Germination tests were conducted on 15 May 1997 on seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1996 to determine initial viability. Seventy seeds were placed on a sterilized perlite media in a germination box. Seeds were subjected to a diurnal temperature regimen of 20C nights and 30C days, with 16 hours of light per day. The humidity was set at 60%. The seeds began to germinate within 5 days. Sixty-three of the seventy germinated, yielding a final germination percentage of 90% after 20 days. Germination tests are conducted every five years on each seed accession to determine if recollection is necessary. The collection of Coryphantha ramillosa at Desert Botanical Garden consists of 16,331 field collected seeds, 7 plants, and 1,483 seeds produced in cultivation. During 1997, seeds were collected from five new sites on privately owned land south of Sanderson, Texas in Terrell County. Seeds were cleaned, desiccated at 27% relative humidity, counted, sealed into airtight foil packets, and stored at -20C. This desiccation and freezing process under very controlled conditions is a means of extending longevity of seeds by slowing the metabolic processes taking place inside seeds. Under normal storage conditions, seeds of most cacti remain viable for only a few years, while this storage method can potentially prolong the life of seeds for decades. A portion of each seedlot was shipped to the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado as a back-up to the collection at Desert Botanical Garden. Another germination test was initiated 6 February 1998 to test seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1995 and stored frozen. Thirty seeds were placed on Turflite, a sterile, clay-like media, under the same environmental conditions as the May 15 test. The clay-like media, Turface Quick-dry, was substituted for the perlite used in the previous experiment because the small cactus seeds migrated down into the perlite and were not easily relocated, and the clay-like texture more closely approximated the texture of native soil of Coryphantha ramillosa. Subsequent tests completed in a media used to dry playing field surfaces, a heat-treated clay, were easier to count and transplant into native-type soil. Currently the Garden has ca. 300 plants in various stages of development, to be used to produce seeds in cultivation

Germination tests were conducted on 15 May 1997 on seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1996 to determine initial viability. Seventy seeds were placed on a sterilized perlite media in a germination box. Seeds were subjected to a diurnal temperature regimen of 20C nights and 30C days, with 16 hours of light per day. The humidity was set at 60%. The seeds began to germinate within 5 days. Sixty-three of the seventy germinated, yielding a final germination percentage of 90% after 20 days. Germination tests are conducted every five years on each seed accession to determine if recollection is necessary. The collection of Coryphantha ramillosa at Desert Botanical Garden consists of 16,331 field collected seeds, 7 plants, and 1,483 seeds produced in cultivation. During 1997, seeds were collected from five new sites on privately owned land south of Sanderson, Texas in Terrell County. Seeds were cleaned, desiccated at 27% relative humidity, counted, sealed into airtight foil packets, and stored at -20C. This desiccation and freezing process under very controlled conditions is a means of extending longevity of seeds by slowing the metabolic processes taking place inside seeds. Under normal storage conditions, seeds of most cacti remain viable for only a few years, while this storage method can potentially prolong the life of seeds for decades. A portion of each seedlot was shipped to the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado as a back-up to the collection at Desert Botanical Garden. Another germination test was initiated 6 February 1998 to test seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1995 and stored frozen. Thirty seeds were placed on Turflite, a sterile, clay-like media, under the same environmental conditions as the May 15 test. The clay-like media, Turface Quick-dry, was substituted for the perlite used in the previous experiment because the small cactus seeds migrated down into the perlite and were not easily relocated, and the clay-like texture more closely approximated the texture of native soil of Coryphantha ramillosa. Subsequent tests completed in a media used to dry playing field surfaces, a heat-treated clay, were easier to count and transplant into native-type soil. Currently the Garden has ca. 300 plants in various stages of development, to be used to produce seeds in cultivation

Currently the Garden has ca. 300 plants in various stages of development, to be used to produce seeds in cultivation

Germination tests were conducted on 15 May 1997 on seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1996 to determine initial viability. Seventy seeds were placed on a sterilized perlite media in a germination box. Seeds were subjected to a diurnal temperature regimen of 20C nights and 30C days, with 16 hours of light per day. The humidity was set at 60%. The seeds began to germinate within 5 days. Sixty-three of the seventy germinated, yielding a final germination percentage of 90% after 20 days. Germination tests are conducted every five years on each seed accession to determine if recollection is necessary. The collection of Coryphantha ramillosa at Desert Botanical Garden consists of 16,331 field collected seeds, 7 plants, and 1,483 seeds produced in cultivation. During 1997, seeds were collected from five new sites on privately owned land south of Sanderson, Texas in Terrell County. Seeds were cleaned, desiccated at 27% relative humidity, counted, sealed into airtight foil packets, and stored at -20C. This desiccation and freezing process under very controlled conditions is a means of extending longevity of seeds by slowing the metabolic processes taking place inside seeds. Under normal storage conditions, seeds of most cacti remain viable for only a few years, while this storage method can potentially prolong the life of seeds for decades. A portion of each seedlot was shipped to the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado as a back-up to the collection at Desert Botanical Garden. Another germination test was initiated 6 February 1998 to test seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1995 and stored frozen. Thirty seeds were placed on Turflite, a sterile, clay-like media, under the same environmental conditions as the May 15 test. The clay-like media, Turface Quick-dry, was substituted for the perlite used in the previous experiment because the small cactus seeds migrated down into the perlite and were not easily relocated, and the clay-like texture more closely approximated the texture of native soil of Coryphantha ramillosa. Subsequent tests completed in a media used to dry playing field surfaces, a heat-treated clay, were easier to count and transplant into native-type soil. Currently the Garden has ca. 300 plants in various stages of development, to be used to produce seeds in cultivation

