Spinette July 2010 Journal of The Cactus and Succulent Society of ...

Spinette July 

1 | Spinette | July 2010 

2010 

Journal of The Cactus and Succulent Society of Australia Inc. 

http://www.cssaustralia.org.au Inc. No. A0007275Y 

P.O. Box 999 Braeside Victoria 3195 ABN 84 396 127 171

CSSA Calendar for 2010 

Meetings - Tuesday evenings at Kew library’s meeting room, Corner of Cotham Rd & Civic Drive, Kew (Melways 45 D6) 

Regular updates will be included in Spinette. 

Jul. 20th Rudolf Schulz’s travelogue -- Bill Morrison 

POM: Winter flowers RF: Seeds (Elizabeth) 

Aug. 24 th Opuntias – love them or hate them, wait till you see these ones! – Attila Kapitany 

USA cactus and succulent ‘Nursery Tour’ – Trevor Sellman 

POM: Opuntia RF: Names and labels (Victor) 

Sep. 28 th USA Southwest – chasing the rare cacti -- Trevor Sellman 

POM: Rare cacti RF: Genera, species, hybrids and cultivars (Elizabeth) 

Oct. 1 st – 4 th Sydney Convention: Major Australasian CSS event – CACTICON 2010 

Oct 24 th Sunday, bus trip to Cactus Country, Strathmerton in northern Victoria 

Oct. 26 th AGM 7.45 pm Euphorbias – Melissa Jackson 

POM: Euphorbia RF: Pests (Victor) 

Nov 13 th , 14 th Annual Show, Mt Waverley Community Centre. 

Nov. 23 rd Kalanchoes – Noelene Tomlinson 

POM: Kalanchoe RF: Fungus and disease (Elizabeth) 

Dec 11 th Christmas break up at Theo and Helga Hoffmeier’s, Macclesfield. 

On the front cover: 

An unknown Calandrinia species from Western Australia. 

The odd-looking plant below it is Actinoble uliginosum or Flannel Cudweed. 

CSSA Contacts 

Officers 

Attila Kapitany President 9729 9059 gecko@connexus.net.au 

Spinette Editor 

Noelene Tomlinson Vice-President 9889 5237 tomlinsonfamily@bigpond.com 

Barby Alston Secretary 0403 050 516 barbyalston@hotmail.com 

Judith Szekely Treasurer 93826813 judith.szekely@live.vu.edu.au 

Jill Abbott Memberships 9808 1444 jilliana@optusnet.com.au 

Committee 

Victor Aprozeanu 9708 0946 aprozeanu@optusnet.com.au 

Diana Morgan 9827 1204 ndmorgan@bigpond.net.au 

Fiona Webber 9589 4903 fiona@cactusland.com.au 

Other Contacts 

Manfred Derler Pot Sales 9726 9560 

Graeme Griffiths Webmaster contact@fatlizard.com.au 

Kathy McLinden Show Co-ordinator 9667 1353 kmclinden@vichealth.vic.gov.au 

Tim Uebergang Sub -editor tuebergang@gmail.com 

Editor’s note The views and opinions expressed by contributors, especially in articles are their personal opinions, not 

necessarily those of, or endorsed by the society, its officers, or the editor. All material herein is copyright and may not be 

reproduced without the permission of the author. © 2010 The Cactus and Succulent Society of Australia Inc. 

2 | Spinette |July 2010

Calandrinia 

PORTULACACEAE 

Common name – Parakeelya 

by Attila Kapitany 

Australian calandrinias are not as closely 

related to calandrinias found in other parts of the 

world and therefore will shortly be reclassified as a 

separate and new genus. 

Calandrinia (Parakeelya) is an important traditional 

food for Aboriginal people. The word parakeelya was 

derived from the word ‘periculia’, which is an 

Aboriginal name for the seed meal that is made from 

the plants seeds. ‘Periculia’ (sometimes spelt 

‘Parakilya’), is the aboriginal *Aranda+ name in 

Central Australia. 

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book Australia, 1913. 

Calandrinia polyandra and C. balonensis are among 

the most prominent, well known and widespread of 

the Australian species and are often featured in 

tourist brochures promoting Australian wild flowers. 

Description 

Mostly annuals, or short-lived perennials, 

grow from approximately 10 mm – 1 m in diameter. 

However, most species reach no more than 200 mm 

in diameter. Plants grow as rosettes, often 

branching, where plants can sometime appear to 

have upright and irregularly arranged leaves. 

Typically, leaves and stems of Australian 

calandrinias are pale to bright green shortly after 

rain, or when vigorously growing in shade. Then if 

conditions are dry, exposed and sunny most 

calandrinias soon change to either a pale brownish 

grey, sometimes from stress (and possibly for 

camouflage from herbivores), or as with several 

species, change notably to bright yellow or red 

instead. The leaf surface on some species e.g. 

