Wart Immortals (C. hypogaea）
Warty immortals are characterized by a small and soft body, usually with weak spines, and grow flush with the ground. There is a very large variability between the wart immortals themselves and the wart immortals. Pictured below is a warty cactus that grows on top of a ridge on the southern coast of flamenco.
Warty immortals mainly grow on top of coastal hills at an altitude of 300-600 meters. In the south, the plant extends north from at least 26°38'S (60 km north of Kadra) to the hills near Esmeralda (40 km north of Chanialar). It has also been reported to grow in the Copiapoa Valley. While most plants grow within the coastal range, some small populations appear farther inland ridges and saddles, where fog will often penetrate and linger. In extreme cases, warty immortals are found on the edge of the desert, about 40 km from the sea and at an altitude of 450 m. The plants here are bigger and stronger, and that's the coastal type. The typical habitat of the warty immortals below is that for most of the day, these summits are usually shrouded in thick fog, and the high density of warty immortals is near such summits.
Inland morphology is very similar to what is common in captivity, but is very rare in habitats. The warty fairy habitat is also diverse. Most of the warty immortals in the area from Chanialar to Kadra grow in rock crevices or at the bottom of large rocks, where they are protected from the digging of vicuñas and wild donkeys. Some plants grow on soft gravel or weathered granite, but most are destroyed by vicuñas and donkeys. Dried residue of chewed warty immortals is often found. In such habitats, the warty immortals bear the brunt of it.
The picture above illustrates that the warty fairy is a mutant creature from the thorny plants of northern Chanialar.
The internal variations are most pronounced in the warty cactus species, ranging from thornless to spiny. The texture, size, color and hardness of the body also vary, and are usually grown in plants a few meters away. The degree of variation within a population is usually as great as the degree of variation between populations.
Above shows the inland form of the wart immortal from Quebrada Animas Viejas.
Ritter named a variant of the Warthog Immortal (C. hypogaea var . barquitensis) is distributed in the hills of Barquito, Chile. Unexpectedly, the plant did not grow on the north side of the northwest slope, but in the shade of the east and south, in small, dense groups. When compared to the warty immortals distributed farther north and south, its texture is strikingly consistent with the structure of the thorn seat. This warty immortal variant (var. barquitensis) has a retractable root that retracts the head to or below the soil level during dry periods, and when it grows in loose gravel or decaying granite, they can be partially buried for most of the year and only appear briefly after the rain is completely soaked.
Above is a plant with almost no spines in the northern part of Chanialar, pay attention to the buds on the upper stem.
Pictured below is the Warthog Immortal Variant (C. hypogaea var barquitensis), illustrating the phenomenon of variation in the species within the species.
Warty immortals seem to bloom seasonally (around November each year) or wait for rain to come. It is rare to find budding plants in winter. In the core area of the distribution of warty immortals, it is not possible to directly identify warty immortals, mainly because most populations only grow in narrow areas along the coastal ridge extension (usually only 150 meters wide). The two most densely populated species of warty immortals (var.barquitensis) grow in the hills above Barquito and in the Los Lomitas area of Pan de Azucar Park in northern Chanialar.
The picture below shows a typical wart immortal (ssp. barquitensis) grows in rocky environments to avoid being destroyed by vicuñas and wild donkeys.
Warty immortals are in danger of being preyed upon by vicuñas and donkeys throughout the area. I have never found growing larvae in the various habitats I have visited. Due to the small number of individuals, growers collecting plants is also a problem. Fortunately, none of these warty populations are easily accessible, and hard to reach.
Pictured above is an old strong thorn wart immortal. This plant comes from the south of flamenco and grows near weak thorn plants.
Above, on some inland hills, in deep rock crevices, grow some warty immortals are still a separate plant. Their bodies are stronger than their coastal bodies, and their skin texture is wrinkled, similar to the shapes commonly found in artificial cultivation.
The above is the personal opinion of the editor, if there is something wrong, welcome flower friends in the comment area axe (remember to like the attention, the editor will work harder to write).