Still better known in cultivation as Neochilenia napina, this small tap-rooted cactus is distinctive in its globular grayish (or sometimes reddish) body with tubercles surmounted by spidery black spines reminiscent of an older but wiser Sulcorebutia rauschii. The flowers are light yellow and often as large as the plant body. The large buds are also conspicuous, as they are clothed in dense wool. Seedlings from controlled pollination of HBG 73827, which were grown from seed originally collected Nov. 30, 1991, by U. Eggli and B. Leuenberger (# 1827) from plants growing among gravel and pebbles, at 20-60 m elev., 3 km E of Huasco, Huasco Prov., Chile. Eggli reports that population density in this area is as high as 25 individuals per square meter! HBG 119250. $6.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 78 (2), March - April, 2006