Xerophyte

Seeds

Smooth.

Description

Very small soft-bodied geophyte cactus, covered by whitish wool. In cultivation it will form a clump of heads approximately 7cm in diameter, that is far larger than a plant would ever be in habitat.

Flowers

Funnel-shaped, right in the crown of the plant, they are about 2 cm in diameter, sulfur yellow with a reddish line on the exterior.

Blooming Season

The flowers open from early June onwards. It blooms already when young, with synchronised flowering of the whole plants taking place over one or two days, remaining open for about three or four days.

Spines

Short, 9-13, white.

Ribs

Divided in tubercles.

Stem

Small, slow growing, spherical, greenish or reddish, up to 3 cm in diameter, but until the new plants or offsets are about 4 to 5 mm in size, they are mostly hidden by the thick wool. It clumps very freely, eventually becoming somewhat elongated in cultivation.

Fruits

Naked, somewhat skittle-shaped, immature fruits that are about 15 mm long, by 8 mm in diameter, with a rough, shiny black surface. At full maturity, they elongate and turn pink, and became u p to 32 mm long and 12 mm wide, looking just like fruit of Islaya. The withered flower remains continue to stay attached to the fruit.

Areoles

Very wooly.