Dyckia excelsa

From Mato Grosso and a rare view. 

Dyckia excelsa is one of the most beautiful  Dyckias native to Mato Grosso.

This specimen is a very special one and it is  recovering from the long jorney of last November when

it was brought to me by Dra. Adarilda Benelli.

This plant does live on bare rocks in one of the warmest places  in Brazil. the temperature

on the rocks exceeds 70 degrees Centigrades and this is hot indeed.

Its scales are pure white and those on the spines and leaf borders are so big it seems the plant is furred.

This plant may present a thick and long trunk in very very old specimen and this is  fatal for those plants as some scrupulousness orchid lovers use these trunks as base to cultivate some  orchids.

Below, a close up of a leaf edge.