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Melocactus broadwayi |
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Description: Usually stay solitary, mature
plants are easily recognizable by their
cephalium. TThe immature plant looks like a smallish barrel cactus,
and there is nothing in its appearance that would suggest a Melocactus.
Stem: Round to conical strongly longitudinally ribbed body, up to
20 cm tall, up to 20 cm in diameter.
Ribs: 13-18
Cephalium: White with brownish-red bristles.
Flowers: Small inconspicuous bright pink to purple grow at the
top of the cephalium.
Fruit: Red pear shaped.
Cultivation: These cacti are not the easiest
things to grow and aren’t plants for beginners.
Melocactus broadwayi grows from April to October, it can’t endure
long stretches of total dryness, and also too much water will rot it, as
its weak root systems tends to be inefficient at sucking up water from
wet soil. Nonetheless, again as a result of their tropical origins, they
need a fair amount of water, but allow the soil to dry quite a bit
before watering again. Melocactus rests from October to April but can’t
stand cold, or even fairly cool temperatures, so is indispensable to
keep it above 8-12°C at all times, severe damage or death occurring at
temperatures that the great majority of cacti wouldn’t mind in the least
and prefer more frequent water in winter than other cacti, say once a
month. Do not feed in winter.
The root system is weak and generally resents being repotted and can
take a long time to re-establish. The soil mix should be very quick
draining, prefers very bright light, not as much as the most arid
growing cacti, but plenty nonetheless.
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Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus
Family) |
Scientific name: Melocactus
broadwayi (Britton & Rose) A. Berger 1926
Published in: Entwicklungslin. Kakt. 78, fig. 63. 1926
Origin: West Indies (Granada, Tobago)
Synonyms: Cactus
broadwayi Britton & Rose 1922
Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Common Name: Turk’s cap,” “melon cactus” (or
simply “melon”)
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The most remarkable part of a Melocactus is
its cephalium a bristle-coated structure on the summit of the plant,
only Melocactus, and the similar genus
Discocactus possesses this type of permanent, apical, hatlike
appendage. It’s only when a Melocactus reaches maturity that the
cephalium begins to grow. Cylindrical, with a diameter distinctly
smaller than that of the plant body below, the cephalium will keep
growing for the rest of the plant’s life, but the body of the plant
stops growing the moment the cephalium starts to form. . As the plants
age the cephalium doesn’t increase in circumference it will steadily
grow taller
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Propagation: Exclusively by Seeds. Sow in
February-march in a light, sandy, porous soil. Cover germinating tray
with glass to prevent seed from drying out. Germination is most
successful at a temperature of 18 to 22° C.
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