A visit to Cacti Mundo

I always like to feature the travels of our various Cactus & Succulent Society members when their itineraries include visits to succulent gardens, nurseries and habitats. And it is sometimes amazing where our members go in search of our beloved plants. Jin Carlos and her mom recently went on a cruise across Southern California and Northern Mexico, and it was really a no-brainer that they would encounter lush, succulent-rich landscapes, After all, Southern California and Mexico are the richest sources of cacti species in the world.

There are about 150 genera of cacti in the world. Mexico alone has 60 of these genera, 23 of which are found only in this country. In comparison, the second richest region of cacti is the central part of the Andes, an area encompassing Peru, Bolivia and Northern Argentina, with each of these countries containing between 34 and 40 genera.

Jin and her mom first encountered beautiful specimens growing out in the open in Monterey, California. But the highlight had to be their visit to Cacti Mundo in Mexico, where fields of large, yellow-balled specimens of Echinocactus grusonii, the famous Golden Barrel cactus, can be viewed and admired.

Sabrina Lear writes for the Los Cabos Magazine and captures the essence of Cacti Mundo with these words:

"The removable white vinyl roof with its graceful sail-like shapes is the first thing that strikes you upon arriving at Cacti Mundo. The architecture is sleek and contemporary, creating a visually stunning overall effect, unlike anywhere else in Los Cabos. Still, the impressive exterior is no match for what awaits one once inside.

"Cacti Mundo is a unique botanical garden with the most important collection of cacti in México, including species never exhibited publicly until now. Cacti and succulents from the entire world have been assembled in an artful circular fashion around a soothing central fountain. The facility is also a haven for numerous endangered species close to extinction in their natural habitats.

"Cacti Mundo is the creation of Señor Pablo Gonzalez Carbonell, owner of the conglomerate Grupo Costamex, an avid collector of cacti from the world over. In 1992, he met a fellow cacti aficionado, engineer Josef Schrott, whose love affair with cactus began in Austria, his native country, after visiting a botanical garden in the early 1970s. World-traveled, Schrott came to México in 1979, and has spent the past 20 years in exotic locales studying the diversity of the world’s cacti and succulents. With Schrott’s knowledge of the species and Gonzalez Carbonell’s vision, Cacti Mundo was born.

"Cacti Mundo was founded to promote, conserve and reproduce the desert plants of México and many other species from all over the world. Schrott oversees the daily botanical operations on-site, and has a broad amount of knowledge of every one of the 850 species represented in the gardens. During the last 10 years, Cacti Mundo’s nurseries have successfully reproduced the most diverse and important collection of cacti in the country today."

In the March 2005 edition of The Latest Dirt, the newsletter of the Contra Costa Master Gardeners, Ken Williams writes:

"(The Cacti Mundo) collection features rare species including the Mexican Golden Barrel cactus which, according to Schrott, is extinct in the wild in México. Together, Schrott and Carbonell are reintroducing the species to its native habitat in the state of Queretaro. Plans to cultivate and exhibit more cacti and succulents endemic to the Baja peninsula are in Cacti Mundo’s future. However, seeds must be obtained from Baja’s many species to reproduce them. Ecologically sensitive and committed to conservation practices, Carbonell and Schrott are not about to relocate plants from the wild to Cacti Mundo, unless these are being rescued due to development and subsequent loss of natural habitat.

"If you are at all curious about the unusually beautiful world of cactus, a visit to Cacti Mundo will be a rare treat indeed and well worth the price of admission. Once inside the airy space, you’ll be impressed by the sheer beauty of the exhibition, totaling some 5,000 plants. The display is contained in a very well-maintained park, which covers several acres."

When Ken Williams initially referred to the Golden Barrel cactus as being a rare species, my initial reaction was one of surprise. After all, many a collection worldwide has a Golden Barrel or two or a hundred. Some even have huge and highly impressive specimens. But what was startling to know (and hence, accounting for their rarity) was that these magnificent plants are now extinct in their natural habitats in Mexico. This is both sad and alarming, and is mainly due to unscrupulous collectors and plant sellers who have essentially wiped out these plants (as well as many other species) in order to meet the demands of hobbyists worldwide.

What is somewhat heartening, though, is that these plants have been propagated quite successfully across collections and nurseries worldwide. Hopefully, these plants are being reintroduced and reestablished in their natural habitats to restore and preserve the delicate balance of their ecosystems.

Jin and her mom were really lucky to have had the chance to visit Cacti Mundo, and I thank them for sharing their wonderful experience with us.