Aztekium hintonii


Aztekium hintonii, is a species of cactus in the genus Aztekium.

Description

The specimens are small solitary plants with green to greyish-green, spherical to short columnar stem, up to 10 cm in diameter and 6-10 cm high. The 10 to 15 very sharp-edged and clearly pronounced ribs have numerous very fine, transverse wrinkles on their flanks. The ribs are 6 to 12 millimeters high and 3 to 4 millimeters wide. They become even wider with age. The 2-3 spines are strongly curved and are up to 13 millimeters long. The magenta-colored flowers reach a diameter of 1 to 3 centimeters.
Red flowers 1-3 cm in diameter. Fruits elongated at the central apex.

Distribution

Aztekium hintonii is endemic to the north of the Sierra Madre Oriental, in the municipality of Galeana, Nuevo León. It lives from 1100 to 1200 m above sea level, on gypsum cliffs with xeric scrub, associated with other cacti and other plants such as Selaginella gypsophila and Selaginella lepidophylla. Minimum average temperature 10 °C in full sun, little water, porous substrate with a high percentage of gypsum. They reproduce through seeds, they are grafted to accelerate their slow growth.

Taxonomy

Aztekium hintonii, a species discovered by George Sebastian Hinton, was scientifically described and published in 1992 by Charles Edward Glass and Walter Alfred Fitz Maurice in the journal Cactáceas y Suculentas Mexicanas.

Cultivation

Aztekium hintonii is easier to grow than Aztekium ritteri, but it is easy to lose during first years due to mistakes in cultivation.