Discovered by Chilean native plant expert Adolpho Phillipi in 1860, the name kinda means "new Chilean turnip", a humorous reference to the propensity of this guy to opportunistically plunk another ball form atop its round ball form sometimes, maybe resembling a turnip? Or, from the large undersoil taproot, one root doing it all, that looks quite turnip-like. From the coasts of Chile, in lonely, sandy stretches you'll find lonely, small (2"-3" maybe) balls. They are like tiny pineapples, evenly spaced blobs and valleys patterning the plants, with little prickle stars of short, splayed out black spines atop tiny tufts of cream/white fuzz dots. Colored in assorted greens from jade to pine, turning purply/grey in brightest light, they live solitary and alone, not having offsets much at all but wanting privacy and space for some reason. They propagate from seeds, blooming and sending their seeds out to make their own way in the world. Seeds being that important to the survival of the plant, Neo has a showy flower designed to call attention to himself for pollinators, the only attention he really wants. Described as hairy and funnel-shaped, short stalks rise from the tops and open to really pretty, frill-edged blossoms in shades of white/cream/yellow/peach/pink/rust, whatever the plant feels like. As an extreme desertlike native, you mustn't water much at all. Only interrupt the dry soil with an occasional passing rainstorm.
- Drought Tolerant
- Low Maintenance
Quick Care Guide:
- Water - Low (1): Needs very little water to survive. Wait until the plant is completely dry then fully soak. Drought tolerant by nature.
- High - (5): Plant needs a lot of light; direct is even better. These plants do best when placed on a window sill or next to a bright window. Avoid concentrated, hot light from window which may cause burning (magnifying glass effect).
- Difficulty - Low (1): These plants need barely any attention to thrive. Set it and forget it.
View full breakdown of Care Guide here.