Echinopsis sylvestrii

• 28 Apr, 2015
• 2 likes

So many names have been given to this lowly little plant so far from its native Argentina, Peanut Cactus etc; so very common, found on almost every windowsill and in church charity sales and often despised by collectors as not worthy of a place in their collections. A friend of my wife once said of my specimen, ‘It looks like men’s hangings.’ Ha ha. Once considered a botanical oddity not closely related to any other cactus it was given a genus of its own with no other members; Chamaecereus. Then named Lobivia etc It has now been rightfully included in the The Genus Echinopsis along with so many of its other beautiful, large-flowered relatives. (Beware, the naming of this plant is a mess; confusion confounded, everyone disagrees so sort it out for yourself. Good luck.) Often languishing, neglected, and starved on some cold, miserable, sunless windowsill it seems to live forever and ever but never, ever flowers. Given plenty of sunshine, water and feed with a long, dry winter’s rest this is the result in the Spring. Not such a low and ugly little runt now - The Ugly Duckling of the Cactus World has come into its own.