Giant Succulents & Mushrooms in a Desert Arroyo

A Gymnopilus species that's confirmed by HPLC to contain Ps1locyb1n is featured in this episode along with a rare member of the creosote family, Viscainoa geniculata.
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Thanks, GFY.

[@babyhands9287]

Botany is cool and all, but I like when you shout at the wildlife.

[@TheMidnightCloak]

That is honestly what I watch for.

[@janinesnyder8250]

Meeeee tooo 😂 and mocks it for being gay 😂

[@KurtWickham]

That's so f'ing funny!!

[@ronm3245]

@@janinesnyder8250 It's amazing how much wildlife is actually gay.

[@mcgoo721]

​@@ronm3245 It's true the animal kingdom is very gay

[@lothlin]

I, too, have experienced the despair of being a mycologist in the desert

[@CBroPhotography]

Recently got into slime molds the past year. Hasn't rained in my area of the midwest since. Barely any snow either.

[@lothlin]

@CBroPhotography look closely at well rotted logs; some species are just so small they don't jump right out at you.

[@scarletstair4791]

Pssssst silver city nm has so many mushrooms we get lots of rain for the desert.

[@Heavilymoderated]

Almost all I saw in 3 years in Tucson was Podaxis Pistillaris.

[@timbow1356]

The fact that Alan doesn't "sell" Tony's humor is absolutely BRILLIANT 😂

[@junglie]

Alan does deadpan so well.

[@metalicminer6231]

This is the channel to watch to get you away from the human mayhem.😂

[@Thebryanrauser]

Botany has always been one of my interests but I watch these videos primarily for the comedic relief

[@HypaBumfuzzle]

The black fabric.......OMGGG FINALLY!!! here's me, out at night with a light trying to recreate ur damn pretty black background pics. Please say thank you to your friend for me, he just made my life easier❤❤❤

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

I don't use black fabric, Alan does. You don't need it. You just need a small aperture, a flash and for the background behind the subject to be much darker than the surrounding ambient light and landscape. The contrast between background lighting and the lighting you're in is key. If it's sunny , I cover the subject with my own shadow and hold the subject up in front of the shadow of something else.

[@HypaBumfuzzle]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt *salutes and skips away*

[@Desguiser]

I would love for you to cover Queensland, we have so many different ecosystems! If you’re ever out this way let me know and I’ll sort you out some accomodation and transport. The world needs people like you.

[@troyandskyelar9588]

He went to tassie but never came up here. Crazy since there’s that whole Daintree Rainforest thing.

[@taleandclawrock2606]

❤

[@regant7064]

Those dudleya you found were magnificent.

[@Hollywiththeflowers]

I just can’t get enough of this channel, he’s made me rethink the way I look at the nature that surrounds me. I’ve learned so much , thank you for making botany accessible to people .

[@CarlosRuiz-en9iy]

I like the long format

[@kevinnistor1954]

The south Africa stuff kicks ass too ​@OutboundShane

[@canadiangemstones7636]

One amazing plant after another, and even a shroom for Alan! Banger of an episode.

[@2tommyrad]

Cactus wren... my FAV bird of all time.

[@frankmacleod2565]

SALKB, nice to hear they're still around. funny, I was once a member of the Society for the Appreciation of the Society for the Appreciation of Lesser Known Beans

[@rtcfrtcdana]

Thank you for not stopping. I'm 10 years into deyardingunlawning, some ground steppe/high northern prairie & the land's doing most of the work for me...Actually it was the bottom of a shallow inland sea at one time with a climate like coastal georgia. Piece of paradise 10 months a year. Get to know a place good when there's less than 1 person per sq mile. Flora & fauna that can survive 2 months of sub-40 below F blow me fkn away & are amazing when this place comes to life every Spring. If you feel adventurous, holler, I'll show you around. It's Pheasant season now, then deer then Snow, ice & wind for 2 months. :) gfy

[@kikoprice]

I love this Baja series. You’re making me slow down and look at everything all the way down. Use to just about as fast as I could get down to the tip and fish. Now it’s Missions, cave paintings, and nature! It’s gonna be hard to not hear your accent and voice as I’m looking at the plants 😂

[@kikoprice]

Oh and “fiddley fuc$in around” is my new saying 😂

[@EnglishDave6767]

Ahh yeah! Thanks, so much for another banger, Joey. Love that Gymnopilus! We get those Manroots up here in Oregon. Sometimes see them washed up on the beaches, after heavy rains. Seen some huge ones, Cheers!

