Astrophytum myriostigma by durleybeachbum
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Description
In flower amongst her friends in my greenhouse.
This is one of the plants Mother and I grew from seed the year we moved here in 1949.
The name Astrophytum comes from the Greek word for star plant. These beautiful plants are globe shaped and are speckled with white scales and flecks. As it ages, the plant becomes columnar, as mine is.
A. myriostigma (many dotted) is a spineless plant, usually solitary or with very few basal branches. A transverse section of the stem reveal a perfect star shaped form (like the common star-fish) giving the plant the appearance of a bishop's mitre (hence the common name Bishop's cap)
HOWEVER..mine is freaky in that it has only 4 lobes not five, so it not a proper star shape. We did have a 5 lobe one but it is no more.
Ah, well.
Maybe it has had the wrong name for 64 years...someone will put me right on Flickr, I'm sure. See a close view of this beautiful flower Here
Update... A contact on Flickr tells me it is the variety A.m.quadricostatum. Mystery solved.
Comments (24)
Adobe_One_Kenobi
Excellent, I remember these well when you told me how old they were, I thought that fascinating.
kgb224
Superb capture Andrea. God bless.
jayfar
A super name and a lovely flower.
Runswild
Great shot of this wonderful succulent. Nice to see another plant collector posting. I will check out your Flickr galleries and post a comment so you can see my plants and greenhouse.... ~Orchid
jendellas
It is so beautiful, never seen one other than yours!!
kaward
It is quite a stately looking plant. It is a shame you have used it to model one of your fascinators. hehe!
aksirp
I would say a historical plant in your family and a Beauty for sure!
mairekas
Very beautiful flower!
alanwilliams
what a magnificent specimen
whaleman
And here I was going to suggest you had a rarity, a four-lobed Bishop's Cap, rather than five. Sort of the reverse of looking for a four-leaf clover around here. Anyway, that is a most unusual plant with a wonderful blossom. I suspect those petals are on the thick side like a prickly pear cactus flower. Very nice, and with no insects either!
Faemike55
Very cool plant by any name great capture
Mark-David-Rogers
Truly beautiful flower captured so well.
goodoleboy
Excellent capture of the pretty unpronounceable bloom, Andrea. You will nurture these plants into eternity.
MrsRatbag
Wow what a fascinating plant! I love the spots, no matter how many sections it has. Excellent capture of its lovely blossom.
monjo71
Just beautiful. Love the colors.
danapommet
A fantastic capture and zoom. A lovely center! My older brother was an avid cacti collector - he had a smaller five lobe version but was not mature enough to ever bloom.
Blush
Awesome image Hugs Susan
auntietk
What a fascinating-looking plant! I can see why you like it. :)
Celart
Gorgeous image and plant. Great capture
pat40
Beautiful pic.
moochagoo
I really love cactus flowers
wysiwig
HOWEVER..mine is freaky. Why am I not surprised? {;-> This is a gorgeous flower and the close up on Flicker is superb. It really does look like clerical headgear. Nice job growing it and photographing it.
dakotabluemoon
Beautiful capture of this most awesome plant.
Katraz
Great shot of one of my favorite cacti.