Calandrinia polyandra and C. eremaea, in drier and 

sunnier positions can have a glittering or slightly 

translucent appearance. 

The most common Australian Calandrinia 

species have long narrow leaves that display a 

prominent channelled groove. This central groove 

running lengthways on the leaf’s upper surface is 

much less obvious immediately after rain, when they 

become turgid and so when viewed in cross section 

may appear almost round. Then in following drier 

conditions, as turgid leaves contract as a result of 

moisture reserves being utilized, this groove again 

becomes prominent. 

These four pictures of calandrinias were taken approximately 1 

hour’s drive from Melbourne, Vic. (You Yang Ranges). 

3 | Spinette | July 2010

4 | Spinette |July 2010 

The second most common leaf form of 

various Calandrinia species, lacks the central groove 

entirely and in some species, the leaf has a longer, 

narrower shape (terete) which when viewed in cross 

section may appear totally round, for most of its 

length and its life. 

Both these common leaf-forms and 

variations of them typify Australian Calandrinia 

species. However in drier parts of Western Australia 

there are countless species with more interesting 

and elaborate leaves and growth habits. Some of 

these species from the driest environments have 

highly succulent leaves that are usually reduced in 

size and number and/or with leaves lying flat and 

close to the ground. 

The plants pictured on the previous page are 

from non -arid environments. The range of leaf types 

shown on these two pages are samples of the 

greatest variation in Australian calandrinia leaf 

types. Most plants shown here are from semi-arid 

environments, while Calandrinia crispisepala and C. 

schistorhiza (pictured at right) are from the most 

arid environments. 

Plants pictured on this page from left, top to bottom: 

Calandrinia reticulata 

Calandrinia volubilis 

Calandrinia sp. undescribed 

Calandrinia polyandra 

Calandrinia sp. undescribed 

Plants on opposite page from left to right, top to bottom: 

Calandrinia creethae 

Calandrinia crispisepala 

Calandrinia crispisepala 

Calandrinia pumila 

Calandrinia pleopetala 

Calandrinia schistorhiza 

Calandrinia polyandra ? 

Calandrinia schistorhiza



Flowers 

Calandrinia flowers predominantly come in 

shades of pink, especially the larger flowered 

species. Whites, yellows, bicolours and tricolours are 

less common. The larger species have flowers up to 

50 mm in diameter, of deep almost iridescent pink, 

with contrasting white to yellow centres. 

Flowers on the larger flowered species are 

always raised high above the plant body where they 

can sway in even the slightest breeze. 

Calandrinia polyandra flowering in habitat is truly a 

spectacular sight when thousands of plants carpet 

large areas with their striking flowers. Such scenes 

are sought out by tour groups and used prominently 

in promotion of the Western Australian wildflower 

experience. Among the smallest flowering species is 

C. Corrigioloides which may not have individual 

flowers that attract attention at only 1-3 mm across, 

however these are produced by the thousands, 

often in crowded clusters. After the flowering of this 

species has finished, remaining parts of the 

inflorescence are mostly bright red and can be very 

attractive in a most unique way (a small sample 

shown at left). 

It is widely documented that calandrinias 

have flowers which open for a single day only. 

However personal observations in the field and 

follow-up cultivation trials of numerous species have 

shown that a single flower opens and closes for a 

number of consecutive days. Flowers usually don’t 

fully open until it is sunny and only stay open during 

these conditions after which flowers close entirely 

by sunset and then repeat the sequence each 

following day until expired. 

Plants pictured on this page from top to bottom then left to 

right: Calandrinia polyandra, C. corrigioloides, C. creethae (white 

form), C. creethae and C. pleiopetala. 

Plants pictured on the following page from left to right then top 

to bottom: Calandrinia granulifera, C. polyandra, C. primuliflora, 

C. pumila, C. granulifera, C. schistorhiza, C. crispisepala and lastly 

an unknown species from Carnarvon WA.


There is so much that science has not caught up with 

in relation to understanding and identifying all the 

Australian calandrinias. There are approximately 30 

species currently recorded and almost as many yet 

to be described. The plants pictured at left are all 

unidentified and the yellow flowered one is about to 

be described as a new species. 

Calandrinia flowers have traditionally been 

the prime motivator and the first tool to separate 

one species from another, so for many novices this is 

still a good way to be introduced to some attractive 

yet different calandrinias. To modern science 

however, it is now the seed or pollen grain 

differences that matter most and soon it will be DNA 

analysis which unfortunately needs a laboratory to 

interpret. 

Irrespective of flower detail, or seed, pollen, 

leaves or roots, the flowering cycle is also important. 