[@CreekInTheOzarks]

Cool plants down there.. The double flower was interesting. Cacti and mushrooms hanging out.

[@DaveG-rs3xp]

Great plants, great visuals, entertaining dialogue. As always.😊

[@Jimsimi]

Love the visuals and getting learnt, but damn it's cathartic to hear your commentary. Helps me feel less alone and insane knowing so many others relate to this content too. Thanks Tony.

[@christianhunt7382]

such a cool spot, the baja.ill probably never see it in my lifetime, so i appreciate you educating us a little nice

[@kielwilson9734]

Love the channel! Love plants and critters. I’m a big bird nerd. Any biology I dig don’t get me started on bugs, lizards and amphibians. And I know ya pocketed those caps 🍄‍🟫 when the desert gives you a gift like that you don’t throw it on the floor ❤🤯💪🤣

[@Joey-vw1id]

Joey my favorite videos from you are the ones taken in the desert. Most of the plants I grow are cactuses and other succulent plants. Great video my friend 💚🌿💯

[@junkettarp8942]

Thanks heaps Tony for another AwEsOmE video .......Amazing nature.😀🙏

[@JR_Villablanca-de-Mendoza]

I love seein' you guys enjoy the landscape, veg, and wildlife out there! Just because I enjoy doing the same thing thoroughly. I don't have a dog and a mycologist-photographer coming with me but hey, I'm still having much more fun solo than my buddies who are spending Happy Hour with some mimosas and hungover friends. LOL

[@paulreschke4171]

Great video, the brother in law intro'ed me to your expertise. The humor and sarcasm mixes perfectly with educational vocabulary and a smattering of profanity. It's as varied as the species you highlight! Thanks so much for the fun, God Bless ya. 37:21 Eclipse video on the Nueces Riverwas tops.

[@shaitan7ddd]

I have a great text called Radical Mycology, picked it up years ago. Your buddies' side quests are pretty interesting to me. I also love cacti, so these last few videos have been of particular interest to me.

[@RobinMarks1313]

I have turrets... my most recent tic is blurting out, "Melba Toast". But it's morphing into "Imelda Marcos" half the time now.

[@RobinMarks1313]

@carlhilf5954 Not only am I a terrible speller, I can't tell my left foot from my right foot, Nor understand the rules in grammar. I want to spell grammar like this Grammer. And besides, You Tube didn't give me the red prompt because turrets is a word. Did you really think a person confessing the have a speech impediment would be a good speller? Now, if I had wrote... "to take with a grain of salt", then you can send me to jail. Because it's a pinch of salt. Who uses a single grain when seasoning? I may not think about my spelling, but at least I think about what I'm talking about. Also, I'm old, and the kids tell me that when you use ALL CAPS, you're yelling... just saying.

[@user255]

I don't see any reason why you couldn't also have some turrets.

[@kledus420smith8]

My favorite tic is saying something crazy in public "qweef azzhole titties" Makes me feel content and like the world is not going to end

[@earthnotforgotten]

That agave is ginormic, recently I was thinking about how often you might cross rattlesnake paths and bladder cells are cool! There is so much info in this video. Only at 18 min or so and wow! Going back in

[@earthnotforgotten]

Nice find 🍄💙

[@katiekane5247]

Another lovely fiddly-fucking around, looks like everyone was enjoying. Love the Louie flop at the Primrose. Oops, was it Jack? My bad! Those Dudleya are gorgeous.

[@bybeach4865]

Gotta love the name, Cylindropuntia molesta. Like, do not get near said cacti, or it will molest you. I just love looking at all the cacti and plants. Interesting about the one mushroom

[@anaritamartinho1340]

Love the diversity, all in the same spot. Different species of plants close together to have a party😅

[@cnobyl]

Really great video. It became extra exciting as you actually got up the hill. I absolutely love Baja California (n&s) The diversity is so interesting with desert & ocean (well and sea on the eastern side) meeting up.

