About Lobivia maximiliana (Heyder ex A.Dietr.) Backeb. ex Rausch
Lobivia maximiliana (also referred to as Echinopsis maximiliana) usually grows in small cushions. Its green shoots are spherical to short cylindrical, reaching 5 centimeters in diameter and up to 20 centimeters in height. The cactus has 12 to 20 straight, notched, tuberous ribs. The whitish areoles on these ribs are spaced up to 2 centimeters apart. Four to twelve thorns grow from each areole, though thorns are rarely absent; these spines are very variable in form. As a general rule, the spines cannot be distinguished as separate central and peripheral types. The unequal, curved spines are brownish to yellowish and measure 3 to 5 centimeters long. Short to long tube-funnel-shaped flowers grow laterally on the upper sections of the shoots. The flowers are red with an orange-yellow throat, and may also sometimes be yellow, pink, or purple. They measure 4 to 10 centimeters long, with an equal diameter. The reddish green, hairy fruits grow up to 1.2 centimeters in diameter. This cactus is widespread across the Peruvian regions of Apurímac, Cusco, and Puno, and the Bolivian departments of La Paz and Cochabamba. It grows in the Lake Titicaca basin at altitudes between 3000 and 4800 meters.
