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Cumulopuntia pentlandii var. rossiana



20th May 2017


A small growing plant that was once inluded in Opuntia, I'm not sure why I bought it at a cactus meeting, mostly because I have never grown it before and I wanted to show some practical support for the speaker. It is an Opuntia and I have a love/hate relationship with the genus. A couple of years ago I set fire to one of my specimens and distributed the picture as a Christmas card. It is reasonable to say that I am currently experiencing the "hate" aspect of the paradigm. Nasty, ferocious prickly things.
This one may look relatively innocent, but it isn't. In the short time I have had it, I have been spiked.
There are a few members of the group that are hardy outside, and a small number of those will flower occasionally at which point they are moderately interesting. This one comes from the Andes of southern Bolivia and northern Argentina and is unlikely to tolerate winter wet outside though it would shrug off the cold if it were dry. I am very tempted to put it out and see!