[@PhilboAE71]

Nice work Jack and Alan!

[@ernestinamuralyte8190]

Congrats on making 700 videos! 🎉

[@GrandmaBev64]

I'd have to see what is on top of the first plateau. Looks like a perfect place for ruins or a defensive point. High and flat. Looks suspiciously like a citadel. Great year for Botany. The deserts are having a superbloom and the mushrooms are having a great year too. The mushrooms around where I live completely disappeared for a few years. I thought they were gone forever, but water came back with a vengeance and now mushrooms are everywhere. Thanks for taking us along. Why the mutated flowers? Odd shapes. Great video. I never knew the real names of some of these beautiful desert plants. I'm a desert rat, born in Henderson Nevada and spent my childhood roaming the deserts on our motorcycles and my aunt's horses. Most of the desert is now covered in houses and a fake lake that was the swamp and city dump when I was a kid. Now there are multi-million $ homes on the old city dump. It's got to be toxic. Can't swim in the fake lake either. Thanks again for the Botany lesson. Never too old to learn.

[@owlan99]

Hey man, love the videos. Have you ever heard of Las Damas ranch in Chihuahua Mexico? I think it would be a great place to visit. It's a regenerative cattle ranch managed holistically by rancher Alejandro Carillo and it has way more plant diversity and density than neighbouring land with the same weather. He achieved this by managing the cattle to herd densely and move after a short intense grazing session, the way wild herds of bison would have, historically. He then leaves up to 500 days between grazing and the results are incredible. Just thought it would be and awesome idea if you were to do a video there and compare it to neighbouring land which is managed more conventionally.

[@timbicktoo7837]

35:22 Canis lupus familiaris jackii

[@kso808]

Your videos are so entertaining and fascinating!

[@guerrillapress7343]

Tourettes ❤ 😘🏁😆 I love how you explain the geology and how the rocks got smoothed etc.. Great teacher you are. 🏁

[@MBroam]

Does the desert Ragweed have the same allergy causing ability that the plant is famous for? I ask as I think it is interesting how as an allergy sufferer I keep getting told that I need to move to the South Western deserts where Ambrosia is plentiful.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Any wind-pollinated plant - like Ambrosia - is going to cause allergies to people with pollen sensitivity when the male flowers are producing pollen (only once a year). Insect-pollinated plants do not cause allergies unless you're snorting the flowers

[@MBroam]

Thank you, that is what I was thinking! I knew about the insect-pollinated ones not being allergens and do my best to educate my circle that no, Goldenrod is not your enemy, often by using your freeway prairie vid! 😁@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt

[@jacobjerny7502]

28:55 is there any possibility that Bergerocactus may have relied on their fruits getting stuck in the coats and skin of now extinct megafauna? Because at least visually, that cactus species reminds me of the Teddy Bear Cholla.

[@thylacoleonkennedy7]

17:59 I just finished my honours in taxonomy last year and it's really interesting to see how people have different conclusions on a group and all of the minutiae involved. The group of animals I was working on were originally described as two species, then three, and now my project supports five species, which is interesting but it does shrink the overall populations which is worrying.

[@alistercaddy1208]

I spent a ton of time propagating Dudleya brittoni (another very large farinaceous succulent). I've got about 150+ going with true leaves so I'm hoping most survive. I'll focus on pulverulenta next year 😁.

[@gph2193]

When I lived in the bay area, I studied some of Tildens work with the Coyote Brush. Moved to SW Oregon and was happy to find it thrives up here on the coastal drainages as well. Cool plant ecosystem related to it, check it out.

[@monkeytoes90]

28:30, Fire adaptation? With the spines being so dense and thin, the parent plant might go up in a bad burn? Might get wind dispersed on thermals and get extra lift by burning the spines off the outside?

[@darwinpulpo]

great images......I wander what device do you use to film those good fast nitid shots... could you tell I need that camera here in north central Chile where things are very similar ..... pleas share thar secret with Us. grettings man. from Chile --- good stuff in this channel.

