Lobivia pygmaea

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Since 4 Aug 2013

Lobivia pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Backeb. in Backeb. & F.M.Knuth
Kaktus-ABC [Backeb. & Knuth] 241. 1936 [12 Feb 1936]
Family: CACTACEAE

Accepted Scientific Name: Rebutia pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Britton & Rose
Cactaceae (Britton & Rose) 3: 47, fig. 60. 1922 Britton & Rose

Rebutia pygmaea WR 828 (Collector Walter Rausch) Yuquina (small form).

Origin and Habitat: This species grows in Jujuy and Salta, Argentina, and in Chuquisaca, Oruro, Potosí and Tarija, Bolivia.
Altititude range: It can be found at altitudes from 2,950 to 4,300 metres above sea level.
Habitat: The species occurs on rocky outcrops in the puna grasslands often on steeply sloping ground where water rarely stands for any length of time. Rebutia pygmaeaSN|4416]]SN|4416]] is not exposed to any major threat due to its wide range, stable population and its presence in a protected area.

Synonyms:

Rebutia pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Britton & Rose

Aylostera pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Mosti & Papini
Echinopsis pygmaea R.E.Fr.
Lobivia pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Backeb. in Backeb. & F.M.Knuth
Mediolobivia pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Krainz

See all synonyms of Rebutia pygmaea

Description: Rebutia pygmaeaSN|4416]]SN|4416]] is a very small clumping species, widespread and extremely variable that has received numerous unnecessary names. Some of its variable forms don't really look like the same species.
Habit: It is a small geophyte cactus solitary or clustering and barely rising above ground level.
Roots: It has a heavy tap root that may exceed the size of the plant above soil level. Tap root more or less branched whitish.
Stem: 10-30(-40) mm tall, 12-20 mm wide, spherical to slightly oblong, becoming short-cylindrical in cultivation. The colour of the epidermis vary from grey-green or olive-green to dark purple-green with violet tints.
Ribs: About 10 more or less spiralling, slightly tuberculate.
Tubercles: About 2-4 mm wide and 1,5 mm high.
Areoles: Oval, 1-1,5 mm long, about 0,5 mm wide, slightly brownish or whitish tomentose, 2 mm long, with abundant white or light brown felt, a little far apart.
Radial spines: 8-11, thin, bristly, pectinate, short, brown to glassy white with a darker base, 2-3 mm long.
Central spines: usually absent, or rarely 1 yellowish, 1-2 mm long.
Flowers: From the basal parts of the stem, widely funnel-shaped about 20-30 mm long and 25-35 mm wide usually salmon pink, however the flowers of this species and its varieties (forms?) vary a lot and range from from white to pink, red, salmon and orange. Buds with few black scales with woolly axils and with 1-3 white bristles, 2-3 mm long. Tube funnel-shaped, 7-12 mm long, the top 6-9 mm wide, pale pink inside, outside with few scales and white hairs. Tepals pale red to dark purple (but also white, yellow orange) 10-15 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, rounded up with a small tapered tip. filaments magenta about 12 mm long. Anthers lemon yellow. Pistil light green, about 15 mm long, with 6 yellow-green stigma lobes, 2-4 mm long.
Fruit: Spherical, greenish, with thin skin, drying at maturity, about 6 mm large.
Seeds: Spherical to bell-shaped, rough, covered with remnants of the membrane with a large, straight, rarely slightly oblique hilum.
Blooming season: Flowers all tend to come in one late Spring rush, rather than spread over the Summer.
Reutia pygmaea var. pygmea: (Typical form) has 9 to 11, short, appressed radial spines, 2 to 3 mm long, acicular, somewhat swollen at base. Its flowers appears on the lower part of the plant, and are somewhat curved at base, becoming nearly erect, 18 to 25 mm. long, rose-purple; scales on ovary and flower-tube small, hairy in their axils.

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Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Rebutia pygmaea group

