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 Description: Solitary beautiful globular
cactus, having green stems with several ribs and closely-spaced areoles.
Stem: Up to 12 cm wide, 35 cm tall, very woolly in the apex.
Plants in this genus always show woodiness in the lower stem as they
age.
Ribs: 20 to 29 prominent
Areoles: Close set.
Central spines: 1 to 4 up to long 1.5 cm.
Flowers: Yellow and diurnal in late autumn, or spring.
Cultivation: Not easy;
it has a large root and
lives among rocks. This tropical cactus prefers loves warm, moist, humid
conditions, and mist spraying is a must in summer. Water regularly during
the growing season and use a very draining mineral potting substrate. At
the onset of winter, do not water. Uebelmannias need heat all year round,
and extra winter heat; minimum 10°C is best. Avoid any frost. Keep cool
in summer. This plant proves to be root prone if kept too cold in winter.
To help stop this, a good deep collar of pumice or lava grit is an
excellent idea. It prefers a full sun position and possibly afternoon
shade in summer. If you can place it so that this occurs, the plant will
be much happier.
Propagation: By seeds. Germinating seeds can also be tricky. But
plants are often grafted making them easier to grow, particularly
through the winter. If possible, using a rootstock that is hardier than
the Uebelmannia is the ideal.
Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars
of plants belonging
to the Uebelmannia pectinifera
complex
(This
Taxon has lots of
synonyms ( like many other
cacti) with several controversial
varieties and subspecies, and comprises a multitude of different
forms, but where each form is linked to others by populations of plants
with intermediate characteristics):
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