Original Description: Bradleya 15
p.73-75 - J.G. Martinez-Avalos & C. Glass (1997)Plant small, generally 35 (rarely up to 180) mm high, cespitose, forming multiheaded groups with up to 15, rarely as many as 35 heads, sprouting from the base and sides of the main stem and forming clusters about 50 to 80 mm in diameter.
Stems ovoid to cylindroid, flowering stems from 15 to 30.3mm in diam.
Tubercles with watery sap, arranged in 5 and 8, later 8 and 13 spirals, conical-cylindroid, hidden by pale yellowish spines, somewhat soft, light green to shiny dark green in color, from 6.0 to 7.5 mm long, and from 3.5 to 5.0 mm in diameter.
Areoles oval, with wool in youth, without hairs; axils with wool but without haris or bristles.
Spines fine, flexible, clear yellow in color, finely hirsute with abundant tiny hairs measuring from 7 to 24 micros long; radial spines 16 to 21, to 4 -5 mm long, finely acicular, pale yellow, almost orange and reflexed at the base and arranged more or less pectinately; central spines to 5, often only 1 or 2, sometimes absent, shorter than the radials, from 0.17 mm long, arising from the line between the two rows of radial spines
Flowers broad-throated, funnelform-campanulate, from 10 to 13 mm diam., 12-14mm long, reaching 5 to 8 mm beyond the tubercle, tube pale green, 2-2.5 mm in diam. at ovary expanding to 5.5mm in diameter at base of perianth segments, outer perianth segments small, acute, greenish on the outer surface, the margins whitish; inner perianth segments 12 to 15, oblong to oblanceolate, 2 to 4 mm wide, pale to lively pink with darker pink mid-line or narrow stripe, margins entire, tip acute.
Fruit to 10 mm long, plus 1 mm of dried, persistent perianth, 2.5mm in diameter, pale tomato red, soft, almost always breaking off at the base when forcibly removed, thus leaving a few seeds between the bases of the tubercles.
Seeds with black testa, irregularly tuberculate, 1.0 to 1.1 mm long, 7.5 to 8mm in diameter, with curved embryo |
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