Publication: Cact. Succ. J. Gr. Brit. 28: 57. 1966
Description
It is a very small perennial plant with a brown body slowly growing atop a thick, underground taproot. It is a dwarf form of Eriosyce napina.
Stem: About 3-5 cm across, 2-6 cm tall slow growing, spherical or flattened eventually becoming somewhat elongated in cultivation, with a constriction between the stem and the root, brown to dark purple-brown.
Tubercles: Larger than ssp. lembckei;
Radial spines: Very short brown to grey pressed flat against the stem.
Areoles: With grey felt becoming bare.
Roots: Forms a tuberous root system with (usually) a very large carrot-like root
Flower: Often larger than the plant itself from crown approx 3,5 cm long, 4-6 cm in diameter, pinkish with a silky shine ( but also white, pink, carmine, or brown) buds densely hairy with brown wool.
Fruits: Large, red, clavate, wrapped in white wool.
Blooming season: Flowers already when young, synchronised flowering of the whole plants takes place over one or two days, and they remain open for about three or four days. Blooms in late spring to summer.
Origin and Habitat
Atacama desert, coastal Chile (Region III Atacama)
Habitat: Eriosyce napina grows in one of the most arid areas in the world, among rocky crags and sand dunes in sandy-clayey soil in a vegetable formation called “Costal desert of Huasco,” a typical “desertic mattoral” that is just spectacular and impressive when it displays the phenomenon of the “flowering desert”
Altitude: around 200 m.
Cultivation and Propagation
This species has the fame to be difficult to grow, but it is really not so difficult. Whatever view one adopts, it is worth a place in every cactus collection. The only problem is that it is very slow growing and for its long root, necessitates a rather larger, or deeper at least, pot that one might expect for the size of plant. Like all thick-rooted species, it requires careful watering (rot sensitive), and patience to match its slow growth. During the winter rest, the plant may pull near the surface of the potting mix. Sometimes they are grafted to avoid root rot problems. Suited for sunny-bright exposure; they can tolerate light shade. They prefer airy exposures. They like warmth (recommended minimum winter temperature 5° C). But plant kept perfectly dry can easily survive in winter night temperatures below 0° C
Pests & diseases: Eriosyce napina is especially prone to rot, therefore, underpot in a smaller container filled with a very porous compost.
Propagation: Direct sow after last frost (it usually doesn’t produces offsets) or graft. Seeds can be sown in the spring or summer. The seedlings should not be disturbed until they are well rooted, after which they can be planted separately in small pots.
Bibliography
Major references and further lectures
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Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 2001
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Nathaniel Lord Britton, Joseph Nelson Rose “Cactaceae: Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family” vol. 4 The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1923
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James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey “The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass” Cambridge University Press, 11/Aug/2011
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David R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. “The New Cactus Lexicon” dh books, 2006 ISBN 0953813444, 9780953813445
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Fred Kattermann “Eriosyce (Cactaceae): The Genus Revised and Amplified” David Hunt, 1994