Xerophyte

Habit

It is a typically solitary cactus that sometime will offsets from it’s base. This species produces a lot of fragrant yellow, orange-eyed flowers at the top of the stem. An attractive blooming machine.

Seeds

1,3-1,7 mm long and 0,5 -0,8 mm diameter, black tuberculate, hilum large basal, circular.

Phenology

Summer grower.

Flowers

Silky yellow with orange to darker red throat , 3 - 7 cm across, 3,8 - 5,2(7) cm long. Inner perianth segments oblong, acute, widely spreading. Flowers-bud pointed, covered with imbricated naked scales (whithout wool or bristles in the axil). Flower-tube narrow, funnelform.

Blooming Season

It flowers very well, even when quite young, producing lots flowers in succession all Summer.

Spines

Both radials and centrals, white or yellowish and brown radials 12 to 16 (10-30 mm long), central 1 to 3 one of them hooked, longer than the radials, usually more than 40 mm long. Tubercles absent.

Ribs

About 13 high and 1-2 mm wide, very evident, thin, wavy on the margin, straight or more or less spiralled.

Stem

Globular to cylindrical, yellow-green to dark bluish green of flabby texture like Echinocereus, up to 15 cm tall, 10 cm in diameter; distinctly ribbed.

Fruits

Red and fleshy, nearly naked, globular to ovate, 8-11 mm long, that dry and fracture basally at full maturity.

Areoles

roundish, 5-8(-14) mm long, 2-7 mm wide, 15 mm apart, with short wool and finally naked