Frailea mammifera | Frailea Pampa Moon.
€15,90
🌱 Morphology
With pigtails on top...Tiny cactus, usually solitary, although it can produce basal offsets. The body is subglobose, barely 3 cm tall and 2–2.5 cm in diameter, bright dark green with violet tones. It features about 17 ribs transformed into rounded, conical tubercles, under whose areoles appear the characteristic crescent-shaped brownish-violet spots. The areoles produce 2–4 golden to brown central spines and about 18–20 thin, whitish or yellowish radial spines. During drought, it can partially retract into the ground.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Southern Brazil, mainly Rio Grande do Sul, as well as populations in northeastern Argentina and Bolivia. It grows in rocky outcrops and stony terrain in the pampas and other subtropical environments, generally at low altitudes. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily. The typical Brazilian population is characterized by its yellow spines; the subspecies angelesiae has reddish spines and an Argentine distribution.
❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −4 ºC when dry and with perfectly acclimatized specimens, although for pot cultivation, it is wiser to protect it from prolonged frosts.
☀️ Lighting
It requires very intense light and several hours of direct sun. As a general guideline during active growth, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended. Intense lighting promotes a compact shape and dark coloration.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. During the cold and dry period, it noticeably reduces its volume and may become partially buried in the substrate. In spring and summer, growth resumes and it is watered abundantly but sparingly, allowing the substrate to dry out completely before repeating.
🌸 Flowering
Flowers are sulfur-yellow, infundibuliform, and about 2.5 cm in diameter, surprisingly large in relation to the body. As with other Frailea, it can produce cleistogamous flowers capable of forming seeds without opening; open flowers appear mainly with high temperatures and intense sun.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low nitrogen levels, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactaceae, is recommended, applied once a month when watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering.
This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
📏 Gourmet xerophyte in a 9x9 cm pot.
* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the specimen sent may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly because, it is a living being! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.
- Shipped today? Order within:
- Hassle-free returns
- Free Shipping on orders over €79.99
Expert advice with every purchase
Our team provides you with personalized advice on caring for your plants and growing media.
-
Secure and protected payment guaranteed.
