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Copiapoa solaris
They really are stunning plants and among the most sought after of the
Copiapoas. Unfortunately they are
incredibly slow at growing (also
grafted seedlings are still extremely slow). The plant produces only a
few spines each year and the seedling on their own roots are slowest
than the aztekiums!
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Description: Slowly clumping succulent with a cushion like growth
form. They are incredibly slow growing, but old plants in habitat - over
centuries - will form large cushion up to 2,30 m of diameter and 90 cm
tall with hundreds of heads.
Stems: Individual stems 8-12 cm in diameter,
cylindrical green to grey-green with a waxy coating presumably to
prevent desiccation in it's extremely dry environment. Offsets appear as
white blobs and take about six months to produce a spine or two.
Ribs: 8-12 elevated, up to 3,5 cm tall, not tuberculate.
Areoles: Very large, close set or up to 5 mm apart.
Spines: Yellow, amber or reddish-brown when young, later
chalky-grey, robust, straight or slightly bent, long and interwoven.
Central spines: 2-5, 2-6 cm long.
Radial spines: 7-10, 2-3 cm long.
Flowers: Up to 3 cm long and in diameter, funnelform, yellow,
occasionally with a pink or reddish coloured throat. The flowers are
often almost concealed among the dense wool and spines at plant apex.
Flower tube woolly (Hence the name Pilocopiapoa = hairy Copiapoa). It
needs a lot of sunlight to bloom, so it's pretty rare to have blossoms
when in cultivation in greenhouses.
Fruits: Woolly, up to 15 mm in diameter.
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Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus
Family)
Scientific name:
Copiapoa
solaris (F. Ritter) F. Ritter 1980
Origin:
Copiapoa solaris comes from the northern part of the range.
It is endemic to a restricted area centred
around the localities of Blanco
Encalada and El Cobre, south of Antofagasta. Chile ('El Cobre‘ means
'The Copper‘, reflecting the presence of copper deposits in the area)
Habitat:
Although found near the coast
this is predominately a mountain
species. It grows on
slopes, steeply emerging from the ocean and
landwards, leading to the barren Atacama Desert up to 900 m of altitude.
They grow in a very arid desert climate with strong
oceanic influence and high cloud cover. Characterized by twelve arid
months, no frost, an average temperature of 17.2°C
and an annual rainfall of only 4 mm!. Rare events of strong rainfalls
may occur unpredictably providing a flush of ephemerals growth as well
as new seedlings. The extreme aridity is attenuated by the frequent,
often dense, coastal fogs. The fog tends to concentrate in the
form of a cloud band at an estimated height of 500 to
850 m. It shows a recurrent pattern; usually
it is overcast in the early
mornings, the clouds dissipating during the late
morning and returning during the late afternoons. Winds from SW and S
are prevalent. In habitat a very high percentage plants appear to be
dead, this is not due to an environmental disaster, but to the
preserving desert conditions that are radically different from those
common on other natural environments, where dead material would be
quickly cleared from the landscape. The process of bacterial
decomposition is extremely slow, so that it is likely that the dead
clumps are the result of tens if not hundreds of years of decay. The
spiny cushions also provide shelter to a great quantity of insects and
reptiles. Survival and growth of this C. solaris is a remarkable
achievement, as it is by far the dominant vascular plant in this
bare desert ecosystem. The plant survives by storing water in its roots
and body.
Conservation status:
Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Synonyms:
Cultivation: This
extremely slow growing cactus is kept for the beauty of its form. It
must be protected from excessive heat and sun in
summer, and seems to do best in cultivation with a bit of shade.
It requires light but regular waterings in summer, but let the
soil mix dry between waterings, Prone to rot
if over-watered. Needs good drainage. Keep warm and
dry in winter (10°C) to avoid rot. Not highly tolerant of a
great deal of frost. (Frost tolerance 0°C)
Propagation:
Seeds, but germinating is very
slow (often taking a year to germinate) Grafting is often used to speed
growth rate and to create a back-up to plants in collection.
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