Ancistrocactus tobuschii

Ancistrocactus tobuschii blooming in Hamilton, September 28, 2005

Its not clear whether A. tobuschii is really a genuine species or if its just an unusual variant of A. brevihamatus but one thing that is clear, it was never very common. Until recently it had only been known to occur naturally at one small locality in Texas and the last I heard that population had been wiped out. If true that would mean this plant is now extinct in the wild and found only as cultivated plants in collections. The plant pictured was grown from Mesa Garden seed, Steven Brack's field number SB987 and bloomed for the first time ever today, September 28, 2005. Unfortunately none other were blooming at the same time to permit production of seeds. Most likely in all of Ontario, this plant is found only in two OCSS member collections.