Lophophora fricii f. cristata
Lophophora fricii f. cristata is a crested (fasciated) form of the button cactus Lophophora fricii, in which the normal single growing point has multiplied into a long, wavy growing line. Instead of a single flat-topped button, the plant piles up into broad, convoluted mounds of grey-green tissue, the ribs and areole rows fanning and folding back on themselves in brain-like waves. Care follows the parent species, Lophophora fricii; see that page and the genus overview at Lophophora for full details.
Description
Fasciation is a growth abnormality in which the plant's apical meristem — normally a single point — stretches into a line, so that new tissue is laid down as a rippling crest or fan rather than a tidy dome. In L. fricii f. cristata this produces the smooth, spineless, matte grey-green body typical of the species drawn out into sinuous folds and coral-like mounds. Individual plants can look quite different from one another, since the direction and tightness of the crest vary, and some heads will occasionally revert to normal round growth.
Like the parent species, crested fricii has soft, felty areoles set in the grooves between folds rather than true spines, and it may produce the pink to carmine-red flowers characteristic of Lophophora fricii from the woolly crest. The overall effect is a wide, low, cushion-forming plant rather than the solitary or slowly clustering button of the ordinary form.
Cultivation
Cultivation is as for the parent species, Lophophora fricii: very bright light, a lean and fast-draining mostly mineral mix, careful watering with a completely dry winter rest, and protection from frost. Crested plants have a great deal of surface tissue tucked into shaded folds, so good air movement and restraint with water are especially important — moisture trapped in the crevices of the crest is a common route to rot.
As with many crests and variegates, L. fricii f. cristata is often grown grafted onto a vigorous columnar rootstock such as Myrtillocactus or an Echinopsis species. Grafting speeds up the naturally slow growth, encourages the crest to broaden freely, and lifts the delicate folded tissue clear of the soil. Plants can also be grown on their own roots by patient growers, in which case they behave much like ordinary fricii but slower. See Watering, Repotting and Pests and diseases for general technique.
Legal status
The genus Lophophora is listed under CITES Appendix II, so international trade in these plants — including cultivated and crested material — requires the appropriate permits. In addition, Lophophora is widely associated with peyote (Lophophora williamsii) and is frequently swept up under national or regional controls on mescaline-containing cacti, even though L. fricii itself is reported to contain only low levels of such alkaloids (its principal alkaloid is pellotine rather than mescaline). As a result, the legal status of owning, selling or transporting L. fricii and its crested form varies considerably between countries and jurisdictions, and growers should check the rules that apply where they live before acquiring or trading plants. This article is a horticultural reference only.
See also
- Lophophora fricii — the parent species
- Lophophora — the genus overview
- Lophophora williamsii — peyote, the best-known relative
- Grafting · Soil and potting mix · Watering · Repotting · Pests and diseases