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  Maihueniopsis darwinii
(Syn: Tephrocactus darwinii)
CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.


T
he spines are among the stiffer and sharper of all cacti and can penetrate deeply into your skin at the minimal touch. It is incredibly dangerous, a real knifepoint.
 

Flowers are dirty yellow-orange 5-6 cm in diameter with a lot of filaments and a very big stigma.

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Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Scientific name:  Maihueniopsis darwinii (Henslow) F.Ritter 1980

OriginArgentina (Province of Buenos Aires, Río Negro and Chubut) and Chile (Only in the locality of Bahía Jara, Chile Chico, Region XI de Aysén)
Habitat:

Habitat: Grow most of the time in full sun but sometimes also with a little shelter of some bushes, During the winter the plants are 1-2 m covered with snow. In the spring when the snow starts melting the substrate becomes wet although the (night) temperatures can be quite low at this time.

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 2.

Taxon synonyms

  • Opuntia darwinii Hensl. 1837
  • Tephrocactus darwinii (Henslow) Fric 1934
Heterotypic synonyms:
  • Opuntia platyacantha Pfeiff. 1837
  • Tephrocactus platyacanthus (Pfeiff.) Lem. 1868
  • Opuntia hickenii Britton & Rose 1919
  • Tephrocactus hickenii (Britton & Rose) Speg. 1926
  • Opuntia neuquensis Borg 1937
  • Tephrocactus neuquensis (Borg) Backeb. 1953
  • Maihueniopsis neuquensis (Borg) F.Ritter 1980
  • Maihueniopsis albomarginata F.Ritter 1980

Description: Mat forming up to 10 cm in diameter and height. The stems may be very tight or lose depending on clones.
Root: Enlarged tuberose.
Stem: Cladodes olive-green ovoidal, not tuberculate up to 3 cm in diameter.
Areoles: Approx 4mm in diameter, circular with white glochids.
Spines: Stiff and very sharp, present in the upper areoles but absent in the basal areoles of the cladode. Spines have a emphasized central rib with flat margins (winged)
Leaves: The leaves on Maihueniopsis's are very small and fall off early.
Flowers: Dirty yellow-orange 5-6 cm in diameter. With a lot of filaments and a very big stigma with about 10 obtuse lobes. Typically in this species the pericarpel is green an fleshy with areoles in all the surface but the length of the spines increases from below upwards.
Fruit: Fleshy 4 x 2,5 cm similar to the joints for shape and colour. At maturity became yellow- orangish.
 

 
 

Cultivation:  It is susceptible to overwatering,  but need enough water during the growing season. This mountain cactus - because of the elongated fat taproot - necessitate deep pots and a well drained mineral potting mix. It prefers a  full sun exposure, but should be protected from excessive heat and sun in summer.
Frost Tolerance:  They tolerate light frost -5 (-10) °C.
Need to be kept in a cool place during winter rest this is important for the flowers as well as for their health. Without this cool winter period they normally wont get many buds. Keep dry in winter
to avoid rot. Need a sufficient amount of air.

Propagation:
Seeds are extremely difficult to germinate.   Best reproduced from rooted cuttings. Grafting is sometime used because it is quite root prone on its own roots and to create a back-up for plants in collection.

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

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