A blossoming conversation

An interview with Richard Cretcher 
By Helen Rivas Rose 

1 Cuphea lanceolata

2 "love in a puff"

3 trompetilla

4 arugula

Helen Rivas Rose: Can you please tell me the background of your book Flores Silvestres? 

Richard Cretcher: This project started a number of years ago on a bird walk when the leader, Fen Taylor, asked if anyone was interested in photographing wildflowers. Equipped with a new digital camera and a lifelong interest in close-up photography, I quickly volunteered. With encouragement from Donald Rohan and other members of the local Botanical Garden (El Charco del Ingenio), the project gradually turned from making “pretty pictures” to documenting the wildflowers of the region. Donald contacted Dr. Jerzy Rzedowski, botanist with the Instituto de Ecologia in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, who graciously provided scientific and family names. Dr. Rzedowski is world famous and the foremost botanist in Mexico. Many others added common names, practical uses and other interesting facts and folklore. As a result, this book is the culmination of contributions of many people interested in promoting the enjoyment and identification of wildflowers of our region. My hope is that this field guide may also encourage local residents to keep their wildflower heritage alive and pass it on to future generations.

HRR: What did you do before you started this? 

RC: Working backwards through time: my wife, Dorothy, and I have lived in San Miguel for ten years and I have been photographing wildflowers since the summer of 2001. For 23 years, I was director of education at the Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology in Dayton. As director of the photo-science and engineering department of Data Corporation/Meade Technologies in Dayton, I was in charge of aerial and reconnaissance projects, including the NASA Manned Space Flight Center Photo Lab. I managed the Waltz Professional Color Lab in Canton, Ohio, after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in photography from Ohio University in Athens.


HRR: Did you already know what wildflowers existed in Mexico or did you scout around looking for them? Did you find any specimens you hadn’t heard of? 

RC: I don’t think I knew the name of one flower when I started photographing. I just started driving and walking to different locations and taking photographs. Donald Rohan and Fen Taylor often suggested where to find an interesting flower. Some flowers in my files still have not been identified positively. And new flowers continue to show up in the countryside. It could be a never-ending project. 

HRR: I notice some of the shots were taken outdoors, and others inside. Can you explain which factors determined the shooting locations? 

RC: Every photograph was made at the plant’s location except for the cover. We took these flowers back to our house and put them in a glass of water. The arrangement was so striking that I photographed it. Three years later it made an interesting cover. Some of the photographs that appear to be taken inside have a black backdrop to eliminate distracting backgrounds. I carry a black cloth for this purpose. A few flowers with a blue background were held up so that the sky was the background. All photographs were taken on location with natural light. 

HRR: You must have had some interesting experiences out in the Mexican countryside. Will you share some of them? 

RC: Once I came across a beautiful little flower, Cuphea lanceolata. While I was taking the photograph, an elderly Mexican man came up and offered some information about the plant. Although my Spanish was not good, he was able to communicate that Mexican families use the sticky plant as a fly catcher. They pull it up by the roots and hang it in their houses. I was so excited about this flower and the information that I left my camera case, with a couple hundred dollars worth of batteries and memory cards, lying in the weeds. When I went back it was gone. Despite several radio announcements, the case was never returned. We later found that the Mexican common name, pegamosca, loosely means, “to snag a fly.” 

Another experience has to do with the questionable information one can find on the internet. I found a reference to a plant in my guide called “love in a puff.” It said the fruit contained black seeds with white hearts on them. I loved the idea, but the book had to go to press before I could confirm this information in matured fruit in the fall. I was somewhat relieved a month after publication, when I opened the puff and there was indeed a seed with a heart shape on it. However, the seed was a darker brown with a light brown heart. Close enough, I think. 

HRR: Are you working on another book? 

RC: I don’t think so. People have suggested that a book of local insects would be interesting. I have accumulated a number of fun and interesting butterflies, spiders, caterpillars and other strange-looking creatures in a file called “critters.” I’m hoping that someone with knowledge of insects will come forward and write the book. Unfortunately, this sounds too much like the wildflower situation! 

