Xerophyte

Habit

It is a mostly simple perennial cactus, rarely clustering at base, shortly cylindrical sometimes procumbent, to 100 cm high.

Central Spines

6-8, 15-25 mm long.

Description

Eriosyce chilensisSN|2420]]SN|2420]] is a beautiful cactus with pale green stems cowered with dense stout spines. It produces very showy flowers in summer.

Roots

fibrous.

Flowers

Few often closely packed apically from young areoles, flattish, usually creamy white, but also pink-orange or carmine red to 5 cm across , often developing in pairs, one on each side, from the same areole, with the inner petals erect. Ovary, tube and fruit almost bare, but with few small scales and few hairs. The frequent development of flowers buds in pairs from the same areola is a distinctive character of this species. Pericarpels and floral tubes with tufts of wool and glassy white bristles.

Spines

Numerous whitish-yellow to brownish, stiff, needle-like, not readily distinguishable as centrals and radials up to 18 mm long.

Ribs

Ribs 14-16 (or more) closely spaced, crenate, deeply notched, tuberculate, yellowish to pale green.

Stem

Spherical, then columnar, up to 30(-100) cm tall and 8-12 cm in diameter, woolly at apex.

Radial Spines

16-24, often bristly, 10-15 mm long.

Fruits

Clavate/elongate, to 3 cm long, bright red at maturity, splitting open by basal pores.