Recent Activity - Plant Opinions

Synonymes: Neobesseya wissmannii, Escobaria missouriensis var.caespitosa, Escobaria missouriensis var.marstonii, Neobesseya notesteinii, Neobesseya roseiflora, Neobesseya similis, Escobaria missouriensis var.similis, Neobesseya missouriensis, Escobaria missouriensis subsp.navajoensis, Coryphantha missouriensis.
E.missouriensis has two subspecies and other is ssp.asperispina.
Frost tolerance: Very cold resistant, reportedly to -35 C.
Distribution: USA - Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Mexico - Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo Leon
Habit: Globose to short cylindrical
Encounterability in collections: Unusual

Synonymes:Coryphantha radians, C.radians v.pectinoides, C.cornuta, C.schwarziana, C.maliterrarum, C.bernalensis
Distribution: Mexico - Hidalgo, Queretaro
Frost Tolerance: Hardy at least to -5 C
Habit: Globose
Encounterability in collections: Unusual in collections
C. radians and C. cornifera were regarded as two different species. But field studies show that the range of both is identical and at most locations adult plants either without central spines (formerly named radians), or with 1-4 central spines can be found.
With the exception of the abscence or existence of centrals all the other characteristics are absolutely identical, namely size and form of tubercles, number, size and arrangement of radial spines, flowers, fruits and seeds.
The areoles of the purely radial spined forms often are oval and of those with centrals round, a phenomenon which can be found in practically all those Coryphantha sp. which occur with and without centrals or which show a central-less youth-stage.

Distribution: Mexico - Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, USA - S Texas.
Frost Tolerance: Hardy to -6 C
Listed in CITES App.1.
Habit: Globose-Flattened
Encounterability in collections: Common worldwide
In the wild it is almost extinct, mostly due to habitat destruction.
A.asterias is the smallest species of the genus Astrophytum.
The white flecking is very variable from clone to clone.

USA - Chihuahuan desert, Brewster County, Texas
They are found from only three populations, all in a tiny area of this county.
Frost Toler. Hardy to -7 C.
Habit: Ovoid
Encounterability in collections: Common locally in some areas
Listed in CITES app.1
Synonym: Coryphantha minima, Escobaria nellieae, Coryphantha nellieae, Mammillaria nellieae.
This tiny species is almost extinct in its habitat, Texas. Thanks to nurseries and hobbysts who propogate the sp. continuously.
Escobaria minima grows in desert grassland and is restricted to the Caballos Novaculite Formation.

Distribution: Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza - Mexico and Big Bend,Texas - United States
Habit: Globose-cylindrical
Encounterability: Unusual in collections
Frost Tolerance: Hardy to -16 C or less for short periods of time.
Synonymes:
C.cornifera v.echinus, C.radians v.echinus, C.pectinata, Mammillaria echinus, M.pectinata.
This sp. has a purely radial-spined youth stage in which can give flowers quite early and this youth-form has been described as C. pectinata. When 8-10 years old, the typical 3-4 central spines appear of which the dominant, porrect spine was namegiving (echinus=sea-urchin)

Frost Tolerance: -10 C
Origin: Probably central Mexico, exact origins are unknown.
Habit: Shrubby-Treelike
Encounterability in collections: Common worldwide. Widely cultivated.
Synonymes: Opuntia cordobensis, O.albicarpa, O.bonaerensis, O.cordobensis, O.joconostle, O.megacanta, O.paraguayensis, O.tuna-blanca, O.undulata, Platyopuntia cordobensis, P./O.apurimacensis.
The form in the photos is almost spineless.
The big plant is in our south Aegean coast, on sloopy hills of Bodrum county. I got some cuttings from it and rooted in my greenhouse. This species is naturalised around all Mediterranean coasts, maybe by sailors hundreds of years ago.
Its orange fruits are edible and the villagers sell them in the local markets.

Frost Tolerance: Hardy to -10 C
Distribution: SE Brazil, N Argentina
Habit: Tree-like
Encounterability: Very common in the collections and also as a house plant.
This plant is popularly known as Cereus peruvianus. But this is misapplied synonym for Cereus hildmannianus.
Indeed, C.peruvianus is real synonym of C.repandus.
Synonymes:
Cereus peruvianus L. (misapplied), Piptanthocereus bageanus, Cereus milesimus, Piptanthocereus neonesioticus, Cereus neonesioticus, Cereus xanthocarpus, Piptanthocereus xanthocarpus, Cereus hildmannianus subsp. xanthocarpus.
After stem cutting, the new offsets could be with 4 ribs (like in my photos), the normal rib number is 5 to 8.

Pediocactus knowltonii is a rare, endemic cactus that is presently known in only one location and to occur on a single hill in a very limited area in the northwestern part of San Juan County, New Mexico - USA on the Colorado border, 2000 m.
Listed in CITES Appendix 1
Habit: Globose
Encounterability: Rare in the collections

Distribution: Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas - Mexico and Texas - United States
Habit: Globose
Encounterability: Rare in the collections
Synonymes:
Coryphantha calochlora, Coryphantha sulcata var.nickelsiae.

Distribution: Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo Leon - Mexico and Texas - United States
Frost Tolerance: Hardy to -12 C when dormant.
Habit: Globose
Encounterability: Unusual in collections
C.sulcata is the type sp. of the genus Coryphantha.
There are populations of small plants which have finer spination as e.g.SB 486 in this photo, and more robust plants can be found in Texas.
Synonymes:
Coryphantha radians v.sulcata, C.roderiana, C.speciosa, C.obscura.