Parodia ottonis?

[loyall]

I am looking to confirm this cactus as Parodia ottonis alias Notocactus ottonis. It is about 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter. The blossoms look to be yellow. I will know for sure in a few days. The spines are what I would describe as somewhat pitiful; sparse, thin, curved, and twisted. What do you think?

P ottonis_20220418_01.jpg (80.08 KiB) Viewed 759 times

[DaveW]

Yes, one of the ottonis group since they all look pretty similar. Quite a few different specific names have been created in the past and many now dumped into synonymy, depending if you are a "splitter" or "lumper". But you can check against the synonyms given in this link.

http://www.cactusinhabitat.org/index.php?p=specie&id=98

[loyall]

Thank you DaveW. The World of Succulents webpage describes P ottonis spines as slender, hair-like, curved or twisted, and up to 4cm long. Kind of like mine. Most photos on Cactusinhabitat show stouter straighter spines. I read on this forum that amount of sun can affect spination.

[Download]

Ah, I have a cacti just like this that I found at IKEA last year. Nice to have a name for it.

[loyall]

Pitiful spines;pretty flowers.

P ottonis_20220421_09.jpg (69.36 KiB) Viewed 659 times

[greenknight]

It's a highly variable species, which accounts for the confusion of names.

Yes, more sun would give stronger spine development - but don't overdo it, this species looks its best if given light shade. If you could give it some direct sun in the morning before the sun gets too high, that might work well.

[loyall]

Thanks Spence. I wasn't complaining. "Pitiful spines; pretty flowers" was meant to be a description. My ottonis is getting several hours of sun daily on my south windowsill. I am happy with how it looks.

[greenknight]

Good to hear - it seems to be thriving in its current location, no need to change anything.