Xerophyte

Central Spines

1 or 2 up to long, terete, black.

Seeds

Black and shining.

Description

Copiapoa cinerea is one of the most admired species of cacti with chalky/white stems covered with wool at the apex, which contrasts well with the sparse, jet-black spines. It is a solitary, or slowly offsetting, globular to columnar cactus. It is an extremely variable species with many forms, sometimes with long spines or others spineless like Ritter's "tenebrosas".

Flowers

Yellow funnelform, 1,5 to 2,5 cm in diameter, occasionally with a pink or reddish tint. The Ovary is naked.

Blooming Season

Summer, it needs a lot of sunlight to bloom, so it's pretty rare to have blossoms when in cultivation in greenhouses. It is not unusual for copiapoa to take 6-10 years before it starts blooming, but once it does, it should every year.

Ribs

12-30 broad, obtuse.

Stem

Up to 1,2 m tall, 10-20 cm in diameter. The white coloration is a waxy coating presumably to prevent dessication in it's extremely dry environment. In cultivation the white waxy bloom is often not produced, revealing a brownish epidermis.

Radial Spines

0 to 7

Fruits

1,5 to 2 cm long.