This small Chilean cactus has confused taxonomists and collectors (see correction for 2013-4) ever since its original description as Neoporteria taltalensis in 1955. Since then, various forms have been redescribed under more than 20 different synonyms. The most recent of these is Neoporteria transiens, the name under which the form offered here came to us. It is now considered to belong to the type subspecies which is said to include red (in the broad sense) to white-flowered forms. Ours has magenta flowers typical of the Neoporteria group but when not in flower can be easily confused with subsp. pygmaea with its dense, dark-colored spines. We offer later generation seedlings from seed originally collected by German explorer Wolfgang Krahn (WK 781) near Taltal, Antofagasta Province, Chile. HBG 123342, $7.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 87 (3), May - June, 2015