Flowering seasons, timing and so many other factors 

about the inflorescence are not considered as 

important, yet they can be! Observations and 

comparisons of plants before and after flowering can 

expose interesting facts; take for example – any 

developing flower’s position on a given species can 

be as unique and interesting as the flower itself. 

While Calandrinia creethae produces flowers on or 

close to the ground, C. polyandra produces its 

flowers as high as 400 mm above the plant. 

C. crispisepala has flowers that develop on thin wiry 

stems that are made up of short sections joined by 

‘hinges’. The buds and flowers move from lying on 

the ground, to a raised position above the plant, 

then back down to the ground by sunset on a daily 

basis (as shown below). 

The recently described (2006) 

Calandrinia crispisepala

Calandrinia polyandra – the flower at left is 

actual size, while the plant at right shows a single 

plant’s flowering capability. Below is a mass of 

smaller plants, while above shows a typical habitat 

in Western Australia. C. polyandra is often 

flowering en masse where it is easily seen by 

passing tourists who regularly stop to take pictures. 

This is one of the few species that prefers higher, 

drier sandier soils. Where there were depressions 

found, of wetter, muddier or thicker soils, different 

Calandrinia species were also found. 

* The original Calandrinia article of 18 pages was written for an International journal, as well as for the author’s website. It has been suggested the article 

be shared with the CSSA via Spinette however this would take too much space, in too many issues. So it will only appear in this one issue of Spinette in a 

shortened format. Anyone interested in the full version of 18 pages, can contact the editor. 


Kew Meeting 22 nd June2010 

8.00pm - 10.00pm Chaired by Attila Kapitany 

Attendance 63 members 16 visitors 

Mobile phones Everyone was asked to either turn 

them off or onto silent or vibrate mode. 

Copies of all correspondence were presented 

including journals, newsletters and magazines: 

Ballarat Society, Queensland Society, ACT Society, 

RHSV Gazette 

. 

Plant of the Month 

Bromeliads - presented by Andrew Thompson and 

won by Bill Nicol with an Aechmea recurvata ‘Aztec 

Gold’. 

Information for Members 

1) Congratulations to Martin Ganter who delivered his 

own son Monday morning at 2.10am…..after a 10 

minute labour. Mum and baby Thomas both well. 

2) A volunteer was asked for to be a ‘speaker coordinator’ 

and to perform the following duties: 

a) Ring speaker a week before the meeting and 

confirm attendance 

b) Find out requirements like: Table space, visual and 

audio needs 

c) Greet speaker on arrival and give him/her any help 

in setting up 

2) The vacancy for an Assistant Editor for Spinette was 

announced 

3) Victor showed a short video of Cactus Country at 

Strathmerton, the proposed October 2010 bus trip 

destination. The cost will be $25 per person. Any 

empty seats left after the July meeting will be offered 

to the Ballarat Society. 

Rapid Fire - Division, cuttings, offsets 

Cuttings may be stems or leaves. Division is usually 

cluster plants split up and some will have some roots. 

Offsets are a common method for cacti. We need to 

be aware of how much space we have to store all 

these new plants. A question on the advantage of 

‘bottom heat’ showed that in some climates this is 

good and others it can kill plants. Some 

cuttings/offsets require a time to ‘harden off’ and 

others do not. “Experimentation” is the keyword. 

An auction by Heinz Staude, raised $138 for the 

Society. 

Reminders 

Sign attendance book and help pack up after meeting. 

Talk: 

Chris Larson – Travels in Bromeliad habitat. As well as 

photos of Chris’s travels in South America we also saw 

many of Bromeliad billbergias. A very enjoyable time. 


News in Brief 

Bus trip update. 

Victor reports that about half of the seats on the bus 

are now booked and paid for. The last chance will be 

at the July meeting so don’t forget to bring your $25 

for a place if interested. 

Why come...? 

Well, apart from a day’s outing to a famous and 

extremely large cactus and succulent collection, there 

is always the nursery section with thousands of plants 

for sale, usually at very good prices. A lot of rare and 

unusual plants can be picked up at these events that 

you won’t find at your nearest Bunnings! The owners 

Jim and Julie often take small cuttings from big plants 

and sell them even cheaper. 

But apart from the cacti, succulents and shopping this 

is without doubt one of the best ways to socialise with 

each other on and off the bus. 

And finally if you like plant photography, the photo 

opportunities at this place are exceptional. 

On our Tuesday monthly meetings it can be so busy 

and frantic, so it will be a nice change for members to 

sit back and relax with each other. 

Show update 

We have some good news – we have a new Show 

chairperson, Kathy McLinden, and our show is going 

ahead. Watch this space for further developments. 

