Divine Needle Jade "Aphanes"
First described as a species in 2004 (but still highly controversial, written here for reference only), the plant has aroused some skepticism among cactus travelers who frequently travel to Chile, as it is the first new dragon claw ball species described in years, discovered at Tartar, a well-known area where no other new discoveries are expected. The authors (Mächlin and Walter, 2004) have hardly revealed the exact location of these three small groups, except that it grew and grew inland with the Black King (no other information). Paul Hoxey offered me a possibility of locating it when he first visited the area in 2001 and discovered some plants he didn't know about. Visiting (Ricardo Keim and Ingrid Schaub) his recommended location, we found a population of dragon claw bulbs that closely resemble the plants mentioned in the description, which grow on the south-facing slopes of the hillside north of Las Breas. For us, the plant in question is just a "typical version" of the "typical" needle jade that grows in the hills above 1,000 meters above sea level. An interesting feature of the species' northeastern morphology is that the low-altitude body morphology on the south-facing hillsides gradually becomes smaller and the spines become thinner and thinner. We think that Mächlin and Walter may have misunderstood this inland and low-altitude divine needle jade as a new species (C. aphanes), unfortunately, they published this article in a widely recognized and respected magazine. This "species" looks at best like The Alter's "nuda" variant of the Lone Dragon Pill (C. Ritter). Columna alba var nuda) is similar, just another highly intensive example, unfortunately it has been given a separate taxonomic status. It's also possible that the interpretation of "C. Aphone" is wrong. It is now up to the author of the description to verify that it is indeed more than just a common "typical version" of the divine needle jade.
In the picture below, a double-headed C. aphone”。 All of these plants have been re-grown from the stems of old roots and divine needle jade, which is likely to have been the case a few times. Each time this happens, the new plant takes on a younger form.
Below: Las Breas North C. In the habitat of Aphone, most plants grow on south-facing slopes at altitudes of 700 to 800 meters.
Below: C. Side view of the Aphone. The surface depends on the tolerance of the plant. This plant is unusual because it grows from cracks in rocks.
Below: A large group of uncommon C. Aphones, most of them are single-headed.
Below: Plants like this were originally thought to be a genus of aurora bulbs, however the intermediate products suggest that this is only a very juvenile C. aphone。 If the roots do not die and the stems do not displace, such buds will eventually form "Aphanes" type spines.
Pictured below: The petals of this habitat plant with pink stripes, which are said to be C. Aphanes is a big feature. This trait is common in many species of divine needle jade.
Below: Near the top of the mountain, plants can be identified as "typical" of the divine needle jade. Since these plants grow in fog zones at an altitude of 700 meters, mountain plants do not form the yellow spines of coastal plants.
The figure below is in C. Near the top of the hill above the Aphone, there are some remnants of the adult god needle jade. Beneath the Sacred Needle Jade plant, there are many intermediate transitional species.
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).