Melocactus diersianus

This spherical, very geometric plant is one of the many local forms of Melocactus levitestatus found in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Like all Melocactus, this cactacea is also very difficult to distinguish from the others, because it is always characterized by the typical dark green color, as well as by rather long and curved reddish-orange spines. At a certain age, when the cactus stops growing, a whitish spherical cephalium develops at the apex of the plant, formed by red bristles, from which small magenta flowers with thin petals bloom. The cephalium tends to grow, not in diameter, but only in height, assuming a characteristic cylindrical shape, that also gives an idea of the age of the plant.