Description of Turbinicarpus horripilus

T. horripilus [Click the image for more pictures]

Photo © Mark Faint

Roughly columnar, apex simple, or sometimes double or triple headed, green.

Apex sunken, very woolly; axils bare; areoles oval, with much white wool, very soon becoming bare, as in some Echinocacti, elongated; tubercles oval, compressed at the sides, rhombic at the base, spines 14-15, very long, very rigid, pungent, entwined in each other, radiating, very straight, rarely somewhat bent, dissimilar, 3-3.4 cm long, single central spine, longer, somewhat stronger, dark brown becoming greyish white, blackish tip; falling off when reaching the base of the plant.

Flowers still unknown. The height of the plant is 10 cm and more, the diameter 5-7.5 cm.

From the Britton and Rose translation
Simple or somewhat caespitose, globular to short-cylindric, 10 to 12 cm. high; tubercles glaucous, prominent, rounded at apex; radial spines 8 to 10, acicular, spreading, 15 mm long, greyish; central spine solitary, straight, a little longer than the radials; flowers deep purple, 3 cm long; inner perianth-segments narrowly oblong, acute; stigma-lobes 5, white.

Related taxa

Turbinicarpus horripilus is part of the saueri aggregate of taxa, together with the following:

Notes

Remember that at the time when this description was first published (1838) the the genus Echinocactus encompassed a large number of species which are now included in other genera.

References

Cactearum aliquot novarum... 7, 1838.

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