Xerophyte

Habit

Plants usually solitary but at times forming small clumps.

Central Spines

4 up to 25 mm long, terete to slightly curved, thick below, brownish to dark brown thick at their base.

Seeds

Sbout 0.7 mm in length, black, somewhat shining seeds, hemispherical, fairly large.

Description

Parodia tilcarensisSN|5863]]SN|860]] is a very spiny cactus specie and showy bronze-red blooms in spring and summer. It one of the several species of the very variable Parodia stuemeriSN|860]]SN|5863]] which form a complex of related taxon. It is still unclear whether this variable complex is one or several species. There is so much variation that most authors choose to lump them together until further studies are done.

Flowers

Up to 3 cm long and broad, campanulate to funnel-shaped, bronze-red to blood-red. Pericarple covered with white to pink wool. Atamens dull yellow. The globular fruits are about 4 millimeters long.

Ribs

Approx. 20, tuberculate.

Stem

Globular to cylindrical up to15 cm tall and in diameter, dull green. Apex densely white woolly.

Radial Spines

9-15 thinner, whitish but darker basally.

Fruits

Pale olive green to greenish yellow.

Areoles

White, woolly in youth.