Moorten Botanical Garden And Cactarium
History
The Moorten Gardens were established as a nursery in 1939 by Patricia and Chester "Cactus Slim" Moorten, and developed into the present day garden in 1955. Chester, one of the original Keystone Cops, starred in Two Flaming Youths (1927) and The Sideshow (1928). The Moorten residence was named the Cactus Castle, and was originally built in Mediterranean style by photographer Stephen H. Willard (1894–1966). The Moortens collected many of their own specimen plants from Baja California, mainland Mexico, and as far south as Guatemala. To recognize their contributions to the community, the Moortens were awarded "Golden Palm Stars" on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
Collections
Ecoregion habitats
The garden includes 3,000 examples of desert cacti and other desert plants, grouped by geographic regions:
- Arizona – Sonoran and Yuma Deserts
- Baja California Peninsula
- California – High Desert–Mojave Desert and Low Desert–Colorado and Yuha Deserts
- Colorado Plateau – Great Basin Desert
- Sonora, Mexico – Gran Desierto de Altar
- South Africa – Succulent Karoo
- South America – Monte and Patagonian Deserts
- Texas – Chihuahuan Desert
Garden collections
Outdoor collections include: Agaves, Bombax, crested Cereus, Cardoon and Boojum trees, "arborescent candelabra Euphorbia", a two-story Pachypodium, thorned Caesalpinia and Bursera, and over a dozen Aloes of southern Africa and Madagascar.
"Cactarium" greenhouse collections include: cacti and succulents, with caudiciform species exhibiting thickened root crowns, many species of Asclepiads, Aztecia, Gymnocalycium, Alstromeria, Euphorbia, and Ferocactus, plus two fine examples of Welwitschia mirabilis from Namibian deserts.