Xerophyte

Description

Habit

Tubercles

Divergent, often flaccid and not erect, not crowded or basally compressed, acute at the apices, flattened adaxially, not fissured, not incurved, 3-7cm long, 5-10mm broad, more than 4 times as long as wide;

Flowers

3.5-4.2cm in diam., 2-5cm long; outer perianth segments magenta with greenish-white margins, inner perianth parts deep magenta, pistil 2-3mm above the stamens; style white. 1-2 cm long; stigmas 5-8, 1-2,5 mm long.

Spines

None or rarely 2, 2-4mm long, whitish.

Stem

Greenish-brown sub-globose, flattened on top, 2-6cm high, rising barely above ground level, 4-8cm in diameter.The rest of the plant (swollen rootstock) stay underground.

Fruits

Pinkish-red to reddish purple, globose to elongate, 10-20 mm long, 5-12mm in diameter.

Areoles

5-12mm from the tips of the tubercles, rounded, 2-5 mm in diam.