Oaxaca botany & a rant about Agave taxonomy (Agave oteroi / titanota)

Oaxaca Mexico is a UNESCO world heritage site due to the incredible amount of pre columbian era heritage in the region with over 50 living languages being spoken that date as far back as the ancient civilizations of the Maya and Aztecs. Its not uncommon to hear folks speaking in either Mixtec or Zapotec when your in a town or city. To travel through a zone with such rich indigenous heritage is a once in a lifetime opportunity in and of itself and when you add in the rich succulent biodiversity of the state your talking about a dream come true for someone like me.
Today with launch the Oaxaca series with a hike through the Tehuacán biosphere reserve on the search for the type locality of Agave oteroi which was recently described by Arizona botanist Greg Starr along with a few others. The trip was sponsored by Jeremy Spath & Tony Krock (links below) and we encounter a number of Mammillaria species as well as several of Oaxacas over 40 species of columnar cacti.
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Thank you so much for watching the video I appreciate you!

[@Casacarley458]

Incredible, just what I wanted to see and learn. Thank you

[@CactusQuest]

You are most welcome. I’m working on finishing part 2 right now.

[@LindenRanch]

This makes me want to change some of my planting techniques. Absolutely stunning.

[@CactusQuest]

Go for it! I love planting things the way they grow in habitat

[@rock0345]

So beautiful,thanks

[@CactusQuest]

my pleasure

[@jamesandreadventures2284]

The intensity of the video was up there with Macho Man interviews. If I could subscribe twice, I would. On point Brother.

[@janeosten525]

Very cool ! Thanks for the look about ! Shout out from Tasmania x

[@truncated_sleigh]

Good work, man! 💥

[@angelazavala5315]

Love the channel!

[@jamietownsend44]

I was looking for videos about Oaxaca, found this video, just subscribed. Wendy Hodgson, Ron Parker are doing some serious plant nerding on agave cultivars in Arizona

[@CactusQuest]

Thanks for subbing - I need to connect with them

[@newmanmansell760]

Oh Yeah😌🤘🌵This was a Fabulous beginning to Oaxaca! And I enjoyed watching

[@joseluissolano372]

What, cactus more, more, beautiful, I see, your, videos, greetings from Mexico

[@CactusQuest]

Greetings!

[@chomama1628]

A feast for the eyes for cacti lovers! Awesome area.

[@CactusQuest]

It really is!

[@allancurtis3342]

WOW,just awsome 🌵🌵 ...

[@CactusQuest]

Thanks a lot

[@Youngstomata]

Oh yeah good stuff. I dig your editing

[@dazzx]

another incredible video

[@schuylerbogue7226]

Love seeing these in habitat, and a protected one at that! Thanks for sharing!

[@lalo_chj]

Amazing the way you share and show natural wonders here in México! I hope you enjoy this nature as much as we maxicans should do everyday! Thank you a lot for walking around and for not using a sepia filter hahaha

[@CactusQuest]

Thanks Lalo. Yeah no sepia filter ova here haha.

[@user-kq1jp6xb2l]

Очень нравятся ваши работы, спасибо большое. 🥰

[@OjaiBonsai]

I’m more into bonsai and yamadori but I love your channel and knowledge of plants. Amazing thank you

[@CactusQuest]

You are most welcome

[@andrein7160]

Beautiful video!

[@tombirt5989]

Some clarifications: The 1st Sedum is a Graptopetalum. The 2nd might be a Villadia. The 1st Ferocactus is sometimes considered a variety of F. latispinus (F. recurvus) subsp. spiralis. The 2nd looks more like F. flavovirens than F. robustus. The Coryphantha is likely to be C. pallida subs. calipensis. The Mammillaria with dense white spines is either M. albilanata or M. supertexta. One of the M. huitzilopochtli shown with the long central spines is very similar to M. sp. FO 229 (sometimes considered a form of M. crucigera subs. tlalocii). The Parkinsonia is likely P. praecox. Good video showing the incredible diversity of the region.

[@CactusQuest]

Tom, I was just talking with someone about that very thing my buddy John mentioned he thought it was grapto not sedum. May have to do an addendum vid. I had my suspicions about that being C. calipensis would make perfect sense due to where we were. Puente Calapa. Would love to get your help with some IDs in the future if your open to it. Im learning all this stuff as well. and even with Pilbeams mam book its still a tad tricky to ID things and I know I mis ID a few things here and there. Thanks Tom love the feedback

[@tombirt5989]

@@CactusQuest I'd be glad to help ID. If you are using Pilbeam's book from the 90s that's good, but you should also invest in his newest version (despite a few errors and poor photos) - Thx for getting back to me.

[@ShireenPasha]

healing force of nature

[@ShireenPasha]

lovely music

[@tombirt5989]

Last week I left a comment to you (which disappeared!) that said approximately the following: The Graptopetalum you show in this video, I'm 90% sure is a new species! The only Graptopetalum anywhere close is G. macdougallii. This species is found in Oaxaca at a much higher altitude. It also is completely different in it's growth habit: short and sprawling versus your new one, bushy and very much like a Pachyphytum (of which not only are the flowers completely different. but only one species is known from the area you visited: Pachyphytum cuicatecanum). Needless to say, we need to follow uo on your discovery!

[@ShireenPasha]

so beautiful

[@tombirt5989]

The white spined Mammillaria without any obvious central spines is M. albilanata. At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="248">4:08</a>, 8-2

[@snowfox94]

Yeah my boy that's what I'm talking about

[@CactusQuest]

part 2 is almost done so more is on the way homie!

[@yayasilveira]

The best notification in the world 👏

[@CactusQuest]

😊🌵🚨 Right on!

[@wiimshii]

love me some friggin cactus 🥴

[@jenniferosullivan1222]

Thank for taking me along with you, great hike, but do you have to use such language.

[@NilmaMariaTeixeiradeMour-dn4cp]

Muito linda ❤😂

[@sradercassata6671]

So jealous my boy, im boutta move my ass down there😤😤

[@CactusQuest]

Id love to live there for a few years

[@mesadepueblo1051]

👌🏽👏🏽🔥

[@CactusQuest]

🌵❤️🔥

[@rebeccateichman3864]

🔥

[@CactusQuest]

🌵🌵🌵

[@featheredfan]

👍

[@montescamposesauantonio5727]

The ferocactus specimen you saw is not Latispinus, it's recurvus, and the Coryphantha one is pallida, not cornifera

[@Stefan_Eccles]

🔥🔥🔥🌵🌵🌵🏜️🏜️🏜️

[@cairoshuffler5916]

Regarding taxonomy: The whole system is of course kind of arbitrary, and the classic taxonomists were often wrong, in particular when it comes to cacti. The only "reliable" system has to be based very strongly on genetics. But even in genetics the big question is: Where do we draw the line between two "different" species? So maybe we should even turn some steps away from genetics again and use one classic defintion criterion of a species: If two individual organisms can produce offspring together, they belong to the same species. From my current point of view this makes most sense, because it is a mix of genetics and pragmatism. Apart from that long talk: Ramble on, great videos!