Xerophyte

Central Spines

2, erect, whitish with dark brown tips, 12-21 mm long.

Description

Solitary (may branch if the growing tip is damaged)

Roots

Strong tuberous roots
Tuberous, connected to the stem by a narrow neck 1-5 cm long.

Tubercles

Hard, spirally arranged, closely-set, 4-angled, rhomboid and somewhat flattened and almost truncated above, and somewhat horny or keeled below.

Flowers

Pale to dark magenta with darker midstripes, on summer days, 2 cm long, 2,5 cm in diameter.

Stem

Grey-green, spherical, obovate to turbinate, that become narrower at the collar 2,5-4,5 tall, 2,5-5,5 cm in diameter (often larger in cultivation).

Radial Spines

Usually 18-20 (sometimes fewer or more) white, 3-17 mm long

Fruits

7 mm long, 6 mm in diameter, without scales, dark green to purple, that split open when ripe.