Tephrocactus articulatus f. variegated (Cactus)

T. articulatus is a cactus specimen that is very easy to grow because it resists very well to temperature changes, at the same time requiring very simple treatments. The name comes from the Greek and means "ash", in reference to its usual color tending to greyish, but probably also for the spontaneous growth of several species on the ashes of volcanoes. The variegated shape of this cactus has clearer areas at the exact points where the chlorophyll is absent; such areas are never the same from one plant to another, therefore each specimen is absolutely unique, never identical to another and for this extremely sought after by collectors! The stem has a globose or slightly elongated shape, tuberculate and with large white and woolly areoles. From the latter come out at times flattened and soft spines, of white colour and very long, equipped with a deeply bristly tip. The flowering period is spring: its beautiful flowers bloom at the apex of the plant and are very delicate with their shades ranging from white to yellowish.