The doubly superlative epithets of this variety give a hint of the subtle beauty of this taxon. Within a highly variable species, this variety alone is enough to keep aficionados of the genus engaged for generations, selecting from a seemingly vast potential of degrees of glossiness and translucence, lineate patterns and papillae: hence, the difficulty of separating some forms from related species such as H. magnifica and even H. pygmaea. We offer HBG 90224, from controlled pollination of plants from the “ambiguous” population (showing characteristics of H. magnifica var. major and H. emelyae) referred to by S. Hammer in the original description in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, 70 (4): 180-182 (1998), collected Nov 3, 1994, by Ed Dunne and Mary Parisi (# 94-01), E of Albertinia, W Cape, S. Africa. $12.50.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 76 (2), March - April, 2004