Xerophyte

Habit

It is a flattened solitary cactus with very characteristic spines pointing sideways or downward.

Central Spines

Absent.

Seeds

Of the microsemineum type about 1 mm long and 0.8 mm in diameter, shallowly tuberculate, testa regular, hilum concave.

Description

Gymnocalycium spegazziniiSN|996]]SN|996]] ssp. sarkae is a very distinctive naturally occurring variant of Gymnocalycium spegazziniiSN|996]]SN|996]] with different seeds, darker purple-brown epidermis and long spidery brown spines.

Flowers

Funnel-shaped on the plant apex 45 mm long, 50 mm in diameter whitish to pink with red throat. Outer tepals spatulated abaxially scaly, 3-7 mm long and 4-6 mm wide olive green. Inner tepals smaller 20 to 13 mm wide and 35 mm long and basally crimson coloured (red throated). Tube up to 20 mm long and 10 mm in diameter, olive green. Ovary up 7 mm in diameter and 20 mm length. Filament crimson or violet, anthers pale-yellow. Pistil 15 mm long, stigma-lobes milky white. Scales on the ovary few and broad.

Blooming Season

Flowers are produced in late spring and remain open for up to twelve days.

Ribs

8-12 broad an low, evenly subdivided in confluent tubercle, 15 mm long about 20 mm wide at the base, angular and somewhat keeled.

Stem

Noticeably flatten, in nature it is partially underground, dark-violet, grey-violet or brown, 80-150 mm in diameter (occasionally individual specimens may reach up to 25 cm in diameter). Apex depressed an woolly. Will not offset.

Radial Spines

3-9 spidery in shape, typically recurved, pointing sidewards and downward, greyish or brownish, depressed against the body and most attractive.

Fruits

Elonged, naked, up to 30 mm long and 15 mm in diameter, olive green or purple, covered with bluish pruine, scales edged in pink. Splitting open at maturity with 1-2 longitudinal cracks. Pulp whitish.

Areoles

Elongate woolly at first white, later turning grey.