Two different Hybrids with almost the same looks.

Dyckia marnier-lapostollei Bahia X Dyckia brefolia = Dyckia Mundo (World)

Dyckia marnier-lapostollei Bahia X Dyckia platyphylla = Dyckia Amigo (friend)

Dyckia Mundo

Dyckia Mundo
Flowers in the Dyckia marnier-lapostolei Bahia received the
Dyckia brevifolia pollen in May, 5th,2007.
Seeds were sown in November, 5th, 2007.
This hybrid honor a Brazilian Dyckia forum in internet
from which I was expelled by people who still think
they own the truth. There I made friends and learned a lot
and this was to recognize this.
Dyckia Mundo is very beautiful and bears almost no silver scales on the
upper leaf surface.

Dyckia distachya variety rubra

Dyckia distachya
Rubra

Beautiful? Oh no! Gourgeous!!!
This is species! This as rare as a green eyed white rabit.
Forms huge clumps. In nature these clumps look like ant nests.
This is their Winter clothing, the Summer colors are even more astonishing.

Dyckia lindelvadeae
Astonishing beautiful bears stinking yellow graceless flowers
and it is a hard to get seeds species.

This two plants fell in love to each other with no serious consequence as you may
see in the prior posting.

This is also a self infertile plant that bears red graceless flowers that
open badly. The plant is a Classic Dyckia and lives in every
Dyckia collection around the globe.

Dyckia marnier-lapostollei

Precious Dyckia hybrids seedlings...

Dyckia lindelvaldeae X Dyckia marnier-lapostollei

These two Brazilian Cerrado spectacular plants do not make self pollination
I had one of each species blooming and willing not to waste the rare flowers
I decided what the hell ... let us do it and see what comes out from these.
Both plants set just a very few seed pods and fewer yet had viable seeds.
Dyckia lindelvaldea made one fruit and Dyckia marnier-lapostollei three fruits.
Both seeds had a very low rate of germination as you can see here.
Dyckias amaze me, surprises me and allure me.
Enlarge the picture to see substrate and germinating seeds details.

Dyckia marnier lapostollei X Dyckia lindelvaldeae

Dyckia hatschbachii trying to pik up that cloud up above...

Dyckia hatschbachii

Dyckia hatschbachii is a Paraná native one and it is a sole green plant which flowers are yellow. The flower stem is slightly branched and very tall.
This is a rare species seldom shown anywhere on planet.















I think as I already said here the best simple way to describe this plant is to say this is a huge Dyckia brevifolia. Of course it is not one of them but it looks as it was a gigantic one.



















The almost colossal flower spike must paralyzes the whole plant as it is a energy taker.
The hybrids would be the very first intentionally made on Earth.

Keep or not to keep, that´s the question here...

A decision must be made here: or I keep the Dyckia or the weeds.
Even if the fern is a rare one and the pink clover flower is outstanding
the decision must come out soon.
These other plants keep moisture all around the Dyckia while prevent the air from
circulating the Dyckia plant.
The xerofitic plant will be under fungi attack and finally die.
Zebras and lions do well in Africa not in my garden.
The option is just one: keep the Dyckia alone...

Dyckia paucispinis affinis

This is a difficult plant to keep if you live in a cold and humid area.
Native to the Mato Grosso Cerrado it endures a annual very harsh dry season.
Just keep this baby alive is a miracle here in Joinville.
All the efforts in order to keep it happy compensate for an image like this one.

Dyckia sp Santa Catarina Northeastern Uphills.

From green to almost black this dwarf unnamed species
would be the pride of that old woman windowsill plant keeper.
Grows no larger than your hand.

Dyckia brevifolia natural varieties at last!

Dyckia brevifolia is not a hermetic Dyckia species. We are seeing
some intriguing varieties along the Itajaí River stream.
The plant above is a collected one and is said to bear red flowers.
The leaves are narrower and the spines a hint more visible and also the plant itself is smaller and less robust than the type form.

Above another collected plant. You note it is much more robust and has stouter leaves.
The color is a lemon like shade.
Below another collected Dyckia brevifolia red flowered.
Both varieties here have a kind of delicate and mild silver light dusting of
very small silver scales. This is never present on the leaves of the type form plants.

