Encyclopedia

Copiapoa humilis is the most forgiving and widely cultivated species in the Copiapoa genus. Complete care, history, subspecies complex, and locality information for collectors.

Copiapoa laui is the smallest species in the genus Copiapoa. This miniature clustering cactus from the Atacama coast of Chile grows partially underground, anchored by a thick taproot. Critically Endangered in the wild.

Complete guide to Ariocarpus trigonus, the largest species in the genus. Yellow flowers, sharply keeled tubercles, habitat in Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, and how it differs from Ariocarpus retusus.

Encyclopedia entry for Ariocarpus bravoanus subsp. hintonii: the dark, verrucose-textured dwarf from northern San Luis Potosí. Taxonomy, habitat, morphology, cultivation, and comparison with related Ariocarpus taxa.

A deep-dive into Ariocarpus bravoanus: taxonomy, habitat in San Luis Potosí, morphology, conservation, cultivation, and how to distinguish it from related species in the genus.

TaxonomyHabitatMorphologyLocalitiesFloweringGrowthCultivation A mature, seed grown Ariocarpus agavoides. The stiff, dark green tubercles tipped with small spines give this plant a silhouette that looks less like a cactus and more like a miniature Agave or Haworthia. It is the only Ariocarpus that consistently carries spines into adulthood, and once you have seen it in person, you…

Encyclopedia  ·  Ariocarpus TaxonomyHabitatMorphologyAlkaloidsFloweringGrowthCultivation A mature Ariocarpus scaphirostris grown from seed. The elongated, sharply pointed tubercles that give this species its name are unlike anything else in the genus. Each one tapers to a narrow tip and carries a faint keel on its underside, the feature that Friedrich Bödeker compared to the prow of a…

Complete guide to the genus Pseudolithos. Covers selected species including P. cubiformis, P. migiurtinus, P. caput-viperae, and P. mccoyi.

TaxonomyHabitatMorphologyVarietiesFloweringGrowthCultivation A mature Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus type form in cultivation. The star-shaped rosette of narrow deltoid tubercles, each striped with a central furrow of white wool, presses almost flush with the soil surface. In habitat, a dry plant like this can be invisible at arm’s length. Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus Family Cactaceae Named by Lemaire (1842) → K.Schum….

TaxonomyHabitatMorphologySeasonalGrowthCultivationConservation A mature Ariocarpus fissuratus subsp. fissuratus in cultivation. The flat, angular, deeply fissured tubercles and the way the body presses close to the soil surface are immediately recognizable. Nothing else in the desert looks quite like this. A. fissuratus subsp. fissuratus Family Cactaceae Named by Engelmann (1856) → Kladiwa & Fittkau (1976) Native range…