Publication: Cactaceae Consensus Init. 6: 12. 1998
Description
Parodia tabularis subs. bommeljei, best known as Notocactus bommeljei, is a usually solitary, or slowly clustering, cactus. This taxon has been known for decades in cultivation, but a definitive description from plant located in habitat has been made by Dirk van Vliet only in 1968. It is indeed known in older description under the name of Echinocactus muricatus 1837. It is relative of Parodia tabularis and equally suitable for the novice, differing in its less numerous radial spines (10-12 vs 16-18) and larger flower (7 cm vs 6 cm long).
Stem: Up to 8(-10) cm across, glaucous blue-green, spherical to short cylindrical, more or less flattened apically.
Ribs: 16-23 low, obtuse.
Central spines: 3-4 up to 12 mm long, thin, white with brown to dark-red tips, more or less curving, forming a cross. New spines red.
Radial spines: 10-12 up to 10 mm long needle-like, sreading.
Flowers: Diurnal, opening in during the day and closing at night. Yellow flower, 6-7 cm in diameter. Floral tube with whitish wool and long brownish bristles.
Blooming season: Spring to early summer.
Fruits: Oval, yellowish green, up to 1,2 cm long and 0,7 cm in diameter.
Seeds: Cap shaped, black tuberculate, 1 mm in diameter.
Origin and Habitat
Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
Cultivation and Propagation
This is an easy plant to cultivate. It require a mineral-based potting mix with a good drainage. Can support quite some water during the growing season but pot plants in winter are wet-sensitive and needs to be kept dry (rots easily if soil is wet and cold). Usually it is recommended to over-winter this plant in a bright and warm greenhouse with at least 8-10° C , but it has proved to tolerate temperatures as low as -5° C for short periods.
Sun Exposure: Light shade to full sun but doesn’t like full, hot blazing sun in the central summer month.
Propagation: Seeds, cuttings. Not too difficult to raise from seed.
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
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