Echinocactus gielsdorfianus
Monatsschr. Deutsch. Kakteen-Ges. 1: 215. 1929
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Species
Echinocactus gielsdorfianus
Author
Werderm.
Chinese genus
金琥属
Chinese name
-
Primary
Accepted
DescriptionEdit description
Central Spines
Usually absent but sometime 1 of the same colour and size of the radials.
Seeds
Dull-Black, kidney shaped, 1-1.2 mm long.
Description
Usually solitary occasionally very clustering, globose to slightly cylindrical cactus
Roots
Swollen bundled.
Tubercles
Loosely ordered, angular, conical-pyramidal , younger with steeper lateral surfaces, the older somewhat flattened out, rising from a wide hexagonal base, 3-6 mm long;
Flowers
Creamy-white with darker midribs, from the apical wool, individually or few, funnel-shaped; 18-20 mm long, 20-25 mm in diameter. The perianth tube with a ring-shaped constriction. Perianth tube approx. 5 mm long, expanding above, lower part without scales, pale olive-brownish. Scales only at the end, oblong, approx. 2-8 mm long, merging into the outer perianth segments, pale brownish green with light edge, reddish median, at the end with a somewhat curved, russet coarse hair-like tip, filaments white, anthers chrome yellow. Style white, approx. 12 mm long. Stigma lobes 5-6, overstanding the stamens, approx. 2 mm long, white, spreading, very papillose, almost hairy.
Stem
Bluish to greyish to yellow-green, older parts with whitish markings, up to 7 cm tall , 4,5-5 cm in diameter; apex barely sunken, with black spines tips emerging from a dense white woolly coat.
Radial Spines
6 or 7, up to 2 cm long, awl-shaped, straight or with the tip curved, white in the basal portion and black at the tips, becoming completely whitish as they ages. Old spines dirty dark grey brown and packed together.
Fruits
Green dehiscing longitudinally.
Areoles
Elliptical up to 2 mm long, with abundant ephemeral wool, later only with a tuft of wool in the short furrow, soon completely bald and corky.