Friday, July 6, 2012

Oreocereus doelzianus

We always knew this plant as Morawetzia doelziana, but it's now changed to Oreocereus doelzianus. It's also one of the several plants known by the common name "Old Man of the Andes." The flowers come - and do they ever - from the cephalium. These plants are of easy culture, provided they have adequate light.
 

4 comments:

  1. Stunning flowers and plant too Luther! Are the flowers scented? The vibrant pink flowers remind me a little of bromeliad flowers..

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    1. No, no scent, but certainly colorful enough. There's a hint of blue in the flower, which doesn't show up much in this photo. Now if someone could create a cactus with a truly blue flower...that would be weird.

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  2. Gorgeous flowers! I have a different Oreocereus species, but it's still under a foot tall. I had no idea that they developed a cephalium before blooming, is that for all Oreocereus?

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    1. No. I think that's part of the reason this was originally in a different genus. There used to be more Oreocereus species as well, the the taxonomists have reduced the number to around 8.

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