(This plant comes in a 3.5 inch pot. All of our plants are grown under the same conditions, although not all the plants are the same. You will receive a similar plant in size and shape to the ones in the pictures. Our plants are hand-picked and carefully selected to bring you the best quality possible. Please allow us up to 3 business days to process your order. If you wish to receive your order on a specific date, or have special instructions, please add a note at the checkout. The plant is shipped in its pot to prevent any damage to the roots.)
Coryphantha cornifera originates mainly in the Mexican states of Querétaro and Hidalgo, south to the Valle de Mexico, north to Guanajuato and sporadically in San Luis Potosí.
Common name: Rhinoceros Cactus
Stem: Flat globose to cylindrical, up to 8-15 cm in diameter, 6-12 cm tall, dull olive-green, apex depressed, with a blunt, depressed apex covered with e wool.
Tubercles: Tubercles are spirally arranged in series of 5 and 8. Conical, rhomboid at the base, obliquely cut, grooved above; on new growth the groove may show some felt. Basal diameter 12-16 mm, 8-14 mm tall. Axil at first woolly, then naked.
Areoles: Oval, 3mm long, 2,5 mm wide (when central spines absent), round 2 mm Ø (when central spine present)
Radial spines: 10 to 20 fairly stout, pale whitish, yellow or horn-coluoured, sometimes darker tipped, 0.9-1.6 cm long, horizontal, irregularly radiating, interwoven, needle-like, straight or slightly curved; in youth pectinate. Occasionally 3-4 thinner spines, more densely set.
Central spines: 0 or 1( to 3), dark brown, becoming grey from the base, subulate. The dominant central is straight, porrect, or curved downward, usually about 1 cm long, but it may be longer on older plants (up to 1,8 cm); the other two protruding laterally, and curved.
Roots: Fibrous root or semi-taproot.
Flowers: Very big, 5-7 cm wide, yellow (occasionally red), funnel shaped, 6-7 cm. The linear segments are lemon-yellow, sometimes red at the base. Filaments reddish to reddish-yellow. Anthers yellow, stigma pale yellow, stigma lobes whitish.
Fruits: Green, juicy with attached flower remnants, 20-25 mm long, 10 mm wide.
Seeds: Reniform (kidney-shaped), brown, 1,3 mm long.
Cultivation and Propagation: In culture C. cornifera is without problems, and regularly shows its large yellow flowers. It does best in slight shade, but does well in full sun too. It is sensitive to overwatering (rot prone), and needs a very porous soil with good drainage. It flowers quite early, but needs about 8-12 years to reach the typical, definite outlook. It tolerates fairly low temperatures as long as it is kept dry (hardy to -5° C or less for short periods of time).
Some of the information in this description has been found at desert-tropicals.com, llifle.com and cactus-art.biz
