Description
It is a small species usually solitary or partly clumping from the base.
Stem: Depressed-globose to shortly cylindrical, leaf green to bluish-green, 3-6(-7) cm tall, 3,5-7 cm in diameter, apex with some bright wool;
Ribs/Tubercles: It has 13 ribs divided in dainty, conical tubercles about 5-7 mm hight and 4-7 mm wide.
Areoles: Longish wooly
Central spines: One (or two) 1-1,2 cm long or more, curving slightly upwards, withish with a bright to dark tip.
Radial spines: 14-20, 6-8 mm long, radiating, slender, straight or arcuated to the body, whitish, glassy, with yellowish base.
Flowers: Numerous on the crown, diurnal, 2-3 cm long, 1,8-2,5 cm wide, in shades of pink to light magenta with darker midveins. Ovary bare.
Blooming season: January-March (but occasionally later depending on growing conditions)
Fruit: Yellowish-green, green, tan-green or red-brown roundish, 7-9 mm long, 7-8 mm in diameter.
Seeds: Dark brown to dull black.
Origin and Habitat
Garden origin (Nursery produced cultivar)
Cultivation and Propagation
It’s a fairly easy species to cultivate and relatively fast growing. Need a very well drained soil. Requires strong sun to part sun to develop good spinal growth and waterings should be rather infrequent to keep the plant compact and not to become excessively elongated and unnatural in appearance. keep dry in winter or when night temperatures remain below 10° C, it is hardy to -4°C for a short period. Assure a good ventilation.
Propagation: It can be reproduced both by seeds, cuttings and grafting. Young seedlings are tiny and they need several years to reach adult size, and require very careful watering.
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