Xerophyte

Habit

It is a spiny geophytic cactus with solitary (or sometime branching) stems rising barely above ground level (in habitat).

Central Spines

1-4 strongger straight or barely curved, rarely somewhat obscurely hooked at the apex, up to 3 cm long.

Roots

Fibrous, arising from a short, conical taproot.

Flowers

Closely packed apically in top 2 or 3 young areoles areoles of a rib, one flower to an areole, narrow to broad funnel-form or campanulate, 3-4 cm long, 2-3 cm in diameter creamy-white to pink. Pericarpel and tube very short (less than 2 cm long on the whole) with scales producing white woolly hairs and few twisting tan bristles up to 1 cm long in the upper pat of the tube. Tepals lanceolate up to 1,5 cm long, 2 to 3 mm broad, entire, uniformly coloured or slightly lighter near margins, outer segments darker and merging with brown and green tube scales almost black apically. Stamens numerous about 8 mm long, fuchsia purple, whitish at the base, anthers and pollen yellow. Style stout, fuchsia-purple 15-17 mm long, 1,5 mm in diameter in the middle, stigma lobes fuchsia purple about 3 mm long.

Blooming Season

It has several flush of flowers in sequence at different times over an interval of several weeks from late spring/early summer to autumn, with heaviest flowering early and late in the period of time.

Spines

Spines variable, tannish-brown, dull grey-brown or black, somewhat glaucous except at apex turning chalky white or grey as they ages, straight to curved.

Ribs

8-13 vertical, forming tubercles with chin-like protrusions.

Stem

Globose or semi-globular to elongate (especially in cultivation less than 8 cm in diameter and 5 cm tall, dull dark green, in the sun often tinged with purple.

Radial Spines

6-20 thin, more or less curved or twisted intergrading with the centrals 3-20 mm long.

Fruits

Elongate red, a bit hairy, with seeds loose within, dehiscing by basal pores.

Areoles

Sunken, with creamy-white or yellowish felt.