Tephrocactus molinensis f. crestata

This cactus specimen has a fan-shaped crest which makes it one of a kind and, for this reason, highly sought after by collectors all over the world. The crested shape is a peculiarity, a mutation that never appears identical in different specimens, even of the same species. T. molinensis in its normal form is a cactus that grows in nature near Molinos in the Calchaquí valley in Mexico, and in fact its name derives from this characteristic. It has a globose or ovoid stem that varies in color from green to green-brown and branches easily. At the end of the tubercles, large woolly areoles and tufts of highly variable coloured glochids can be seen: yellow, grey, reddish or brown. When it blooms it gives you beautiful large white or light pink flowers. It is an easy to grow plant, but you have to be very careful when moving or decanting it, because its branches (segments) detach easily.