Notocactus scopa f. xicoi (W.R.Abraham) N.Gerloff & Neduchal

Notocactus scopa f. xicoi (W.R.Abraham) N.Gerloff & Neduchal

Origin and Habitat: Municipality of Pedras Altas and Herval, Rio Grand do Sul, in southern Brazil (Southern America).
Altitude range: Around 200 m above sea level. N. N.
Habitat and ecology: The plants grow in full sun on a east-facing slope, together with Notocactus mammulosus, Notocactus arechavaletae and a Malalocarpus spec. The pH of the substrate is 5.2.

Description: Notocactus scopa f. xicoi is one of the morphological or local forms of Parodia scopa, distinguished by fewer ribs and fewer spines. Particularly striking are the numerous purple brown central spines (often lacking in younger specimen). Unlike the clustering and similarly red-spined Notocactus scopa f. ruberrimus Fric, and Notocactus scopa f. rubrispinus n.n. mentioned in the La Plata coast, the Notocactus scopa f. xicoi usually has a solitary growing stem up to 50 cm long. At present most authors have dismissed Notocactus scopa f. xicoi as perhaps not worthy of even varietal status, but it still has a value for a collector because they identify plants with particular characters.
Derivation of specific name: This member of the Cactaceae family was named after the Brazilian artist and cactus collector Francisco (Xico) Stockinger.
Stems: Solitary, rarely clumping, blue-green, up to 11 cm in diameter and more than 50 cm long, at first erect then lying on the ground except for their raised tips.
Ribs: 21-28, flat, vertical with an indentations between the areoles c. 1 mm deep.
Areoles: 3 mm in diameter, 3-5 mm apart.
Radial spines: 20-25, white, 4-6 mm long, straight and laterally spreading.
Central spines: 10-17, reddish brown to almost black, straight and pungent. one of the central spines almost always vertical, the other surrounding it in a circle, at the same angle of inclination of the radial spines.
Flower: 30 mm long, 34-40 mm wide. Tepals sulphur yellow to yellow, lanceolate, obtuse without a hooked tip. Stamens yellow, inserted about 2 mm below the margin. Pistil red with about 9 stigma lobes, 2-3 mm long, moderately spreading, self-sterile.
Fruit: up to 8 mm long and 5 mm wide.
Seeds:: 0.7 mm long and wide. Testa dull black. Testa cells oval to round, curved, pitted punctured. Microphile recognizable as a distinct cone.

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