Xerophyte

Habit

It is a geophyte plant that produces a small star-shaped rosette of rough fleshy tubercles.

Roots

Each plant has a large turnip-like taproot, which lies below the soil surface and serves for water storage.

Tubercles

Greenish-brown, greyish-green, yellowish-green or olive-green, triangular in outline, acute at the apexes, deltate in cross section, flattened adaxially, or becoming slightly concave at maturity, irregularly papillose sometime forming one or two lateral furrows, usually as long as wide. (to 3-4 cm long), and with the edges acute.

Flowers

These plants have a woolly crown, from which emerge bright pink-violet flowers up to 5 cm in diameter, 2 times wider than long when fully expanded. Flowers last for 3 to 4 days.

Blooming Season

October, November.

Spines

It have no spines.

Stem

Subglobose, flattened on top, 3-6 cm high, rising barely above ground level, that grows extremely slowly, to 10-15 (or more) cm in diameter. The stem is usually solitary, rarely giving rise to side shoots from old areoles.

Fruits

Not seen.

Areoles

Apical or sub-apical, rounded, 1-5 mm in diameter on adaxial tubercle faces, rounded to more or less elliptic or linear, 2-5 mm diameter, woolly.