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If you like black-spined/ deep purple-bodied
plants, you simply must get Neochilenia occulta, if you haven't already.
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Description: Small growing plant with low spineless (or spiny)
dark purple to almost black stem.
Stem: Flat solitary mostly
underground, slowly clumping as it ages, 5 cm in diameter; generally 8
to 10, up to 14 tuberculate ribs; The unusual colouring range from pale
pinkish-grey to a deep purple (or almost black)
Root: tuberous root
Spines: spineless or spiny 0 or 1 central spine, 2 -10 mm long ;
4 to 8 short radials, 1-11 mm long. All the spines tends to fall as the
plant ages. The spineless form is more popular with the collectors
Flowers: large silky whitish, yellowish to pinkish orange, 3.5 cm
in diameter.
Fruit: red showy in winter.
Cultivation: It is a summer grower species. Water regularly in summer, but do not
overwater (Root prone) needs good drainage and very porous
potting soil, keep dry in winter.
Feed with a high
potassium fertilizer in summer.
Full sun to light shade
Propagation: Seeds (seldom
produces offsets)
Note: The plants labelled as E.
occulta are quite variable in spines, and body colour. When it comes
to buying plants of this species often we have built up an image of what
it should like from a limited number of pictures in a book. This will
not prepares us for the variability that can occur in nature and among
cultivated specimens. Some taxa are quite uniform in appearance, while
others like E. occulta can confuse the most experienced
cactophil.
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Cultivation and
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