Xerophyte

Central Spines

3-4(-5) per areole, stouter and longer, (8-)15-22 mm long, straight, mostly white basally but tipped with pink, red, or black, upper ones longer, lowest shorter and horizontal.

Seeds

Brown, reticulate.

Description

Escobaria viviparaSN|9953]]SN|9953]] var. radiosa is one of the varieties of Escobaria viviparaSN|9953]]SN|9953]] which is a somewhat variable taxon with several collected forms that were early published as full species or as varieties, but these were too weak botanically to stand, so they are all combined in E. vivipara, and the two plants are not readily distinguishable, if not for the geographical provenance. More likely they are one and the same species.

Taxonomy

Coryphantha fragransSN|10002]]SN|10002]] Hester is often placed under the synonymy of Escobaria viviparaSN|9953]]SN|9953]] var. radiosa as it seems to fit more closely that taxon than any other.

Flowers

4-5 cm in expansion and about same diameter when fully open, light violet to dark purple; stigmas obtuse deep velvety purple. The flowers open three days in direct sunshine only and later than most Cactaceae from 12 or 1 till 3 or 4 o'clock The flower buds are formed in the axils of the first tubercles of the season but are immediately pushed aside by a continuous growth of more tubercules, the buds as well as the flowers and fruits are therefore lateral.

Spines

Relatively dense, obscuring stems to varying degrees.

Stem

Ovate or cylindrical, about 5 cm high and in diameter sometimes proliferous (with freely asexual propagating shoots), tubercles terete, dark green in 13 oblique rows.

Radial Spines

20-30(-40) per areole, 1.2-1.9 cm long, white to pink, very unequal.

Fruits

Green, 1.9- 2.5 cm long.