Those of you who receive postal Spinette will also 

receive Show flyers this month. Once you’ve taken the 

date and details, you might consider sharing it with 

friends or putting it on a community notice board. 

Membership 

Keep in mind our annual subscriptions will start to be 

collected at the August 24th meeting. Annual 

subscriptions are due on or by Sep. 1 st . A member’s 

partner or other member of his or her household may 

become an Associate member. Associate members 

pay $10 per year at present, but do not receive a 

separate Spinette. 

Don’t forget! 

This month’s meeting in Kew is on the third, not 

fourth, Tuesday of the month – 20 th July.

10 | Spinette | July 2010

Flowering now 

Echeveria ‘Pappy’s Rose’ is a cultivar named 

and originating from the famous American Echeveria 

hybridizer, Dick Wright. 

My Echeveria 'Pappy's Rose' (pictured on 

both these pages) has protuberances growing out of 

the centre of the 3 large rosettes. I deheaded one 

which is 34 cm diameter. The offsets beside its 

stump are normal (pictured at bottom right of 

previous page). The stem was wider, as for crests. 

The leaves are frillier than normal, but flowers 

(pictured below) seem normal. It's odd. 

Fiona said 'Pappy's Rose' is prone to crests; its genes 

must be weird. 

Bev Spiller said: 

“Echeveria 'Pappy's Rose', another of the eyecatching 

hybrids from Dick Wright U.S.A. was 

imported into Australia in 1981. Dick is renowned 

for his contribution to both Echeveria and Aloe 

hybrids over many years, from 1958 to 1985, 


when unfortunately his nursery and all 

documentation on his work were destroyed by fire. 

So the parentage is a mystery. 

E. 'Pappy's Rose' can be very diverse, which would 

indicate several crosses going into the selection, 

before he was happy with the result. Highly 

colourful, this treasure can push out interesting 

little spur like protuberances, which could indicate 

E. 'Blue Spur' may have been in the mix. It will form 

both crest and singles on the same stem. It is noted 

that the single form will "hunker down" into tighter 

frillier rosettes than normal if these protuberances 

are going to appear”. 

Those protuberances, which are not on any 

of my many other echeverias, are not caused by 

insect damage. 

I have a 4 th rosette of E. ‘Pappy’s Rose’ now 

growing frillier, so I expect to see those 

protuberances on it in due course. 

Noelene Tomlinson.

Cactus Country 

Largest cactus garden in Australia 

There are approximately 4,000 different species of mostly 

Cacti, but still lots of succulents as well, displayed in a 

vast desert-like garden, with paths throughout. 

A must for all travellers to the area. 

Open Daily 9am-5pm 

Cafe & plant sales 

4986 Murray Valley Hwy, Strathmerton VIC 3641 

ph:(03) 5874 5271 

Email: info@cactuscountry.com.au 

www.cactuscountry.com.au 

For an extensive range of cacti, succulents and other 

odd and unusual plants. 

Available by mail order through our website: 

www.cactusland.com.au or visit our stall at the Queen 

Victoria Market, Melbourne for personalised and informative 

service. 

Visit our website and see what we have to offer, email us for 

that hard to find plant. 

www.cactusland.com.au 

RORAIMA NURSERY 

• Rare, unusual, exotic, and architectural plants 

• Queensland Bottle Trees 

• Largest range of cacti & succulents in Geelong region 

• Unique sculptures 

• Beautiful drought-tolerant garden setting 

• 10% discount to CSSA members upon presentation of 

membership card (in store sales only) 

• Cacti & succulents available for sale online 

20 Swan Street,Lara, Vic. 3212 

Ph: (03) 5282 8704 

Email: enquiries@roraimanursery.com.au 

www.roraimanursery.com.au 

James Lucas 

This Webpage is in the process of growing as the interest in 

Succulents increases Australia wide. My aim is to have this as a 

selling tool to the retail nursery industry, and a resource tool for the 

retail industry and public alike. A colourful and informative guide to 

Succulents available in Australia today. It will also link clubs 

societies, enthusiasts and collectors together. I am a specialist 

grower of Sempervivum, Echeveria and hundreds of other 

Succulents. Ph.: 0423307830 Fax: 0359686807 

Email: suclntsbyjames@gmail.com 

www.succulents-australia.com 

12| Spinette | July 2010 

COLLECTORS CORNER 

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PLUS 

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New BOOK 

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Do you live in the West? 

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Ballarat has a large society that draws members from far 

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Inc. A0032387J Phone: 5345 2995 

Email: cactusbill@westnet.com.au 

Website: www.cactusoz.org 

Monthly meetings & newsletter, displays & excursions 

Meetings: 2 nd Friday of each month from 7.30 pm

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