Xerophyte

Central Spines

2 to 5 somewhat stronger, needle-like, to 20 mm long, light to dark brown often with brown tips.

Seeds

Brown-black, about 1 mm long and 0.6 mm wide, with brownish oval hilum.

Description

Rebutia fiebrigiiSN|4932]]SN|4932]] is a small solitary or mound-forming cactus preading out to 15 cm with white, silky, short spines and light green tubercles thickly covering the body. It is a free-flowering species with bright vermilion blooms, but quite variable. Nowadays, under the name of Rebutia fiebrigiiSN|4932]]SN|4932]], botanists include several different forms, that were previously regarded as independent species.

Tubercles

Up to 5 mm high conical.

Flowers

Flowers produced halfway up the stems, curving upward, yellow, bright orange or vermilion red, funnel-shaped, 25-45 mm long, 4 cm diameter. Tube narrow 10-18 mm long, outside pale greenish to reddish, inside pale. Ovary spherical, about 4 mm wide, with small triangular scales with few white wool few white bristly hairs. Tepals vermilion red, rather rounded, often slightly serrated, 14-16 mm long, 4-6 mm wide. Filaments white, anthers golden yellow. Pistil white, with 5-6 white stigma lobes 2-3 mm long, slightly protruding the anthers.

Blooming Season

Flowers all tend to come in one late Spring rush, rather than spread over the Summer, and remain open for up to six days.

Spines

30-40, all more or less similar, the central ones slightly larger, variously bristly, white, yellowish or pale brown, bristle-like, fine and soft.

Ribs

About 18, straight to spirally arranged tuberculate

Stem

Roundish to slightly elongated, depressed at the top, 50-60 mm wide and tall, glossy green, flat, covered by distinctive tubercles similar to a Mammillaria, that are easy to see through the small spines. It grows quite close to the ground and offsets only with age. It would appear that in cultivation they grow larger and cluster more vigorously than in habitat.

Radial Spines

About 10 mm long, white.

Fruits

Tiny, spherical, berrylike, about 5 mm wide, greenish-brown to purplish, with white wool and bristly, hidden among the spines, bursting when ripe.

Areoles

Rather large, elliptical, white-tomentose.