노락선인장

노락선인장

 

 

 

 

과명 Cactaceae (선인장과) 속명 Ferocactus (페로칵투스속) 전체학명 Espostoa lanata (Kunth) Britton & Rose 추천명 노락선인장 이명 외국명 Cactus New old-man; Cactus Snowball; Cotton-ball; Old-man Peruvian

 

Espostoa lanata (= Woolish Espostoa) is a species of cacti of the genus Espostoa.

Its common names are : Peruvian old man cactus, cotton ball cactus, snowball cactus, snowball old man.
Espostoa lanata is a columnar cactus. It looks like Cephalocereus senilis (the Old Man of Mexico) : it is a densely hairy species, covered by a warm woolly coat and well adapted to high altitudes. The main difference is the presence of sharp spines on Espostoa. It is wide spread in its habitat and quite variable in size and spines, and for this reason it has received several names.

The plant is a column up to 7 meters tall in the wild, but only 3 meters when cultivated. The diameter is from 5 to 20 cm. There are 18 to 25 ribs. The ribs and the sharp are mainly hidden by tissue woolly. It branches only after several years.

It flowers at night from a lateral cephalium after several years.

Woolly hairs have been used for pillow filling in Peru.