Intercity Show 2018 Eye Catching Plants

Myrtillocactus geometrizans f. cristatus

More fascinating plants from the Intercity Cactus and Succulent Show 2018, held at the LA Arboretum.

I've admired this same Gasteria 'Shining Star' specimen at multiple shows.  Unfortunately I've never seen one for sale.  Lovely plant.  

 Next is a stunner of a clump of Aloe suprafoliata.  Normally this is a solitary rosette but there seems to be an offsetting version.  This one is superb.  This species is distichous until it blooms for the first time, then it spirals into a rosette. 
 
Distichous phyllotaxis, two-ranked leaf arrangement, is a special case of either opposite or alternate leaf arrangement where the leaves on a stem are arranged in two vertical columns on opposite sides of the stem.
Great choice of container, too:

 The judges thought so, too. 

 It's not difficult to grow, unlike trophy winner Aloe pearsonii, but such a beautifully grown specimen!

 Here's mine at home in the ground for comparison.  It becomes a rosette once it starts to bloom. 

 Back to show pics.  Another plant with distichous foliage is Boophone ("bo-OFF-on-ee").  There are two species in the genus,  B. disticha and B. haemanthoides.  The genus is in the Amaryllis family.
Boophone disticha

 One in leaf and one in flower placed together reminded me of a peacock, apt for the LA Arboretum since so many live there

Some Mammillarias:

 Fockea edulis

I thought this was Fockea edulis too.  I didn't take a photo of the tag, thinking, oh, I'll remember the name of this one, it's so common.  But maybe I didn't .

 Ceraria namaquensis (aka Portulacaria namaquensis) is native to the Orange river valley along the border between South Africa  and Namibia

 More caudiciforms

 Beautiful Adenium there with big pink flowers.  The flowers were beautiful, too.  Even the orchestra was beautiful.  Life is a caudex, my friends. 

 Didiereacea. Those weepers are Decarya madagascariensis.  Cool!

 Parodia and Notocactus.  Apparently there is some controversy about Parodia vs. Notocatus.  An amusing quote from cactusguide says:
"For some reason, the treatment of this particular genus is a highly emotional issue to many growers. It seems they would rather die than to ever refer to a Notocactus by the name Parodia."

 Sanseverias

 Astrophytum ornatum. 

 This was a stunning Euphorbia.  I'm not a Euphorbia fan for some reason, perhaps the caustic sap puts me off, or perhaps it was the labor of pulling out endless seedlings of E characias ssp. wulfenii one winter.  This is E. francoisii var crassicaulae

It is listed as "highly threatened" and was found, once, in southwest Madagascar near Ranopiso by a collector in the early 20th century.  And here it appears beautifully grown in a pot in Southern California.  

Euphorbia 'Nat Wong', an interesting hybrid. 

Ferocactus latispinus

Either a Parodia or a Notocactus but if you are offended by the use of either term, apologies. 

Look at the dry flower heads--remind you of a common garden plant?  Yes, Pelargonium.  This one is a hybrid of P. glaucifolium.

 This post is long enough, so I'll stop here.  One more post from the Intercity, with cool containers, the state of the LA Arb's Madagascar Spiny Forest, and what I purchased at the sale.