Xerophyte

Habit

Usually solitary unless damaged.

Central Spines

2 straight, erect, blackish-grey, 20-23 mm long, one erect, the other on sideways.

Description

Turbinicarpus mandragoraSN|1893]]SN|1893]] subs. subterraneus (sometimes listed under its old name Gymnocactus subterraneusSN|1939]]SN|1939]]) is a small tuberous root from which arises an extremely thin neck, ending in an enlarged top-shaped plant body, there is little chance of the thin neck support the stem vertically.

Tubercles

Four-angled, 3-5 mm tall.

Flowers

Whitish, rose violet to pinkish-magenta, with pink or brown midstripe, in summer, 20-25 mm long, 30 mm wide.

Stem

Club-shaped, up to 150 mm high, 30 mm wide, green-bluish. The stem is typically prostrate, flaring out after a very long slender neck that separates the large tuberose root from the enlarged apical part of the plant. Apex woolly.

Radial Spines

16-19, straight, radiating horizontally, glassy white, 2-6 mm long.

Fruits

Greenish-brown, small, relatively dry, and unattractive.