This is one of 2 plants raised from seed from Mesa Garden that was bought as Cleistocactus winteri ssp colademano
What you cant tell very easily from the photo is that the plant has a strong background spination which is dense and golden coloured, rather like the other subspecies. The stems are rather rigid when young but arch downwards. The other seedling is floppier stemmed and slightly hairier but the flowers are identical. I'm guessing that this is a hybrid, possibly with Cleisocactus samaipatanus. I'm aware that this hybrid has been made deliberately in the past but I cant find a picture on the internet to compare it with.
Ay Cleistocactus enhusiasts out there with an opinion?
This is a beautiful fairly recent introduction and to me this looks very similar to my own plants. It is meant to be pendant, extra hairy from the flowering areas and is named for its similarity to a monkey's tail. It should be soft and strokeable towards the growing point without harm to the plant or yourself.
There are hybrids around, but these are usually crossed to produce double flowers and introduce a different flower colour.
I would be perfectly happy that I had the correct plant for the label if it were mine.
Thanks Suzanne, that is interesting. My plants are definitely not strokeable, there is un undercurrent of quite sharp yellow spines The pictures of ssp colademono I have seen always show redder flowers than my plant (my photo doesnt quite do justice to how orange the flowers are), without the pale edge or with a few petals with pale edges, and the description in the current Bradleya says spines white, which is why I wondered if it was a hybrid. I have also seedlings from this years BCSS seedlist under the collection number WK950 which so far at least, have soft pure white spines...
My plants under this name have a mixture of spines and hairs - the ends are certainly stroke-able but in one direction only! This is what they looked like 4+ years ago: http://www.society.bcss.org.uk/index.ph ... -2012.html
I'll see if I can take some new photos soon.
Tony Roberts
Treasurer, Haworthia Society
Chairman, Tephrocactus Study Group
Moderator, BCSS Forum
Kent
(Gasteria, Mammillaria, small Opuntia, Cleistocactus and Sempervivum are my current special interests)
Thanks Tony, nice plants! Yours look a fair bit whiter-spined and generally hairier than my plants, although the flower colour is identical as far as I can see.
I'm beginning to be reassured that my plants aren't hybrids.
It would be interesting to see pictures from other growers, perhaps it is all natural population variation?
A search of the forum reveals a splendid and very hairy plant owned by Peter Cupial-Jones, with flowers that appear to be dark red rather than orange-red
It's not flowered yet, but given that Denmoza flowers are very similar to those of Cleistocacti I reckon that we know what they'll look like!
You're right about the old O. pachypus.
I grew H.colademononis from seed a couple of years ago and found there to be quite a bit of variation in amount of soft hairs and bristly spines between individuals.
Perhaps the early, strokeable, representatives of the new species were propagated from the same 'selected' clone
Especially interested in Mesembs. small Aloes and South African miniatures and bulbs.
Keen propagator and compulsive 'tickler'! Instagram #myscottishgreenhouse
The pictures of ssp colademono I have seen always show redder flowers than my plant (my photo doesnt quite do justice to how orange the flowers are), without the pale edge or with a few petals with pale edges, and the description in the current Bradleya says spines white, which is why I wondered if it was a hybrid. I have also seedlings from this years BCSS seedlist under the collection number WK950 which so far at least, have soft pure white spines...
