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T. swobodae L1499 Rayones, NL.
 

Description: Small solitary, depressed rarely offsetting  geophyitic cacti, partly underground.
Body:  Upper visible part flat to hemispherical, up to about 5-6 cm wide, up to about 2-3 cm high, dark grey-green - pale blue-green (brownish when dried in the sun), Lower, not visible part ± short cylindrical, narrowing at the base, densely covered with the old, dried up tubercles.
Areole: On the tip of the tubercle, with white, felt composed of short hairs, later becoming yellowish-brownish and ultimately becoming bare. This felt is densest and longest lasting on the upper half of the areole.
Root: Thickened but not turnip-like, which branches greatly, however not forming an extensive root system
Spines: 4-6 from the lower half of the areole, bristle-like, piercing, not paper-like; the lowest 2-3 mostly the shortest, about 4-7 mm long; the upper about 5-13 mm long; all spines, ± curved towards the apex and/or diagonally to the sides, almost completely black or only top part black, lower section whitish - pale grey, young spines partly horn coloured; later becoming ± completely grey, easily removed from the Areole, often as a whole bundle.
Flowers: From the apex, wide, funnel-shaped, about 13-22 mm wide,  on the outside pale greenish-white, on the inside white-cream to very pale yellow, both sides always with plain purple-reddish-brownish mid-stripe.  Stamens with glassy white filaments and dark yellow anthers curved towards the style at full anthesis.
 

Fruits are dry capsules, at first greenish, with increasing maturity brownish, drying out and opening with a vertical slit.

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Scientific Name: Turbinicarpus swobodae L. Diers
Published in:  KuaS, 38(4): 86-91, 1987.

Synonyms:  

• Pediocactus swobodae
• Neolloydia swobodae

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 1.
 

Fruits are dry capsules, at first greenish, with increasing maturity brownish, drying out and opening with a vertical slit.
 

Cultivation: It’s a fairly easy and robust species to cultivate, but slow growing.  It needs a very well-drained soil, and requires strong sun to part sun to keep the plant compact and low and to develop a good spinal growth. Waterings should be rather infrequent to keep the plant compact, and avoid its becoming excessively elongated and unnatural in appearance. Furthermore it has a tap root, and watering it properly is often difficult, because it tends to crack open or rot if over-watered. Careful watering away from the body of the plant will allow the areoles to keep their wool. Keep dry in winter, or when night temperatures remain below 10° C.  It is hardy to -4°C for a short period.  Assure a good ventilation.

Reproduction: From seed, since the plant rarely produces plantlets, or grafted.

Turbinicarpus swobodae is part of the lophophoroides aggregate of taxa, together with the following:

• T. lophophoroides
• T.  jauernigii
• T. hoferi
• T. laui
• T. swobodae 

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.