[@michaelperrone3867]

I wonder how many plants have been classified as multiple species in the fossil record due to large changes in appearance during their life cycle, like with the agave plants.

[@lillith665]

Alluvial effluvial!!!

[@satanofficial3902]

It's all fun and games until you encounter... *CACTUS TRIFFIDS!*

[@ellium1147]

Alan swearing at a tamarisk is funny af!

[@timjozwiak2293]

Nice way to start St Patrick's Day

[@JamesGalipeau-h7i]

And Evacuation Day.

[@nuclearbee]

this channel heals my brainrot

[@ummon995]

Cool, Joey, but my question is whether we can eat all of this.

[@Dusty_Den]

"Edible berries ooooo" 😂

[@thomasvoigt7195]

Very good camera+objectiv-decision of the mushroom specialist.

[@madmattdigs9518]

I wasn’t expecting mushrooms out there. That was crazy. Gymnopilus , definitely psychoactive but very bitter. I tried eating a Big Laughing Gym as it’s called and it was tough. And it’s not very potent so you have to choke down several grams at least. I couldn’t do it…

[@ronm3245]

I wonder what is on top of the conglomerate that keeps it from disappearing in that spot.

[@eggysegg]

It seems like a bunch of greenhouses overseas have been growing dudleya en masse that I think the poaching will go down greatly. Luckily the plant hobbyist culture in Asia seem to enjoy hybrids over pure species over there, so once some get hybridized there will probably be no need for people to poach at all.

[@riterra]

Picked up a dudleya from my local nursery and then boom this is in my feed. Paid cash too. How do they know? What lists am I on?

[@steverooke1717]

Baja but where🤔👍

[@glenmorrison8080]

13:15 To paraphrase Andy Sanders of the UCR Herbarium, "If you smoke regular tobacco it'll kill you in 30 years, and if you smoke tree tobacco it'll kill you in 30 minutes". Exaggeration, but it's a good answer when students ask if you can smoke the tree tobacco.

[@maxs.3238]

24:43 "...might have psylocibin" Next frame: "alright so I ripped it out to do mycology things"😂

[@junkettarp8942]

Hay Toney can you recommend a book or podcast series to get started identifying plants?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Botany in a day then move on to plant systematics by Michael Simpson

[@Sixrabbbit]

Found a mushroom for Alan. Good job

[@nathanielvargas3863]

I love when you make videos with Allen “The Ableist” Rockefeller

[@intheframemedia]

isnt farina italian for flour? would make sense with the look of it

[@1ntwndrboy198]

Mushrooms are closer related to mammals than they are plants🤔👍🤟✌️

[@killsalot78]

love the long vids

[@lj2miller]

"Use flowers to identify, leaves don't mean shit" noted, will take that on board. I hope you can come to Australia some time. I honestly think we get a bad rap for dangerous animals, but most of them are small and manageable, theres no bears, mountain lions, or coyotes here. We have a large country, so much to see. I've travelled through outback QLD, NT, WA, SA and its loaded with interesting stuff. I don't watch often enough to know about your dog. But i assume it's a blue healer. So come to the blue healer motherland sometime. We even have a blue healer hotel/pub.

[@Farimira]

He's got videos on WA and Tas

[@lj2miller]

@@Farimira I will search them up. Thanks

[@diversegardener392]

Can i send you a photo of a small shrub? that has been growing in my yard i thought it was a piracantha but im not sure.😊

[@tomhrio]

If you cure it like normal tabacco you can use nicotiana the same way. It will be always much stronger and harsher though plus the plant leeches heavy metals from the soil so don't smoke from very old trees.

[@rexdink]

Growing together harmoniously. As far as we know.

[@hlessiavedon]

That acalypha is crazy. I would have 100% thought it was a member af lamiales!

[@chiseldrock]

is Bergerocactus fire symbiotic?

[@Putzing]

Come see us in Indiana!

[@alni509]

Alan's crusty iNat cap = the sickest drip ever.

[@bartendersdaughter6003]

Next comedy skit idea: a botanically inclined Godfather. Run with it Joey!

[@mybluedoor]

I was just there last week!

