Xerophyte

Habit

Upper visible part flat to hemispherical, up to about 5-6 cm wide, up to about 2-3 cm high, dark grey-green - pale blue-green (brownish when dried in the sun), Lower, not visible part ± short cylindrical, narrowing at the base, densely covered with the old, dried up tubercles.

Description

Small solitary, depressed rarely offsetting geophyitic cacti, partly underground.

Roots

Thickened but not turnip-like, which branches greatly, however not forming an extensive root system

Flowers

From the apex, wide, funnel-shaped, about 13-22 mm wide, on the outside pale greenish-white, on the inside white-cream to very pale yellow, both sides always with plain purple-reddish-brownish mid-stripe. Stamens with glassy white filaments and dark yellow anthers curved towards the style at full anthesis.

Spines

4-6 from the lower half of the areole, bristle-like, piercing, not paper-like; the lowest 2-3 mostly the shortest, about 4-7 mm long; the upper about 5-13 mm long; all spines, ± curved towards the apex and/or diagonally to the sides, almost completely black or only top part black, lower section whitish - pale grey, young spines partly horn coloured; later becoming ± completely grey, easily removed from the Areole, often as a whole bundle.