Publication: Amer. J. Bot. xlix. 615 (1962). (Occasionally misspelled agavioides)
Description
Habit: Small rosette shaped succulent with stiff, rough, dark green tubercles.
Stem: Greenish-brown sub-globose, flattened on top, 2-6cm high, rising barely above ground level, 4-8cm in diameter.The rest of the plant (swollen rootstock) stay underground.
Tubercles: Divergent, often flaccid and not erect, not crowded or basally compressed, acute at the apices, flattened adaxially, not fissured, not incurved, 3-7cm long, 5-10mm broad, more than 4 times as long as wide;
Areoles: 5-12mm from the tips of the tubercles, rounded, 2-5 mm in diam.
Spines: None or rarely 2, 2-4mm long, whitish.
Flowers: 3.5-4.2cm in diam., 2-5cm long; outer perianth segments magenta with greenish-white margins, inner perianth parts deep magenta, pistil 2-3mm above the stamens; style white. 1-2 cm long; stigmas 5-8, 1-2,5 mm long.
Fruits: Pinkish-red to reddish purple, globose to elongate, 10-20 mm long, 5-12mm in diameter.
Origin and Habitat
Mexico, The type locality is sited around the town of Tula, Tamaulipas. Two new colonies have been found recently in San Luis Potosi, disjunct from the original site (Ariocarpus agavoides var. sanluisensis).
Habitat: It grows on rocky limestone hills, and alluvial plains at about 1200 m, rainy season is summer. The wild populations have been threatened and nearly extinct by many factors including over-collecting, agriculture, building work, livestock, and erosion.
Cultivation and Propagation
Grows in alluvial plain that becomes muddy in summer, so likes quite a lot of water then. but very prone to rot other times of the year, give moderate water in spring and autumn, no water in winter. Cultivate it in a well drained, non-organic, free-draining soil compost. The use of a weak low-nitrogen fertilizer during the growing season can encourage growth. The main threat to its development is root rot.
The Ariocarpus should be kept dry whenever there is a threat of cold. The appearance of Ariocarpus can benefit greatly by watering the plants from the bottom. This practice will help to keep the “wool” on the top of the plant from becoming matted or discoloured. Need half shadel to Full sun.
Frost Tolerance: Hardy to -10°.
Propagation: It is easy to raise from seed, but will generally take about 5-8 years to reach flowering size, occasionally grafted.
Cultivars and forms (5)
Gallery
