Xerophyte

Central Spines

(0-)1-6, yellow with brown tips, to 3 mm long.

Seeds

Black, about 1,2 mm long, 0,8 x 0,7 mm wide, elongate oval, with a more curved dorsal side, testa with small, tubercles, hilum basal brownish.

Roots

Tap root.

Flowers

Diurnal, borne on the stems' side near ground level, 2,5 to 4 cm long and in diameter, bright red. Stigma lobes are pale greenish, anthers are cream coloured.

Spines

Short glass-white with darker tips, bristly, awl-shaped to needle-like.

Ribs

About 18, forming prominent tubercles.

Stem

Individual heads 6-9( or more) cm high, 2-5 cm in diameter, globose to flattened globose (sometime short-cylindrical in cultivation). The colour of the epidermis is dark bluish grey-green , often with violet tints in full sun.

Fruits

Globose, reddish green.

Habit

It is a tiny solitary or clustered cactus, branching at ground level to form low dense groups or mounds up to 15 cm wide. It grows quite close to the ground and offsets only with age. It would appear that in cultivation it grows larger and clusters more vigorously than in habitat.

Note

Rebutia spegazzinianaSN|28330]]SN|5033]] is a widespread and variable species that has received an undue number of names. The differences usually concern only the spination, however the colouring, size and density of spines is greatly influenced by the conditions of culture, at lower light levels the spines are less numerous, delicate and white, while with strong solar radiation the spines are stronger with a darker tint. Minor differences can also be found in the colour of flowers sometime with a more pink or orange tint.

Radial Spines

All straight, flattened against the stem surface, as many as 14, up to 4 mm long, yellowish, sometimes with brown tips.

Areoles

Small, white.