About Gymnocalycium mostii (Gürke) Britton & Rose
Gymnocalycium mostii (Gürke) Britton & Rose is a solitary cactus species with dark green, flattened spherical stems. Stems grow 6–7 cm tall, reaching up to 13 cm in diameter, and occasionally grow as large as 20 cm across. This cactus has 11–14 deeply notched ribs that are split into distinct humps. Its spines are strong, curved, yellowish-brown with darker tips, and turn gray as they age. There are 1–2 central spines that grow up to 2 cm long, rarely reaching 3 cm, and 7–11 radial spines that range from 0.6 to 2.2 cm in length. The flowers are pink to white, sometimes with a darker throat, and measure up to 8 cm in both length and diameter. The fruits are egg-shaped, slate to blue-green, and grow up to 1.5 cm in diameter and 2 cm long. This species is native to the Sierras de Córdoba, in Argentina’s Córdoba province, where it grows in grasslands at elevations between 500 and 1500 meters.
