Copiapoa Britton & Rose (1922)
named after the occurrence of some species nearby the city of Copiapó, Chile
globular, later often columnar, clumping and forms large mounds
gray to green in various shades
ribs in different amount, usually only very slight
spines various also in amount, lenght and color
flowers
short tubular, some fragrant, yellow to light yellow, it is a good identifying feature for this genus
fruits globular, opened at the top if they ripened
seeds usually shiny black |
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Distribution |
north to central Chile
Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo
steppes and mountains |
Growth period |
Copiapoa is usually not easy to cultivate!
at the northern hemisphere is the main growth period in late summer and fall,
therefor in summer keep in sparse shade and relatively dry |
Winter period |
keep dry on a bright and airy location, minimum temperature 8–12°C (46–53°F)
species out of mountains also at colder temperatures |
Substrat |
very porous, minerally and gravelly soil
a addition of pumice, perlite and expanded slate is recommandable |
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| Copiapoa tenuissima F. Ritter (1963) (nom. inval.) |
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Habitat |
Chile
Antofagasta - southern of El Cobre
on coast hills in about 600 m (1968 ft) altitude
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Description |
very thin (acicular) spined Copiapoa
flat or half globular, blackish green to black
ribs 13–16, to 0,4 cm (0.15 in) tall
areoles white, good contrast on nearly black body
spines thin acicular, mostly straight
8–14 radial spines, 0,3–0,6 cm (0.11–0.23 in) long
1 central spine 0,4–0,8 cm (0.15–0.31 in) long
flowers sizeable large, 2–2,6 cm (0.7–1 in) long, pale yellow,
ovary reddish, wooly axilla
fruits globular with same axilla
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Synonyms |
Copiapoa humilis var. tenuissima (F. Ritter) G. J. Charles (1998) (nom. inval.)
Copiapoa humilis ssp. tenuissima (F. Ritter ex D. R. Hunt) D. R. Hunt (2003)
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CITES |
Appendix II |
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