Astrophytum capricorne, morphology
Body: single, globose when young, aged short-columnar up to 50 cm hight and up to 18 cm in diameter.
Epidermis: fresh-leaf green, plants loose to very densely filled with white flakes, on the top usually pink to reddish brown in color.
Ribs: 8, rarely 7 or to 11, sharp-edged, straight or slightly wavy between areoles, rarely spiral, up to 4.5 cm deep.
Areoles: in young plants up to 4 cm apart, then 1-2 cm, rarely confluent in old age; filled with yellowish-pink wool later gray, oval, about 8 mm long.
Spines: (0) -5 - (10), bent from the bottom of the areole, dark to reddish brown and black, later they turn gray in the habitat, flat in cross section, often twisted in itself, bent upward and completely obscuring the apex, slightly pungent 6 to 10 cm long. At the bottom of the body in the habitat often mechanically aborted (wind, animals?).
Flowers: up to 95 mm long, 92 mm up to 140 mm in diameter, yellow with red throat, stamens about 10 mm long, yellow, yellow pencil, up to 38 mm long, 8 up to 12 about 8-10 mm large stigmatas; nectar chamber approximately 3-4 mm in diameter, 19 mm high; ovary about 4 mm in diameter, thick, fleshy receptacle and intensely red colored, outside filled with numerous stinging brown scales.
Fruits: matured in about 4 weeks, fleshy, purple, bottom opening.
Seed: black to brown, hat-shaped, about 2 mm in size, 240 and more seeds per fruit, at maturity with a pink elaiosome serving the dispersal by ants.
Mimikry: With dry grass.
Astrophytum capricorne
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