Xerophyte

Note

This species has been nominated for the occurrence near Tacaquira, Dept. Chuquisaca, Bolivia.

Flowers

White to delicate pink, funnel-shaped to 23 cm long. Ovaries and floral tubes sculpted and clothed with brown woolly hairs particularly dense on the fruit and about 2 cm long. Bracts in the lower part of the tube few, above numerous and touching each other at the base, lanceolate, terminating out into a point. The lowest ones scarcely 5 mm long, the upper ones gradually transforming into the outer tepals. Outer perianth segments (tepaloids) lanceolate, pointed, 6 cm long and about 1 cm wide at the base. Inner perianth segments (petaloids) oblong to spathulate, less clearly pointed, up to 12 cm long and up to 3 cm wide. Stamens very numerous, in two whorls, the uppermost, at the mouth of the tube slightly more than 2 cm long and therefore much shorter than the corolla. Anthers 3 mm long. Style thick-turgid protruding above the anthers.

Spines

Fewer than 20 (rarely more), sometimes not clearly differentiated as centrals and radials, mostly radiating, bristle- to needle-like, slightly stiff but not piercing, straight, twisted or zigzag, unequal in size, sometimes interlacing (in subsp. taquimbalensis), white, pink reddish-brown to blackish with a grey hue, 1-6(-8) cm long.

Ribs

Variable, as many as 9, less than 2 cm high, obtuse.

Stem

Cylindrical, robust, dark green, to 15 cm in diameter.

Areoles

Rounded quite large, about 7 mm in diameter, or oval, and then 12 mm long, 1-1.5 cm apart, densely covered with grey-brown felt when young. As well as a dense tufts of very fine grey-white hair up to 1.5 cm long, but soon deciduous.