Xerophyte

Habit

It is a s small depressed perennial stem succulent, usually solitary, rarely offsetting or many-stemmed forming low, flat clusters that grow deeply seated flat to the ground surface. Only in cultivation plants may have a spherical till columnar shape.

Central Spines

Absent, occasionally 1 to 3 dark brown, up to 3 mm long.

Seeds

2 mm in diameter, shiny dark brown to blackish. smooth. hilum elongate-ovate-oblong. The seed is shaped strangely for a cactus , and is often described as “hat” or “boat” shaped with a prominent edge. That is a good description, for it is among the few cactus seeds that float! They are thought to be dispersed in habitat by floating away on runoff.

Description

Frailea chiquitanaSN|3603]]SN|3603]] is a dwarf cactus with unique and remarkably beautiful shape. Contrary to most representatives of the genus Frailea, this species show no cleistogamous flowers.

Roots

Conical, tuberous, with fine lateral diffuse roots.

Flowers

Apical, diurnal, radial, funnelform to bell shaped, light to sulphur yellow from the top of the plant, 1,7-2(-3,2) mm long 2,2-2,5(-4) cm wide. Buds with light brown wool. Tepals attenuate-acute. Stigma-lobes 5-7, to 5,5 mm very slender.

Spines

Not or slightly interlaced. to 3 mm, whitish or more often dark brown to blackish.

Ribs

Numerous, (14-)18-24(-31), very small size (16 mm from rib tip to rib tip) straight, low, but well-defined that, despite its almost spherical shape gives it a high Surface/Volume ratio, and broken up into conspicuous, blunt tubercles 2-3 mm in diameter, often with pronounced reddish markings beneath.

Stem

Depressed-spherical to spherical, rarely short-cylindricand more or less imbilicate at apex. Individual stems 2,5-3,5(-4) cm in diameter, 2-3 cm tall (or more in cultivation) yellowish or bluish green or tinged with purplish and with a dark purple-brown lunate, blots situated below the areoles.

Radial Spines

(4-)5-8(-12) pectinate, bristle-like, whitish, adpressed up to 3 mm long.

Fruits

Dry indehiscent with scales and bristles that detach easily up to 10 mm in diameter, pericarp membranous, fragile that break easily releasing the seed.

Areoles

Large elliptical, prominent, white to dark brown often with persistent white wool.