Xerophyte

Seeds

Oval, 1,2x0,7 mm, black brown, shiny, relief flat to low-domed. The hilum is large, basal and superficial.

Description

Geohintonia is a monospecific genus of unique appearance discovered in 1992.This plant sometimes produces beautiful fan shaped crests of variable appearance and size (depending on clones), the more common type has thin ribs and colourful brown-orangish dark bodies and is almost always seen grafted onto columnar shaped cacti, while the thick greyish-green bodied forms (usually on their own roots and raised from seeds) are very rare and priced for their extraordinary beauty by impassioned.

Flowers

2 x2-4 cm, rich pink to magenta and open during the day; they are born in on top of the plant. Pericarpel and lower part of the tube naked, white. Upper part of the tube with small acute scale, with densely hairy axil bearing 1 cm long white bristles. Stigma 5-6 mm long, yellowish white.

Blooming Season

Flowers intermittently throughout the warm months from spring to autumn.

Spines

Few, very short (3 to 15 mm), triangular, curved, flatened and corky, soon papery a brittle deciduous. Easily detached from the base.

Ribs

Numerous (18-20) and well distinct.

Stem

The standard Geohintonia mexicana is a usually solitary, dark green/brown dwarf cactus covered by a glaucous/grey pruina, globose becoming slowly columnar, up to 10 cm or more, 10 cm in diameter with a woolly apex.

Fruits

Hidden in apical wool, ovoidal (approx 9x4-5 mm), thin walled, pale, drying and breaking off below the middle.

Areoles

Large, discrete, at first with long wool, later nearly naked.