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Ariocarpus
Ariocarpus is a small genus of very slow-growing, rare, endangered cacti from Mexico and south Texas, grown for their flattened, leaf-like tubercles. The key to growing them is sharp-draining soil, full sun, and keeping them almost dry in winter.
Ariocarpus is a small genus of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Cactaceae.
It comes from limestone hills of Rio Grande in the south of Texas (Ariocarpus fissuratus) and also the north and the center of Mexico (all other species including A. fissuratus forms known as A. loydii and A. fissuratus var. intermedius) with strong sunshine exposures.
While very slow growing, a number of species, A. retusus for instance, are not particularly difficult to keep.
Ariocarpus species have a tuberous root system and are quite sensitive to soil conditions, preferring sharply draining loam based soils with minimal humus. Care should be taken to avoid overwatering, allowing the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Plants require water only during periods of summer growth and should be kept perfectly dry overwinter, with a minimum temperature of 12 °C, although certain species can cope with considerably cooler conditions.
With one exception, the genus is native to the central parts of Mexico, the northeast and the southwest. It is absent from the west, including Baja California, and from the southeast, including Yucatán. Ariocarpus fissuratus has a native range that extends from Mexico into south and southwest Texas in the United States, being found in the Chihuahuan Desert on both sides of the border.
Tamaulipas living rock cactus · Chautle livingrock · Living Rock Cactus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ariocarpus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
