Echinocactus lindleyi
Hamburger Garten- Blumenzeitung 17: 162. 1861 Remarks: As "lindleya"
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Species
Echinocactus lindleyi
Author
C.F.Först.
Chinese genus
金琥属
Chinese name
-
Primary
Accepted
DescriptionEdit description
Central Spines
4 to 7 spreading, thick, 12-16 (or more) mm long.
Seeds
Broadly oval.
Description
It is a small globose to cylindrical cactus with very woolly areoles and dark spreading spines, it is indeed very variable and has received many names, but it is clear from fieldworks that the different wild populations constitute a single but multiform species. The var. lindleyi has fewer spines.
Roots
Fibrous.
Flowers
Diurnal, 1,5-2 cm long and in diameter, born on younger areoles from a yellowish woolly crown in summer, wide funnelform, yellow, outer perianth segments often reddish, floral tube short with tufts of dense wool and long reddish bristles.
Spines
Variable in colour, horn-coloured with brow to shiny black tips, turning grey as they age.
Ribs
19 to 25 low and obtuse.
Stem
Grey-green, 5 to 40 cm tall (or more long), 5 to 20 cm in diameter.
Radial Spines
12 to 22, shorter but stout, radiating, 6-10 mm long.
Fruits
Characteristic, up to 5 cm long, club shaped, balloon-like, pinkish to red, openings at maturity by basal pores. Pericarp initially fleshy but the interior always dry when mature.
Areoles
Approximate, very woolly, with grey-brown felt