All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.

Discocactus eptacanthus
The name eptacanthus means "with seven spines" but the actual number of spines varies from 5 to 11 depending on origin and size of the plant.

Description: D. eptacanthus is a very variable species which received several different controversial names, many of them are still used in the trade. It is a solitary flattened cactus that form a cephalium at maturity. Some authors consider it a complex of several species and subspecies.
Stem: Globose or slightly depressed, light green to grey-green, 8-28 cm in diameter, 4,5-15 cm tall (without cephalium)
Ribs: 10-22, up to 2m high, broken up into large, rounded tubercles, with more or less deep furrows between, sometime spiralling.
Areoles: Round or oval, at first tomentose, approx 6-10 per rib (in plants with cephalium).
Cephalium: Small, 3-4 cm tall woolly, white to dull pastel with brow or black erected bristles 3-5 cm long.
Spines: Whitish, yellowish or brown becoming grey with age, more or less translucent, needle-like or flattened (sometime with vertical flowers in summer l grooves)
Radial spines: Typically 7, but variable in number from 5 to 11, up to 1,5 cm long (or more), stout, very rough and slightly recurved.
Central spines: occasionally a central spine
Fruit: Usually white or pale pink.
Flowers: Nocturnal, fragrant, white (or pale pink), funnel form, nocturnal, 5-7.5 cm long and 5 cm in diameter.
Blooming season: Flowers come in profusion in summer, out of the cephalium.
 

Cultivation: Collectors consider this cactus genus from South America to be rarities as they are not the easiest plant to keep happy. it is rather difficult to grow and frost tender, should be kept at above 15° C if grown on its own roots (8°C if grafted) need full sun or afternoon shade. Young seedlings are generally grafted because they are slow growing and very rot prone when kept on their own roots and though they can’t endure long stretches of total dryness, too much water will rot them, as their weak root systems tend to be inefficient at sucking up water from wet soil. They generally resent being repotted and can take a long time to establish.

Propagation: Seed.
 

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Discocactus eptacanthus complex (This Taxon has lots of synonyms  whit several controversial varieties and subspecies and comprises a multitude of different forms, but where each form is linked to others by populations of plants with intermediate characteristics):

• Discocactus eptacanthus
• Discocactus magnimammus (D. heptacanthus ssp. magnimammus)

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Scientific name:   Discocactus heptacanthus (Barb.Rodr.) Britton & Rose
Place of publication: Cact. 3:218. 1922

Original description: Malocarpus heptacanthus Barb.Rodriguez
In Plantae Mato Grosso 29. 1898.

Subfamily: Cactoideae tribe: Trichocereeae.

Origin:  Eastrern Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil (Mato groso, Goias, western minas gerias, and western bahia), at low altitude.
 
Habitat: This cactus grows often in the shade of trees.

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 1.These species are threatened with extinction.

Some Synonyms (of: Discocactus heptacanthus ssp. heptacanthus):  

• Discocactus boliviensis Buining et al.
• Discocactus cangaensis Diers & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus catingicola ssp. griseus (Buining & Brederoo) Braun & Esteves Pereira.
• Discocactus catingicola ssp. rapirhizus (Buining & Brederoo) Braun & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus cephaliaciculosus Buining & Brederoo
• Discocactus crassispnus Braun & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus crassispinus ssp. araguaiensis Braun & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus diersianus Esteves
• Discocactus diersianus ssp. goianus (Diers & Esteves Pereira). Braun & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus estevesii Diers & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus flavispinus Buining et al.
• Discocactus goianus Diers & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus griseus Buining & Brederoo
• Discocactus hartmannii ssp. setosiflorus Braun & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus heptacanthus ssp. melanochlorus (Buining et al.) Braun & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus lindanus Diers & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus melanochlorus Buining et al.
• Discocactus prominentigibbus Diers & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus rapirhizus Buining & Brederoo
• Discocactus semicampaniflorus Buining & Brederoo
• Discocactus silicicola Buining & Brederoo
• Discocactus silvaticus Buining et al.
• Discocactus squamibaccatus Buining et al.
• Discocactus subterraneo-proliferans Diers & Esteves Pereira
• Discocactus cephaliaciculosus ssp. nudicephalus Braun & Esteves Pereira

This variable species has ribs that are broken up into large, rounded tubercles, with more or less deep furrows between, sometime spiralling.

All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.