps it takes a fine balance of light and moisture (or lack of it) which varies from plant to plant. The gray-green leaves of this species are very numerous, from 15 to 30 inches or more long, recurved, slightly or much whorled, and are armed with large, vicious, reddish-brown teeth. The dried inflorescences were 6-10 feet tall, well branched at the top. We looked for seed, but the capsules were either empty or riddled with weevils. We found the habitat of the plants more fascinating than one would at first suppose. Located just a short distance from the Rio Grande River, it is an arid land of low hills sparingly covered with scrub trees, thorny shrubs, Yucca, cactus, Agave and a few annual and perennial herbs.
The hills in this immediate neighborhood were composed of shale in various stages of decomposition and we were astonished to find that the shale was in reality the remains of immense petrified oyster shells. Large pieces and a few worn but whole shells were found in some of the drains - the largest measuring over a foot in length, around 5 inches in width and extraordinarily thick. We were reminded that there is a petrified forest not far to the north of this location and remembered that geologists believe that this section of Texas has been inundated by the sea at least five times.
We spent the better part of the day in the area - exploring, photographing the plants and digging some of the smaller ones to take home. A few of the plants and part of a dried inflorescence were sent to Mr. Foster, who tentatively identified the species as Hechtia ghiesbreghtii.
The following April we returned to our collection spot, hoping to see the plants in bloom. It was a little too early in the season for just a few stems were found, just emerging. We were horrified to find that entire hillsides of plants had been demolished by bulldozers and we suddenly realized that the section inhabited by our plants was well within the site for Falcon Dam, at that time in the initial stages of construction. We thought grimly of the many acres of beautiful Hechtia destined to be flooded and lost forever. However, our fears were not entirely realized and we are now happy to report that only a portion of the plants have been lost to progress, for we have found that the range of the species extends northward to a greater extent than we had originally supposed as well as westward into Zapata County.
Hechtia ghiesbreghtii takes very kindly to cultivation here in Brownsville - either in pots or in the ground - if plenty of drainage is supplied, ample sunshine furnished, and only enough water is given to prevent the leaves from burning. Under these conditions the plants seem happy and color up beautifully, bloom well each year and increase naturally by suckering at the base. Of course, our soil here is alkaline, but I feel that the species is so adaptable that plants would make themselves at home in many sections of the country if extra calcium were supplied where the pH required it. As to frost resistance, plants in their native habitat have withstood temperatures of at least 12 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. —See J. Bromeliad Soc.
