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Astrophytum asterias CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.

 


A. asterias is one of the most attractive species of cactus,
admired by cactus lovers.
 

Description: Solitary geophyte cactus.
Stem:  non-branched, flat, dark green. Diameter 3(8)16 cm.
Height 2 to 6 cm. Just flat to the ground surface, the plant body grows on the native habitat practically complete buried . Only in cultivation plants may have a spherical till columnar shape.
Ribs: 5(8)11, generally it has eight flat ribs, rare few or more. ( but in cultivation selected cultivars can have from 4 to 13 ribs), The normal rib number eight is very stable, independent of the age of the plant.
Root
s: the underground body is fleshy, turnip-like, with fine roots.
Spines: Not any. Only seedlings show some rudimentary spines within the first weeks and
months.
Hairy scales: usually loose - are sprinkled over the stem in irregular patterns, sometimes arched around the areoles or on line. Cultivated plants possess sometimes very dense and big hairy scales. There are also completely flake free
pure green specimens.
Areoles: round, cream-colored till white hairy up to 6
(3-12) mm) of diameters. The areoles are normally set in a separation up to 10 mm, but can be very close one to each other at cultivated plants.
 

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Some cultivars


cv. Superkabuto


cv. Superkabuto snow (form with woolly flakes)
Astrophytum asterias - coulored seedlings
 Albinos/coulored and normal  seedling

forma nuda

cv Ruri Kakuto
(cv.  Ooibo kabuto)
Astrophytum asterias cv. Superkabuto V-type form
cv. Superkabuto
V-type form

cv. Superkabuto
star form

10 ribs (multicostatum)
Astrophytum asterias  strar shape type
Star shape type
Astrophytum asteria cv. HANAZONO
cv. Hanazono
Astrophytum asterias cv. Superkabuto V-type form big dots
cv. Superkabuto
V-type form  "tiger"

cv. Curly petals
Some hybrids
Astrophytum hybrid (asterias x coahuilense)
hybr. CO-AS 
♀ coahuilense x
♂ asterias
Astrophytum hybrid asterias x Superkabuto
hybr. AS-MYR
♀ asterias x ♂ onzuka

hybr. AS-CAP♀ asterias superkabuto x ♂ capricorne

hybr. AS-SEN(AU)
(
A. asterias x
A. senilis var. aureum)

hybr. SK-CO
♀ asterias superkabuto x ♂ coahuilense
Astrophytum hibrid capricorne nudum x asterias nudum
hybr. CA-PAS green
♀ capricorne nudum  x
♂ asterias
nudum

hybr. CAP-AS
♀ capricorne x ♂ asterias

hybr. CO-SK
♀ coahuilense x
♂ asterias SUPERKABUTO


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Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Scientific name: Astrophytum asterias (Zucc.) Lem

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 1

Common names: The name "Peyote" used by the natives comes presumably by the external similarity to Lophophora williamsii, however there is no closer botanic relationship. Till now, there is no found of hallucinogenic in the plants despite multiple contrary assertions.

Etymology: The generic  name "Astrophytum" derives from the Greek words "aster (αστηρ)", meaning a "star" and "phyton (φυτον)", meaning "plant". ( The Genus name implies: "star plant").
The specific name "
asterias" derives from the Greek name “aster (αστηρ) that means “a star” an aster type plant*,  and the Greek suffix “ias
(-ιας) ”meaning “like to, comparable, similar”   The specific name implies: "star like (like an aster)" 
The shell of a sea urchin

* Referring (may be) to the Aster  (Aster amellus)  Or   to Asterias which is the name of a genus of starfish (but this plant looks like the sea urchin shell)
 


Astrophytum asterias ( cv. Superkabuto)
Flowers are usually yellow with a red, orange  throat, plants start blooming when about 3 cm diameter.
 

 


Astrophytum asterias
Generally this plat has eight ribs, few or more ribs
(like in the photo above) are unusual.
 

A. asterias  (Llera Tam. MX.)

A plant with the typical eight ribs with white tufts of loose hairy scales.
 


Cultivation
is not too difficult in a greenhouse, although grows quite slowly. The plants need  a loose well-drained  mineral soil. They need a good amount of light. Watering can be done weekly during summertime, if the weather is sunny enough, with a little fertilizer added. Kept this way, plants will show a healthy, although slow growth. They are frost hardy to -4° (-10°) C

Propagation: By seeds, remembering that  seedlings dislike strong light and dry conditions  and need to be repotted frequently. Eventually, as they become mature, they attain a maximum size of 8-10 cm (20) cm. However, old plants become senile and have a tendency to succumb to disease and a weak root system. At this stage, as is well known, they die suddenly. So, after they reach 10 cm in diameter grow them slowly, and adopt a new repotting period, using intervals of every 2 - 3 years. Additionally grow them under drier conditions or with stronger sunlight. But plants are often grafted to accelerate growth as they would generally take at least a five years to reach maturity on their own, but the grafted plants are typical rather tall growing, compared with plants on their own roots that are usually more flat to the ground.

 


Fruit are spineless, completely naked at the lower area with
 few scales and hairy in the upper area.
(photo: cv superkabuto snow)

 

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Astrophytum asterias:


Photo gallery: Alphabetical listing of Cactus and Succulent pictures published in this site.

Photo gallery Astrophytum

Home | E-mail | Plant files | Mail Sale Catalogue | Links | Information | Search

All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.