Gymnocalycium eurypleurum F.Ritter

🌱 Morphology
Solitary, slow-growing cactus with a globose-depressed body, bright green, olive green, or brownish, which may become slightly columnar with age. It reaches approximately 7–15 cm in diameter, potentially reaching about 20 cm in exceptional specimens. It features 7–12 very wide and low ribs, up to 16, with barely marked protuberances and a small horizontal depression above the areoles. These are covered with fine wool and usually produce 7 radial spines, robust and acicular, crystalline white, yellowish, or light brown, up to 3–6 cm long and generally directed upwards. Central spines are usually absent.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Endemic to northern Paraguay, mainly in the Alto Paraguay department, from Cerro León to areas near the border with Bolivia, between 100 and 600 m. It lives in the understory of dry and thorny deciduous forests, growing among dense scrub, bromeliads, and other xerophytes. The soil is clayey-silty, covered by loess and rich in nutrients, but it hardens extraordinarily during the dry season. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily, and Trichocereeae tribe.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9a
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −5 ºC when kept dry and with well-acclimated specimens. In cultivation, it must be especially protected from cold humidity.

☀️ Lighting
Partial shade. It appreciates plenty of light, but not necessarily scorching sun all day. In its habitat, it grows under the canopy of dry forests. Soft morning sun or very intense light with protection during the central hours of summer is recommended. During active growth, 15–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ of DLI PAR is suitable. Excessive exposure can cause burns or stunt growth.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. It is kept practically dry during the winter. With rising temperatures, watering is resumed, deep but spaced out, allowing the substrate to dry out completely. During summer, it tolerates more water availability than a strictly desert cactus, always with excellent drainage. In its habitat, it withstands a very marked dry season, during which the soil becomes hard.

🌸 Flowering
It produces white to pinkish-white, bell-shaped flowers, about 3 cm, with violet outer petals and a characteristic purple central band. They appear near the apex during the warm season. The species flowers freely during the summer and can produce several successive flowers throughout the season. The fruits are fleshy, reddish, and about 2 cm long.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with high assimilable calcium content and low nitrogen levels, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactáceas, is recommended, applied once a month during watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Floración.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi from the basic collection

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The plant's measurements 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.

📏 The sizes of our basic collection xerophytes are as follows:

S -> 9cm x 9cm

M-> 14cm x 14 cm

L->16cm x 16 cm

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The plant's measurements 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.