Xerophyte

Central Spines

4 reddish brown the upper three ascending, spreading, 1-2 cm long, straight. The lowermost stronger, longer and hooked 3 – 5 cm long.

Seeds

0,5 mm long, black minutely pitted.

Description

Cochemiea pondiiSN|9642]]SN|9642]] subsp. maritima (syn

Roots

Fibrous or moderately thickened.

Note

Cochemiea pondiiSN|9642]]SN|9642]] has thinner and more numerous hooked spines per areole while Cochemiea pondiiSN|9642]]SN|9642]] subsp. maritima has usually only four of which one hooked central spine per areole.

Tubercles

Conical or slightly flattened laterally, woolly when young.

Flowers

Produced near the plants tip from axils of tubercles , long, scarlet, 3-4 cm long, 2 cm wide. zygomorphic with a long hypanthium, segment flaring and tips reflexed, style as twice as corolla, stamens exerted half as far as style, filaments and anthers red.

Blooming Season

March - April.

Stem

20 to 50 cm long, 7 cm in diameter, cylindrical, narrow, eventually clumping near the base of the plant, somewhat jointed, initially erect then procumbent sometimes trailing and densely spiny. Glaucous-green then grey and corky in age but often reddish if grown in full light.

Radial Spines

10 to15, reddish brown, acicular up to 12 mm long.

Fruits

Red, obovoid or globose.

Areoles

At first bearing grey wool then naked.