The type Dyckia brevifolia and its luxury green scales empty leaves.
As a spring bloomer it is already showing its flower spikes.

The enigmatic one...

This flower spike and the flowers themselves will help
to solve the intriguing enigma exposed in the prior post here.
This is a young adult plant.

Intriguing to say the least...

This plant was told to be native to rocky cliff nearby São João do Triunfo Southern Paraná.
It is a beautiful small plant and the colors are very pleasing for they are the Brazilian official colors green and yellow.










Everything is possible. That area is for sure a hot spot for Dyckia.
The more I look at it the more I am convinced the plant is a hybrid.
One of them is about to bloom and I am sniffing some Dyckia fosteriana in here. The flowers may reveal some more clues and give us some more hints. Maybe this is a natural hybrid.

Dyckia gloriosa flowers

Dyckia gloriosa flowers are not hint as notable as the plant itself. This is a second Dyckia gloriosa bloom in my garden. The green ones will flower by the very first time.

Dyckia fosteriana

Those who like them silver to the extreme this is a full dish as we say here. As you may observe this plant besides being most silver it is also a rubra plant.

Dyckia fosteriana when this silver gets strikingly beautiful when blooming. Its flowers are deep orange and contrasts conspicuously with the silver foliage.

Dyckia sp from Albertina - Rio do Sul - Santa Catarina

This is new and it is species. This plant is sole green but the underside of the leaves are heavily coated with silver scales. This is a small plant and the spines give sit a pectinatic aspect. I also have heard of a sole red plant thriving amid this one and most probably is a rubra form of this little beauty.Also the flowers are deep red but the plant hasn´t bloomed here.
Somehow this plant looks are those of the Dyckia pumila a well known small species but some differences are too conspicuous between them.This plant is very dear to me as it comes from very old friends of mine farm. There it thrives on rocks and are a safe securely preserved.

Dyckia brevifolia subidensis a showy one...

This is a seedling Dyckia brevifolia subidensis.
Note the broader leaves, the bigger spines,
the red tinted leaf points on juvenile leaves and observe the
stunning overall coloration.

The plant below is a wild collected one.
This Dyckia brevifolia variety was never seen before.
This is a natural variety and not any hybrid.
What about crossing it with Dyckia brevifolia Golden Glow?

Dyckia companion - Aechmea nudicaulis rupicola from Goiás.

Most probably you have never seen this Aechmea nudicaulis variety.
It grows on rocks and in open Sunny spots.
Its leaves are very succulent and small sized.
Lives with Dyckias in Goiás near Brasília our Federal Capital.

Dyckia delicata - Barros Cassal-RS

Dyckia delicada produces the smallest Dyckia seeds and also
presents some fertility problems.
The seedlings above come from cultivated plants. The seeds were sifted
and just the bigger seeds were used and this is less than 6% of all seeds.
The seedlings below are older and shows color, spines and begin to show
the Dyckia delicata outfit.

Dyckias shold be kept in temperatures above 15 degrees Centigrade.
Even those Southern Brazilian species used to froze and some snow.
Her freezing cold temperatures do not last longer then a few hours and
the snow doesn´t last longer than that too.
Polar temperatures we get here on the top of our Southern mountains and platos.
We had historical report of -18 Centigrade in Santa Catarina uphills but this is historical!

Dyckia delicata are among the most spectacular plants of all.
They are not Cerrado native plants and they come from an
area of cold winter where froze is a common phenomenon.
But do not keep them for ages in temperature below freezing, they tolerate
just a few hours. If snow accumulates in your garden don´t even think of keeping
Dyckias there. They may survive but who wants a garden full of survivors?
We must keep happy plants and these won´t be happy freezing in an every day
routine. Definitely survivors look any good.
Delicatas are found in many shades of green/yellow/wine/silver/reddish.

A new fan like Dyckia, this time a huge one!

This giant plant was found in stony cliff in Ibirama Santa Catarina.
Here the plant is injured by collecting.
It is sole green and very difficult to deal with for its huge size and spines.
Decidedly not a kid thing.
also this makes anybody wonder what else can exist without our knowing.
This plant was on a very conspicuous site in spite of being extremely difficult to be reached.