Frailea pygmaea

The name of this species comes from the Latin word "pygmaeus" which means "dwarf", referring to the small size of the plant. In fact, it has a globular or slightly elongated stem that widens at the apex, which generally doesn't exceed 2 cm in diameter; it has yellow-brownish cylindrical areoles, from which very short combed glassy white spines emerge, that are flattened on both sides of the areola along the stem. In summer, large, very showy and ornamental pale yellow flowers bloom on the apex. The large tuberous root allows the plant to survive even during drought, moreover, to protect itself from bad weather, this small cactus is able to "deflate" until it hides almost completely under the ground!