[@ditlee6071]

The best vids are the ones where I find myself yelling at the screen stupid questions I wish this guy would answer. Such as; Are da cucumbers edible?? Why don't we like European bees?? Would it be so wrong to pull up invasives? GFYSBye

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Saying something is is the cucumber family does not imply edibility, it is just a way to get the viewer - who may be unfamiliar with taxonomic relationships - to become familiar with evolutionary relationships between plants. European honeybees are boring compared to native bees. They also outcompete them.

[@jalenmckenzie9994]

the kinda guy who would beat the shit out of you while telling you the scientific names of the plants you just destroyed🤣 keep it up

[@chuckheppner4384]

“Beyond the wall of the unreal city … there is another world waiting for you. It is the old true world of the deserts, the mountains, the forests, the islands, the shores, the open plains. Go there. Be there. Walk gently and quietly deep within it. And then - May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow, winding and only slightly uphill. May the wind bring rain for the slickrock potholes fourteen miles on the other side of yonder blue ridge. May God's dog serenade your campfire, may the rattlesnake and the screech owl amuse your reverie, may the Great Sun dazzle your eyes by day and the Great Bear watch over you by night.” Edward Abbey

[@cwick7223]

That Acalypha looks so much like a mint

[@robmcelwee389]

When are you coming to Louisiana?

[@bok..]

"America has the worst landscape in the first world." Never thought of it that way but its so true lol

[@fenrirgg]

I don't know... I'm not a fan of Denmark's landscape 😂

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

*ugliest

[@mcgoo721]

He obviously knows what he's doing but when the mycologist was just like "yeah i tasted it" about a random unidentified mushroom i was floored for a second 💀

[@barbarasiders288]

I almost wanna go west

[@moelee9150]

Jack is the star of the show

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Full length episode, como se dice nice

[@charleshash4919]

Gneiss?

[@Erewhon2024]

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is edible. Do your part to control it by eating the weeds.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Ew

[@moefuggerr2970]

I figure those spiny seed pods get dispersed by getting stuck on animals fur.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

They don't stick to anything and the spines aren't barbed

[@thetwitchylittleferret4550]

Maybe it's a defense mechanism so they don't get eaten? If they're spiny it might be harder to get to them. I don't know what I'm talking about but that's my guess

[@Takyon0]

Yes but it's weird to have a defense against being eaten without an alternative dispersal method (like wind or sticking to stuff)

[@queztocoaxial]

What we got framed above our toilet is a photo of two guys dressed as Elvis playing ping-pong. No, I'm not kidding. Fungus would be good though, too.

[@matthewwagner47]

The mushroom was cool to find. Did it make you happy? Enjoy the more acient species of plants

[@JamesGalipeau-h7i]

Magnetite. Now you make me look at Magnetite. How many of those plants absorb the Magnetite? Do we have Magnetite in our brains? Does that wash of Magnetite run North, and South? I am not stoned enough for this.

[@christophvonknobelsdorff1936]

💓🙏

[@joemug4079]

Questions: why do desert plants have a velvet texture, and why fuzzy? How do these characteristics protect from sun and heat? Get on that, my man.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

I talk about this every video for chrissakes....they act like trees on a prairie farm house and block air flow(wind) . Air Flow across a leaf surface pulls moisture out of stomata. A fancy way to say this is that the hairs increase "boundary layer" humidity. They also reflect light, make it harder for insects to chew, protect against frost, etc

[@earthnotforgotten]

I absolutely love this fog desert habitat. "They" better not ruin it!

[@Papawcanner]

Is shit ton universal or a Chicago phrase ? Does Tony have turrets syndrome or west Chicago syndrome ?

[@megalotherium]

maybe spikey seed sticks to fur? maybe it was dispersed in the past by larger animals that have been exterpated?

[@raphlvlogs271]

large bushy cactus will make the perfect shrike habitat in the dry shrub lands

[@AK-tl3xv]

Any tips for traveling in baja? Atire, vehicle? or is my patriotic american paranoia showing?

[@ddsherds87]

Is that a measuring tape tattoo on your finger? 😅

[@Somethinghumble]

welcome in new guy 👉

[@ddsherds87]

@@Somethinghumble 😁 been a subi for a while but just now been watching