Gymnocalycium uruguayense


Gymnocalycium uruguayense is a species of Gymnocalycium from Brazil and Uruguay.

Description

Gymnocalycium uruguayense forms groups with juicy, green to blue-green bulbous body which is low to the ground, flattened, spherical shoots that are either flush with the ground or protrude 3 to 4 centimeters. These shoots have diameters of 5 to 10 centimeters. The plant features 6 to 10 ribs divided into hexagonal humps with noticeable chin-like projections. It lacks central spines but has 3 to 7 finely fluffy, straight to slightly curved, yellowish-brown to whitish marginal spines, 1 to 3 centimeters long.
The bell-shaped flowers are whitish to lemon yellow or pink, sometimes greenish-yellow, and reach up to 4 centimeters in length and 5.5 to 6.5 centimeters in diameter. The flowers are occasionally unisexual, and the plants are dioecious. The elongated to egg-shaped fruits are dark green to blue-green, up to 2 centimeters long, and 1 centimeter in diameter.

Distribution

Gymnocalycium uruguayense is found in Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) and Uruguay.

Taxonomy

First described as Echinocactus uruguayensis by José Arechavaleta in 1905, the species name refers to its distribution in Uruguay. In 1922, Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose reclassified it under the genus Gymnocalycium.