This Chilean cactus is spread over a large area of coastal northern Chile and more than 100 km inland along river valleys that cut into the coastal mountains. The dark, purplish bodies, often seasonally retracted into the soil by contractile taproots, make them rather cryptic unless in flower. These are described as creamy yellow to reddish. This form is a lovely variant along that spectrum with pink petals, darker pink filaments, and a style which bears white stigmas. It is HBG 48069, grown from seed received October, 1981, collected by Inge Hoffmann from plants growing at about 3500' elevation, on a rocky slope along the Rio del Transito, about 7 km W of El Transito and 50 km E of Vallenar, Huasco Province, Chile. $8.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 92 (2), Summer 2020