Known from area near the Rio Grande in Brewster and southern Terrell counties, Texas and extending south into northeastern and central Coahuila, Mexico. Seven known occurrences in Texas, possibly a few more, with at least a few having good viability and/or located within Big Bend National Park. The total Texas population is estimated at 5,000 - 10,000 individuals. Mexican range is approximately 2.5 times as large as U.S. range. Threatened by collection and development.

Small population numbers, patchy distribution, restricted habitat, and collection are the primary threats (USFWS 1986). Grazing by cattle, sheep, or goats does not influence distribution of Coryphantha ramillosa, since it is found mainly in inaccessibl

Plants may possibly be more common than previously thought in Big Bend and Blackgap (in remote areas), with ca. 5,000-10,000 plants in Brewster and Terrell Counties (Schmalzel et al .1999).

The Garden has a grant agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor Coryphantha ramillosa in Big Bend National Park, collect seeds, and document new locations (if any). Two permanent transects are now established, and heights and diameters of plants in the study area are measured. Growth rates are estimated by painting the tips of apical spines and noting location of marked spines as plants increased in size. Reproductive capacity is assessed by counting flowers and fruits per plant, and numbers of seeds per fruit. Of the few Coryphantha and Escobaria species for which there are data on reproduction, Coryphantha ramillosa appears to produce the fewest fruits. This observation is based on only a few years of data and does not necessarily indicate a trend. In 1997, the mean number of fruits per reproductive plant was 1.32, with a mean number of 198 seeds per fruit. Long-term monitoring of Coryphantha ramillosa may be required to identify a link between growth or size with fruit production. The link between size and reproduction may not exist (Anderson 1998).

Management of the lands on which C. ramillosa occurs is variable (Schmalzel et al. 1999). One population documented in Big Bend National Park is located at a much-visited archaeological site, and is highly subject to human trampling. This site has two permanent monitoring transects. The new sites are located on privately owned land located near Sanderson, Texas. The land is currently being grazed by goats, as little forage remains for cattle and sheep previously occupying the same land. Most of the new occurrences were documented along the north side of the Rio Grande, within a 3-mile range of the river. Plants were located in situations that were well-protected from grazing animals, and not subject to erosion, as they were between cracks in rocks.

Established transects will continue to be monitored in the future. Insect-plant relationships, reproductive trends and continued documentation of distribution will be investigated in future years. Soils, associated vegetation, and microhabitat conditions are also being analyzed in an attempt to find common factors between documented sites.

Germination tests were conducted on 15 May 1997 on seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1996 to determine initial viability. Seventy seeds were placed on a sterilized perlite media in a germination box. Seeds were subjected to a diurnal temperature regimen of 20C nights and 30C days, with 16 hours of light per day. The humidity was set at 60%. The seeds began to germinate within 5 days. Sixty-three of the seventy germinated, yielding a final germination percentage of 90% after 20 days. Germination tests are conducted every five years on each seed accession to determine if recollection is necessary. The collection of Coryphantha ramillosa at Desert Botanical Garden consists of 16,331 field collected seeds, 7 plants, and 1,483 seeds produced in cultivation. During 1997, seeds were collected from five new sites on privately owned land south of Sanderson, Texas in Terrell County. Seeds were cleaned, desiccated at 27% relative humidity, counted, sealed into airtight foil packets, and stored at -20C. This desiccation and freezing process under very controlled conditions is a means of extending longevity of seeds by slowing the metabolic processes taking place inside seeds. Under normal storage conditions, seeds of most cacti remain viable for only a few years, while this storage method can potentially prolong the life of seeds for decades. A portion of each seedlot was shipped to the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado as a back-up to the collection at Desert Botanical Garden. Another germination test was initiated 6 February 1998 to test seeds collected in Big Bend National Park in 1995 and stored frozen. Thirty seeds were placed on Turflite, a sterile, clay-like media, under the same environmental conditions as the May 15 test. The clay-like media, Turface Quick-dry, was substituted for the perlite used in the previous experiment because the small cactus seeds migrated down into the perlite and were not easily relocated, and the clay-like texture more closely approximated the texture of native soil of Coryphantha ramillosa. Subsequent tests completed in a media used to dry playing field surfaces, a heat-treated clay, were easier to count and transplant into native-type soil. Currently the Garden has ca. 300 plants in various stages of development, to be used to produce seeds in cultivation.