Xerophyte

Habit

Usually simple or rarely basally branched.

Central Spines

One (or sometime as many as 4), short, thick black, clawlike, more or less erect, straight or hooked and twisted (depending on population), 7-14 mm long.

Seeds

Purse shaped, black.

Description

Parodia subterraneaSN|5868]]SN|5868]] (also found in cultivation as Notocactus occultus) is an amazing white-topped cactus species from Bolivia that reputedly grows almost completely hidden below the soil (in habitat) and is extremely hard to find unless it is in bloom. The flower colour is usually red, but can be quite variable.

Flowers

Funnel-shaped, usually red (but ranging from yellowish-orange to dark purple), about 3 cm wide.Pericarpel and floral tube covered with white or brown hairs and black bristles. Dried flowers remain for a long time on the plant's body after blooming.

Blooming Season

Late spring.

Ribs

11-13 spiralling, forming distinct conical tubercles.

Stem

Flattish to globose, 6-12 cm in diameter, dull green to olive green with white wool apically, thick and growing mostly underground, but the plant's stem in cultivation is usually globular or ovoidal and aerial.

Radial Spines

Up to 10, radiating, more or less flattened against the plant's body, mostly whitish or yellowish (but also blackish), 5-8 mm long.

Fruits

Red or green, with white hairs.

Areoles

Young areoles are filled with abundant white wool. Later they are naked.