Flower to nearly 5 inches (12.5 cm) across. Petals rhomboidal, glossy dark magenta with bright orange basal stripe and midrib. Outer petals slightly paler than inners. Throat-circle pinkish-red. Filaments dark red, anthers contrasting cream-colored. Stem globular, to 3½ inches (9 cm) in diameter; central spines to 1 inch (24 mm) long. Named for the K-T event (Cretaceous – Tertiary Mass Extinction event) which resulted from the collision of a 6-mile wide asteroid with the Yucatan peninsula. This cataclysmic event 66 million years ago resulted in the extinction of most life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. ISI 2000-17; HBG 85188, Schick 1542-27.
