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Gymnocalycium calochlorum
The stem is flat green-grey, the
spines are white thin, curved inward and very close to each other.
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Flowers are pale pink with a reddish throat
and often does not open completely.
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Description: Small
flattened cactus that can be found very clumped in habitat.
Stem: About 6 cm wide and 4 cm. high.
Ribs: Flat and
tuberculate 8 to 12 (but generally 11), the tubercles are polygonal
+/- rounded divided by short transversal grooves .
Areoles: Oval, covered with a yellowish
tomentum that tends to whiten as they age
Radial spines: 9-13, they are thin of different length, 5-10 mm
long, curved inward and very close to each other. They are white or
sometime with a reddish basal portion.
Central spines: Absent.
Flowers: Pale pink, are born near apex, about 6 cm long and 7.5cm
in diameter. Flower tube is green scaled. They does not open completely.
Fruit:
Ovoidal to
clavate 1,2-3,5 cm long more or less elonged, epidermis is greenish
with a grey-bluish pruine coat. It is covered by small rounded scales
bordered with white and contains a large quantity of seeds with the
length of 1 mm.
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There are many varieties and forms
of G. chaloclorum relatively similar but with stems of variable colour
an size, among them:
- “proliferum” with a little bigger stem
of a darker green colour, and with flowers that open completely,
showing curved petals to the outside and of white, brownish white, or
pink colour.
- “roseiacanthum” with smaller stems of
about 3 cm. wide and 2 cm. high, showing areolas of yellow colour with
twisted spines of pink colour and big flowers of white colour with the
pink base
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Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus
Family)
Scientific name:
Gymnocalycium calochlorum
(Boedeker) Y. Ito,
Published in: M. DKG 260; 1952
Origin: Argentina Cordoba, Catamarca, alt. 500 ŕ 1300 m
Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
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Synonyms:
- Echinocactus calochlorus Boedeker
Published in: Cacti 1952: 90 1952, 1932
- Gymnocalycium calochlorum v. proliferum
(Backeberg) Backeberg.
Published in: Cactaceae (Backeberg) 3:, 1959
- Gymnocalycium proliferum
- Echinocactus prolifer
- Gymnocalycium proliferum var. calochlorum
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Buds and fruits are covered by small rounded
scales bordered with white.
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Cultivation: Keep this plant almost dry in winter at a minimum
temperature of -5°C (but it is resistant down to -23 if grown in
ground and very dry), prefers a
low pH
compost otherwise
growth will stop altogether. The plant tolerate
extremely bright situations but enjoy fresh places and
some shade during the hottest part of the day in summer.
Propagation: Seeds or by
rooting offsets.
Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and
cultivars of Gymnocalycium calochlorum.
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