Self infertile cacti, in the absence of a viable breeding partner, can sometimes be induced to produce apomict seed.
Apomixis is basically clones in seed form. If a flower is pollinated with a chemical irritant like caustic cement powder straight from the hardware store, or an impossible breeding partner the plant can just be like 'well fuck you then, I'll do it myself' and make clone seed.
Harrisia jusbertii is a classic example, theres apparently only one in existence and its self-infertile so no sexual reproduction but if you give it pollen from a Trichocereus its like turning on a porno and the Harrisia has babies with itself, all identical clones of the 'mother'. So if you buy H. jusbertii seed (aka. Eriocereus jusbertii, I think that old name hangs on because it feels cooler to say, go ahead- watch your tongue- anyway...) commercial jusbertii seed wont produce plants that can pollinate eachother.

Mostly, apomixis is relevant in cactus breeding due to the fact that it can happen to some extent even when crossing compatible partners. Anywhere from 0 to 100% of the resulting seed will be clones of the mother. You can see breeders trying to sort the mess out in published papers on the breeding of Opuntia cultivars for the food industry, for example.

Auxin - nice informative post - thanks.

I was talking about trichocereus clones not being able to polinate themselves, not all plants in general. And from what I have read only certains forms of L. williamsii are self fertile, some of them are self sterile. While diffusa, ficii, koehresii (and I'm not sure about alberto) are self sterile. I have never tried it out for myself though so I can't say for sure.

http://www.kadasgarden.com/CLophophoracross.html

Some more flowers.

Echinopsis species

Turbinicarpus lophophorides.

Nothing unique about trichocereus clones.

Here´s a pic I took back in May - Selenicereus grandiflorus* in bloom - a nondescript climbing cactus genus noted for its spectacular flowers - the largest in the cactus family. Growing up my garden wall, the flowers open at night, and shrivel with the coming of sunrise. ´Queen of the Night´ is a common name.

* As with many cactus genera, there is a plethora of species and varieties that are merely normal variation of the same apparently identical species.

Again, that's not what i was saying. Maybe I miss-worded What I mean is that a trich cannot pollinate itself. So clones cannot pollinate other identical clones. Unless you use a method like Auxin explained and "trick pollinate" them.

Maybe you should.

Once my seedlings grow to age I definitely will. I've been experimenting with albero-vojtechii and it seems to only fruit when polinated with another alberto. This one here is forming a fruit. My grafted ones are all flowering so I've been crossing them with each other. I have a ton of small non grafted diffusa, koehresii, fricii, jourdaniana, and alberto that I will be experimenting with once they become of age. I can't wait. The grafted ones give you instant gratification, but what I really love is watching them grow on their own roots.

Have you had diffusa, koehresii, or fricii fruit after self polination?

Here's a picture of a fruit forming on one of my albertos. It only flowered a week or so ago too so I'm pretty excited. It is loc. Nuevo Leon and I pollinated it with a loc. Coahuila. My loc. Zacatecas is pushing flowers as well so that will go into the mix soon.

I am also trying to cross it with williamsii. Oddly enough I crossed a mammillaria theresae with L. williamsii (and vise-versa) and theyr'e both fruiting. The flowers on the williamsii that were self polinated are not. I'm guessing it's not really the hybrid I'm hoping for, but I'll plant the seeds soon and see for myself.

I am afraid I am rather boring - the only Lophophora species I propagate is williamsii. I send seeds all round the world and do not want any risk of them becoming hybridised. Which would happen as all my plants live on a roof terrace open to all and any insect that may pass by.
I get lots of hybrid seed of Astrophytum especially, which I basically throw away as it is of no use to me - I have every species of Astrophytum and have no way of knowing the parentage of the seeds I get.

One of my williamsiis (suspected var. Decipiens) is is starting to put out a flower bud! So exciting!!

On a side note, are any of my more experienced fellow cactophiles capable of sharing with me the criteria which distinguish var. Decipiens from other williamsiis? I have tried to find the answer to this but I have yet to come to a solid conclusion.

Congrats on your bud - it is a great thrill when a plant graduates to flowering adult!
And basically, no - there don´t appear to be any. The International Cactaceae Systematics Group, who pontificate on these things, do NOT recognise any varieties or sub-species of Lophophora williamsii.
This is, in fact, a very confused issue - probably exacerbated by the notorious reputation of this genus - and not made any easier by nurseries who sell the same plant under a dozen synonyms.
I think I will do some research and write a post on exactly this topic.

I'm really glad to see all the participation in this thread! You guys have some beauties, and have shared some great information.

None of my babies have flowered recently, but I do have an update.

These were germinated from the seed pods collected from the earlier flowers.

These are the first cacti seeds that I've ever germinated. I'm happy to report that I haven't killed them. Lol

Hey - looking good -!!!

Thanks spanishfly!

I keep that plastic container inside a plastic bag. At what point should I begin to poke holes in the bag so that they can start adjusting to lower humidity?

I hear this step can be difficult in some cases

Thanks, SpanishFly! That's kinf of what I figured, but I thought I'd ask anyways. It seems to me that "Lophophora williamsii var. Decipiens" or "Lophophora decipiens" is primarily distinguished by it's unique rib pattern. I have a couple of cacti that demonstrate this rib pattern without a doubt, but at this point I have so many different species, varieties, clones, hybrids, cultivars and locales that I have completely given up on identifying and labeling them all!

Var. decipiens is one of my favorite variations (or species?) of lophophora. Funny thing is, Mesa Gardens sells "Lophophora decipiens" seeds here in the US. Which, in my opinion, is L. williamsii. Which is illegal?

Anyways, here is a fruit and flower on my biggest, seed grown, grafted L. williamsii. Pretty stoked because I will be self sufficient with seed production here soon.

decipiens is on the books as a species, and your opinion isnt law

Beautiful, Hostilis! I have seen your pictures of that clone before, and I am simply in love with it! Such a beautiful rib pattern!

I find it very fascinating indeed that Mesa Gardens sells "Lophophora decipiens" seeds. I would be interested to see documentation of an alkaloid analysis or bioassay of Lophophora decipiens/Lophophora williamsii var. Decipiens. Thus far, I have yet to find anything. If anyone knows of any online publications along those lines, please drop me a link!

Here are a couple of updated pictures of my developing flower.

Gymnocalycium species

Flowers flowers flowers!

Lophophora alberto-vojtechii