The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Astrophytum asterias
Also called Sand Dollar Cactus, Sea Urchin Cactus, Star Peyote, Seaurchin Starcactus, Star Cactus, Silver Dollar Cactus, Star Peyote Cactus
Astrophytum asterias is a small, spineless, round-to-disc-shaped cactus from south Texas and northeast Mexico, grown as a collector's houseplant. The key to growing it is strong sun, very sparing water, and fast-draining soil.
Astrophytum asterias is a species of cactus in the genus Astrophytum, and is native to small parts of Texas in the United States and Mexico. Common names include sand dollar cactus, sea urchin cactus, star cactus and star peyote.
Sand Dollar Cactus has been grown as a houseplant since the 1840s, like other members of its genus and despite its rarity in the wild. It is readily propagated from seed, so most plants encountered in nurseries are seed grown. The popularity of this species among collectors and enthusiasts has ensured that a number of cultivars are available. One such cultivar is the 'Super Kabuto', a clonally propagated variety whose large trichomes congregate into dense spots, arranged in a striking pattern.
Star cactus is native to the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States and the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas in Mexico, to the east of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Astrophytum asterias 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
