🌱 Morphology
   A miniature plant sculpture. Generally solitary, slow-growing cactus with a globose body that can become short-cylindrical with age. It can reach approximately 75–100 cm in height and up to 15 cm in diameter. The epidermis has a characteristic gray-green, brownish-green, or reddish surface, frequently covered with small whitish waxy scales that give it a rough and granular appearance.

It develops approximately 15–40 ribs that are very pronounced, narrow, and with sharp edges. The areoles are small, very close together, and initially covered with grayish or brown wool. The spines are short, straight, and numerous, and can be arranged in a pectinate manner, that is, spread laterally like the teeth of a comb. In adult specimens, the combination of deep ribs, scaly epidermis, and pectinate spines produces a very characteristic appearance.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Endemic species of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil, where it grows in the rupestrian fields of the Serra do Espinhaço, associated with rocky outcrops, crevices, and highly mineral soils. It is found at approximately 650 to 1,400 m above sea level, according to known populations. Its habitat is characterized by marked seasonality and high sun exposure.

It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily, and Cereeae tribe. Within this tribe, Uebelmannia constitutes an independent evolutionary lineage that is currently recognized as the Uebelmanniinae subtribe.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9a
Tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −4 ºC in dry, well-acclimatized specimens protected from moisture. It comes from a seasonal tropical mountain environment, but not from regions habitually subjected to severe frosts. During winter, it is especially important to keep both the body and the substrate completely dry.

☀️ Lighting
It needs very intense lighting and can be grown in full sun when properly acclimatized. High radiation promotes compact growth, the formation of deep ribs, and the expression of the waxy scales on the epidermis.

As a target during the active growth period, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. During winter, it must be kept completely dry. Low temperatures combined with prolonged moisture considerably increase the risk of root damage and rot.

With the increase in temperatures in spring, active growth begins. During spring and summer, abundant watering is recommended, completely wetting the substrate and allowing it to dry out completely before the next watering. Drainage must be very fast, as in its natural habitat it grows among rocky materials and mineral soils.

At the end of summer and during autumn, water input is gradually reduced until winter dormancy is reached.

🌸 Flowering
It produces relatively small flowers for the size of the cactus, approximately 2–3 cm in diameter, which appear near the apex. They are in yellowish to greenish tones, with perianth segments that open during the day.

After flowering, it develops little-fleshy fruits, with a reddish to vinous coloration, which retain remnants of the perianth at the tip.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low levels of nitrogen is recommended, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactaceae, 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 and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

Gourmet black pot of 7x7 cm and 9x9 cm