€31,80

Rapicactus beguinii (N.P.Taylor) Lüthy 

🌱 Morphology
  A rare and tiny cactus, usually solitary, with a globose to slightly conical body, bluish-green, about 6–8 cm in diameter. The apex is deeply sunken and covered by dense white wool. The body is divided into 13–21 conical tubercles, arranged in a spiral with a rhomboidal profile. It develops a taproot that penetrates deeply into the soil. The radial spines are numerous, fine, and very close together, white and translucent, with dark tips; it usually presents a longer central spine, white with a dark brown or black tip. The spination, resembling small crystals, is one of its greatest attractions.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Endemic to northeastern Mexico, with populations in Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. It lives at approximately 1,900 to 2,100 m elevation, on limestone slopes, warm steppes, scrublands, and pine forests, forming scattered colonies and often growing half-buried among vegetation and rocks. It belongs to the Cactaceae family. Historically, it has moved through the genera Thelocactus, Gymnocactus, Neolloydia, and Turbinicarpus, until its current combination in Rapicactus.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 8b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −9 ºC when kept dry and with well-acclimated specimens. Its mountainous origin allows it to withstand significant frosts, but the combination of cold and prolonged humidity is dangerous for its tuberous root.

☀️ Lighting
It needs plenty of light and several hours of direct sun to maintain its compact shape and characteristic white spination. During active growth, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended as a reference.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. During winter, it must be kept completely dry. It is a slow-growing species, primarily active in summer. In spring and summer, perform deep but very infrequent waterings, allowing the substrate to dry out completely. The tuberous root requires an extraordinarily well-draining substrate and excellent ventilation, especially after flowering.

🌸 Flowering
The first blooms occur from 3 years of age. The flowers, surprisingly large for the size of the plant, reach about 2–2.5 cm and are funnel-shaped. The inner segments are magenta to deep violet, with lighter edges; the outer ones have greenish tones with a violet margin. The stamens are white with chrome-yellow anthers, and the white style protrudes above them. Flowering occurs mainly in summer.

🌿 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 technological square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

8x8 cm pot

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