Xerophyte

Central Spines

1-2, curved upward, up to 30 mm long. All spines are hard, stiffly pungent, red brown with darker tip.

Note

This member of the Cactaceae family was given this name in honour of Roberto Kiesling - Argentinian expert and lower of cacti.The following description of this species is based on Lobivia kieslingiiSN|8302]]SN|8302]] Rausch 1977 sensu stricto (Collector's number referred here is WR 573).

Flowers

Formed laterally near the apex of the plant, broadly funnel-shaped to campanulate, up to 9 cm long and in diameter. Ovary (flattened-globose) and receptacle, green, with numerous fleshy scales, bearing dense tufts of hair in the axils. Hairs long white with black tips. Outer perianth segments narrowly-lanceolate, purple-pink. Inner perianth segments rounded, shortly-pointed, orange within with violet-pink margins. Throats short funnel-form, about 35 x 35 mm long and wide, greenish-yellow. Filamentis inserted in the two series, the outer yellow at the base and rose above, the inner ones green becoming pink above. Stile very short (20 mm long) green. Stigma lobes about 16, yellow, 7 mm long.

Ribs

up to 30, straight, vertical, divided in 20-25 mm long rounded tubercles.Areoles. Oval, white felted, in the upper part of tubercle, up to 10 mm long.

Stem

Simple, spherical, light-green, to 25 cm across.

Marginal Spines

7-13, spreading and curved toward the stem up to 25 mm long.

Fruits

Flattened-globose 35 mm long and 40 mm in diameter green, very succulent, melon tasting and dehiscing vertically only along a single, longitudinal split. Scales small, narrow with greyish-yellow to black hairs.