|
C. taltalensis
(Werd) Loos. Plant no.22, map 4.
Body-solitary, globular becoming
elongated with age, 5-15 cm high and 5-10 cm across. 15-16 warty ribs.
Spines cover the top which has silky brown wool; Areoles--brownish
becoming grey; Spines--thin and straight, about 4 cm long. 1 central
about 5 cm long. Flower-yellow 2 cm long. 9-13 stigma lobes. Short scaly
tube; Habitat-presumably Taltal.
Note: Hutchinson considers this
similar to C. humilis. Knize has not been able to find this plant
and the positioning of no.22 on the map is approximate. Taylor (1981)
suggests this is a geographical variety of C. humilis.
|
|
C. tenebrosa
Ritt. (Kakt. Sudamer. 1980)
Collected near Taltal south to
Esmeralda. Taylor (1981) suggests this is
C. cinerea v. cinerea.
|
|
C. tenuissima
Ritt. (Taxon 1963) Plant no.10, map 3. FR 539/40
Body-flat or hemispherical, black
or greenish-black with 13-16 ribs, 3-4 mm high; Areoles--white;
Spines--8-14 radials, thin, acicular, mostly straight, hair like, 3-6 mm
long. Centrals 0-1 (rarely 2),. 4-10 mm long; Flower-20-26 mm long, pale
yellow with petals 10-15 mm long, 5-7 mm wide. Style 10-14 mm long. Tube
4- 7 mm long. Ovary reddish, both tube and ovary have some scales with
hair from the axils; Fruit-more or less globular with scales similar to
ovary; Habitat-coastal hills in Antofagasta.
|
|
Note: Backeberg wonders why the
hairy tube does not mean this is a Pilocopiapoa. In my
translation from the Latin, I understood the meaning to be spines
'mostly erect' not 'mostly straight'. This has made me query my plant. Knize has a 'tenuispina' (KK 1395) which he considers to be the
same as Ritter's 'tenuispina'. My own seed raised plant from
Knize's seed is similar to a humilis type. Ritter stated that his
C. tenuissima had some affinity with C. humilis. My plant
agrees with the photograph in De Herdt's 1977 catalogue. It does not
have erect spines, but more appressed, it has very pronounced tubercles
for this genus and has the most beautiful purple- black skin colouring.
Could it be that C. humilis in habitat stretches from Paposo to
Antofagasta with Ritter's 'tenuissima' in the north and Knize's
'tenuispina' as a link in between? Whether or not Ritter's
'tenuissima' has pronounced tubercles is not known, as it is not
mentioned in the description. Taylor (1981) suggests that C.
tenuissima is a geographical variety of C. humilis.
|
|
C. tocopillana
Ritt. Plant no.1, map 2. FR 1057, KK 655,
KK 1392.
KK 655 was found near Mejillones
whereas KK 1392 was found near Tocopillo .
Note: Taylor (1981) suggests this
is a variety of C. humilis.
|
|
C. totoralensis
Ritt. Plant no.49, map 6. FR 512, KK 30.
Body-flat globular to cylindrical,
offsetting, to 10 cm across, with 10-15 ribs, 1 cm high, spiralling and
grooved. Crown spiny, greyish blue in colouring; Spines--light brown to
deep brown, turning white with age. 6-10 radials to 3 cm long, variable
in thickness. 1-4 centrals, 2.5-4 cm long, strong, straight; Flower-4 cm
long, with pale yellow, short pointed petals; Fruit-roundish, light
brown to reddish brown with shiny black seeds; Roots-thick; Habitat
Totoral.
Note: Ritter indicates that this is
a variable species which is between C. tenuissima and C.
krainzeana.
Taylor (1981) suggests a similarity
to C. megarhiza.
|
|
