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Bishop's hat

Astrophytum ornatum

Also called Monk's Hood, Ornamental Monk's Hood, Star Cactus

Bishop's hat
Photo: User:Chrizz, Public domain

Bishop's hat is a columnar cactus native to the Central Plateau of Mexico, and the largest species in its genus. It is grown for its ribbed, woolly-flaked stems and yellow summer flowers, and it needs sharp drainage and sun to stay compact.

Family
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Bright indirect
Water
Water deeply only when the soil is fully dry, and water much less in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining cactus or succulent mix with grit or pumice.
Temperature
18–35 °C; an established plant tolerates cold to about −4 °C, but keep young plants above 10 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
NE. Mexico (to Veracruz)
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Astrophytum ornatum, the bishop's cap or monk's hood cactus, is a flowering plant of the family Cactaceae, endemic to the Central Plateau of Mexico. It is the largest and tallest species of Astrophytum.

How to grow it

It is a rugged plant resistant to root rot, and easy to grow in a well-drained soil. It is dark green when grown in filtered light or shade. An established plant is cold tolerant to 25 °F (−4 °C).

Astrophytum ornatum has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Other Astrophytum plants

Sanddollar · Goat's Horn Cactus · Bishop's Cap

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Astrophytum ornatum 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.

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