HRR: Has your book been well received? 

RC: The response to Flores Silvestres has been very rewarding, far beyond my expecta-tions. The size, layout, color-coding, Spanish names and translations are often cited as the reasons. Many people made suggestions that were used. Linda Whynman did the entire computer layout and suggested the color-coding. The intent from the beginning was to make a user-friendly guide for the novice to use in the field, and to provide accurate information for serious amateurs and scientists. It appears to satisfy both. 

HRR: Any other comments? 

RC: It has been such a rewarding experience for Dorothy and me to learn about these flowers and plants. She has been most helpful and supportive. But when you get started, you can’t stop Googling. I spent several months on the internet, researching the English common names as well as the plants’ practical uses. We found that many have medicinal uses that were known in Mexican folklore for centuries and are now being validated by scientific research. It’s interesting to learn that some part of the trompetilla or “firecracker bush,” when combined with the urine of pregnant women, is thought to be good for snakebites. Or that the arugula often used in salads is said to be an aphrodisiac. I wanted to include this kind of information in the book, but decided it might be misused or incomplete. 

Where and what to look for

“Where are all the wildflowers this year?” It’s a legitimate question. First, this area is just coming into the peak of the wildflower season, particularly for the large “showy” blooms. The tall green plants along the roadways that look like weeds will soon be topping out in bright yellow girasols. They will be accented by pink mirasols (cosmos) and white acetilla (beggars ticks). Then it will feel like the wildflowers are here. But in reality, many have been here for months. 

An easy walk in El Charco or Parque Landeta will reveal the little jewels that are often missed. Many are smaller than a nickel. The next time you walk, focus on the ground and think wildflower. This shouldn’t be difficult for cobblestone-obsessed sanmiguelenses.

Some other areas rich in wildflowers are shown in a map in Flores Silvestres. The fertile lands to the west past the train station are good. The dry alkaline areas north near the hot springs and around Atotonilco have different species. 

All of the roadways leading out of San Miguel are, or soon will be, revealing fields of alfombilla, cosmos, and limpia tuna. The road below the dam from Presa Allende to La Huerta can be very rewarding. But the easy trails of El Charco will result in more than 50 species, and getting off the paths in Landeta will add several more. So, now is the time to get out of town and enjoy this unique desert area in the rainy season. 

What's Blooming Now? 
By Richard Cretcher

Stars and salsa

Estrella or Mexican star, the royalty of fall blooms, has arrived in San Miguel. Its stalk can be up to 24 inches tall and each bloom as much as two and a half inches in diameter. Milla biflora, the botanical name, usually produces one to three flowers in sequence per corm (underground stem base). To find three or more blooms together is a wonderful regalo that was given to those who braved rain on the last wildflower walk. Locally this plant only blooms for a couple of months, centering around mid-September. Mexican folklore claims a tea made from this flower relieves coughing, diarrhea and vomiting. Small estrella are showing up in flower ladies’ bouquets, but the large ones in the campo are the most rewarding.

The wild plant tomatillo (shown here) is now prevalent in many areas around San Miguel. It may be more easily recognized by its fruit than by its attractive yellow and brown flowers, which tend to point down. For those who enjoy salsa verde, the tomatillo or husk-tomato (Physalis philadelphica) is an ingredient that tempers the peppers and adds its own flavor. The fruit is used, either cooked or raw, as ingredients in various stews or as purees to accompany prepared dishes. Although its use as a food in Mexico dates back to pre-Columbian times, the plant has now been commercialized. Hundreds of tons of the fruit are produced here each year, much of it exported to the United States.

Other wildflowers blooming now include frijol ayocote, jicamilla, gusanillo and hierba del cuervo, all pictured in Flores Silvestres.


Richard Cretcher published the wildflower pocket guide Flores Silvestres and will be conducting wildflower walks for the benefit of El Charco, September 5 & 19. For more information or to reserve a space, contact nzerriffi@yahoo.com.