Description of Turbinicarpus mandragora

Fric ex Berger, Kakteen, 255, 1929
Latin description not given.

Root tuberous at the bottom. Body 4-6 cm thick, ± spherical, completely covered by the spines. Tubercles closely packed, oval, 4-angled, grey green. Areoles round, on the tip the tubercles, initially with white wool. Radial spines about 12, radiating, porrect, slightly curved inwards, awl like, white. Central spines mostly 2, stronger, 2 cm long, erect, tipped brown, often with 1-2 more slender sub-centrals. Flowers several from the apex, 2 cm long, 2.5 cm wide; external perianth segments oblong, obtuse, green; internal white, outside with fine pink mid-stripe; throat green. Filaments greenish white; Style yellowish; stigma lobes 5, pale pink.

From the Glass translation
Fruit bare, without scales, dehiscent by longitudinal slit. Seeds black, finely tuberculate.

Notes

The true species is probably extremely rare in cultivation as most of the currently available seed and plants are of T. mandragora ssp. beguinii.

In Bradleya 18, 41-44, 2000, Alessandro Mosco and Carlo Zanovello transfered taxa to their new monotypic genus Lodia.

The citation for this taxa has, in the past, been erroneously given as Kakteen, 225, 1929, when in fact the correct page number is 255,

Related taxa

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

References

Kakteen, 255, 1929.
Identification guide to threatened cacti of México, Charles E. Glass.
Bradleya 18, 41-44, 2000.

Site Created By: Mark Faint Maintained With: HTML-Kit HTML Checked By: Weblint, HTMLCheck, NSGMLS & SP Wizard Last Modified: 3rd November 2000 Comment (Email): Webmaster@mfaint.demon.co.uk Comment (Form): Fill out a form