Cactus Identification

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus subsp. elephantidens

Common Name:Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus subsp. elephantidens
Scientific Name:Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus subsp. elephantidens
Family: cactaceae
Type:Cactus/Succulent
Water:Dry
Soil PH:6.1-7.8
Flower Color:Pink, purple
Special Characteristics:Container, showy flowers
Hardiness Zone(s):8-11
Height At Maturity:1-6"
Sun:Full Sun, Partial Sun
Sub Type:Houseplant

Origin and Habitat:
Mexico, Ariocarpus koschoubeyanus is widely distributed as a large number of small, isolated populations in a big area extending over 600 km, from central Coahuila in the north to Queretaro in the south, and the species is also found in the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. The "elephantidens" is the southern form of the species.

Description:
Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus are very flat geophyte cactus that produce small star-shaped rosettes. They in most cases don't reach more than only a few centimetres above the ground. Although they can form clumps, often only a small disc of tubercles can be seen flat at the soil surface, however these plants grow a large tap root below the surface of the compost.
Remarks:
The southerly form ( known as A. kotschoubeyanus var. elephantendens) are much larger with larger, highly textured, triangulate tubercles, and a deep purple flower with little or no white content.
Stem:
Usually solitary, rarely giving rise to side shoots from old areoles, flattened on top, depressed centrally.
Tubercles:
The tubercles are deltoid dark olive green with no spines and lie flat on the soil surface. They are more long than wide, closely packed and divergent, sharply angled apically.
Areoles:
The tubecles forms a central longitudinal areolar groove extending to the tips on the adaxial surfaces of the tubercles, woolly, 1-3 mm wide, 5-10 mm long.
Root:
Each plant has a large turnip-like taproot, which lies below the soil surface and serves for water storage.
Flowers: These plants have a woolly crown, from which emerge bright pink-violet flowers up to 2.5-5 cm, 2 times wider than long when fully expanded. Flowers are diurnal and last for 3 to 4 days. The white-flowered variety was described as var. albiflorus.
Blooming time:
Mid-September onwards.
Fruits:
White or green with lots of seed.

Cultivation and Propagation: The plants need deep pots to accommodate the napiform unit formed by the stem base and the rootstock , and a loose mineral soil with a well-drained substrate. They need a good amount of light, a place near the roof of the greenhouse helps drying the pot after watering. This can be done weekly during summertime, if the weather is sunny enough, with a little fertilizer added. Kept this way, plants will show a healthy, although slow growth. They are frost hardly to -10°C.