I grew the plants below from seed purchased from Succseed as "Rebutia spec. Lara & Aguilar (Tarija-Narvaez, Tarija, Bol.)" The website mentions that it is also known as "R. narvaecensis de Lara & Aguilar" but also that it is probably a new species.
Succseed doesn't separate Aylostera from Rebutia but for my records I do, as I try to go by POWO as far as possible. If this is genuinely related to (or the same as) Aylostera narvaecense then I'd like to catalogue and label it as such. Is there a straightforward way for a non-botanist to tell an Aylostera from a Rebutia. I'm sure I've read, probably here, about Aylostera having bristly flower stems but the second photo below doesn't show much of this. Have I got this the wrong way round, or is the little tuft at the base of the flower enough to count?
(Apologies for the remains of a slime trail visible in the first photo - the snails are making merry in my greenhouse at the moment. Most cacti they seem to leave a mess on without doing major damage but they have taken chunks out of an Aylostera pygmaea as well as several the other succulents).
Philip P-V
Poole, Dorset
Growing South American cacti, Echinocereus, succulent bromeliads, smaller Aloeae, hardy Crassulaceae and whatever else catches my eye.
I have what I believe to be the same species, raised from seed from the BCSS seed pool.
That was supplied as a form of Rebutia spinosissima, which I believe to have been reassigned to Aylostera.
Pretty, aren’t they.
I like the combination of spine colour and flower colour.
ADBLPS lists this one as an Aylostera narvaecensis v. nova E._Aguilar_&_R._Lara under Aylostera.
It looks a bit like a cross between Aylostera narvaecensis and A. muscula!
Thanks all. I now feel fairly confident in labelling it as an Aylostera. Further back-up was provided by the plants themselves, as the flowers do seem to develop a few more bristles as they age, and by my A. heliosa which helpfully came into bloom, displaying very clean stems to the flower except at the very base. Unfortunately I have no Rebutias (in the very strictest sense, excluding sulcos and Weingartias) of flowering size to compare with.
Philip P-V
Poole, Dorset
Growing South American cacti, Echinocereus, succulent bromeliads, smaller Aloeae, hardy Crassulaceae and whatever else catches my eye.
I relabelled all of mine this winter following the guidance on Paul’s national collection website. I retain Mediolobivia as I like them as a separate appearing group. With loads in flower at the moment I looked at the blooms and can confirm they follow the hairs rule pretty well. The plant in question sits firmly in the Aylostera section of my collection.