Rebutia atrovirens (Backeb.) Pilbeam: It has a shining, dark green, tuberculate body with a dull violet shimmer and very dark red flowers.
Rebutia brunneoradicata F.Ritter: It has a distinctive brow tap root, hence the species epithet “brunneoradicata” (brown rooted).
Rebutia canacruzensis Rausch: has pale shell-pink flower with deeper pink throat. Distribution: Bolivia, Chuquisaca, Norrth of Cinti, near Cana Cruz.
Rebutia diersiana Rausch: has a distinctive yellow or orangish-yellow flowers.
Rebutia eos Rausch: has greyish-green body, brownish spines, darker central spine and flowers varying in colour from pure white to pink. Distribution: Tafna, Jujuy, in the Argentina/Bolivia border.
Rebutia gavazzii Mosti: Tiny plant with fat, dark green stem, somewhat offsetting and shiny reddish flowers.
Rebutia gracilispina F.Ritter: globose, later columnar, with green body colour, radial spines are very thin, numbering 7 to 10, pectinate, about 2mm long, white, red-brown at the base; Flowers: Intense vermilion to scarlet, stigma yellowish-white.
Rebutia haagei Frič & Schelle: Stem olive-green to dark purple-green with violet tints, the spines are glassy-white. Flowers, salmon pink up to 3 cm in diameter.
Rebutia haefneriana (Cullmann) Šída: has tiny dark greyish-greem to olive-green stems. Flowers are dusky pink to dark orange or red.
Rebutia huasiensis Rausch: Peculiar of this plant is the colouration of the external rows of petals that are often white. Distribution: Inca Huasi and adjacent areas (North of Pucara to Huankanki), Chuquisaca, Bolivia
Rebutia knizei (Rausch) Mosti: has yellow or orange-yellow flowers with green stigma. The stems is dark-green and take a violet tinge on in the sun. Distribution: Uyuni to Tupiza, Potosi, Bolivia.
Rebutia minor (Rausch) Mosti: has the smallest known stems of the group, less than 2 cm tall very dark coloured, with dark areoles, and yellow to orange yellow flowers. Distribution: Bolivia, Chuquisaca, Sud Cinti at Yuquina near Culpina,
Rebutia pygmaea (R.E.Fr.) Britton & Rose: Small clumping plants up to 4 cm tall.Body grey-green to dark purple-green, spines short glass-white. Flowers usually salmon pink, it is indeed an extremely variable species that has received numerous unnecessary names.
Rebutia pygmaea var. colorea (F.Ritter) Lodé: Has tiny dark olive-green to brownish-violet stems from a tap root that may exceed the size of the plant above soil level. Flowers are bright, electric carmine to purple.
Rebutia pygmaea var. pygmaea (F.Ritter): Areoles elliptic; spines spreading, swollen at base. Distribution: Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.
Rebutia rutiliflora F.Ritter: It has bright orange flowers.
Rebutia tafnaensis (Rausch) Šída: It has bright orange-red flowers. Distribution: La Quiaca, Jujuy, Argentina.
Rebutia torquata F.Ritter & Buining: has bicoloured flowers, red with a pale yellow throats and snaky ribs with areoles touching each other. Distribution: Tupiza to Impora, Mal Paso, Potosí department, Bolivia.
Rebutia tropaeolipicta F.Ritter: has bright orange-red flowers.

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Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 2001
2) James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey "The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass" Cambridge University Press, 11/Aug/2011
3) David R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. "The New Cactus Lexicon" dh books, 2006
4) N. L. Britton, J. N. Rose “The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family.” Volume 4, The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1923
5) Curt Backeberg “Die Cactaceae: Handbuch der Kakteenkunde” Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart New York 1982–1985
6) Backeberg, Curt, "Das Kakteenlexikon" p. 271, 1966
7) Mosti, Stefano; "Digitorebutia" Buining & Donald (2), Cactus & Co., 4: 87, 2000
8) Pilbeam, John; "Rebutia" p. 73, 1997
9) Rausch Walter, "Lobivia '95", p. 109, 1986
10) Ritter, Friedrich; "Kakteen in Südamerika", 2: 616, 1980
11) Šída Otakar, "Rod Rebutia", p. 85, 1997
12) Šída, Otakar; "Atlas kaktus?", tab. 29, 2002
13) Lowry, M. 2013. Rebutia pygmaea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 April 2015.

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Rebutia pygmaea MN 229a (= PM 367) Iruya-Condor, 3650m, Argentina (Dark body, fewer brown spines, reddish flowers). (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Peiffer Clement

Rebutia pygmaea BB 512.07 (Collector: Brian Francis Bates) Locality: Berque, Potosí, Bolivia. 3650 m (also known as RH2060b) (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Agócs György

A salmon/orange flowered form also known in cultivation as Rebutia (Aylostera) haagei. subsp. mudanensis. (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Cactus Art

Mediolobivia pygmaea RH 590 (Collector Ralf Hillmann) Iturbe, Jujuy, Argentina, 3450m (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Peiffer Clement

The salmon flowered form is also known as Rebutia (Aylostera) haagei. (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Cactus Art

Lobivia pygmaea (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Peiffer Clement

Lobivia pygmaea (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Peiffer Clement

Lobivia pygmaea (Rebutia pygmaea) Photo by: Peiffer Clement

Cultivation and Propagation: Rebutia pygmaeaSN|4416]]SN|4416]] is a summer grower species that is easy to cultivate and recommended for beginners. The whole Rebutia pygmaeaSN|4416]]SN|4416]] complex has delightful flowers and the plants remain compact, and clumps can easily be managed by division. Another advantage is that the plants are very cold hardy in Winter if kept dry.
Growth rate: It is a slow growing but easily flowering species that will make clumps given the best conditions.
Soils: It likes very porous standard cactus mix soil with a pH slightly on the acidic side.
Repotting: This species will occupy a small flower pot comfortably and remain a manageable sized house plant, repotting should be done every other year or when the it has outgrown its pot. Use pot with good drainage.
Watering: Needs moderate to copious waterings in summer, but do not overwater (the root system is rot prone) and allow the pot to dry out between waterings. Keep dry in winter at a minimum temperature of 0°C.
Fertilization: Feed with a high potassium fertilizer in summer.
Hardiness: It is reputedly resistant to frost if kept on the dry side prior to, and during, cold weather and requires a winter rest period (hardy to -12 C ° C, or less for short periods), but for safe cultivation it is best to avoid freezing temperatures. It does not like high temperatures in summer, and will be perfectly happy in pots outdoors from April to September if protected from torrential rain and hail
Exposition: The plant tolerates extremely bright situations but enjoys filtered sunlight or afternoon shade, inside it needs bright light, and some direct sun. Tends to bronze in strong light, which encourages flowering and heavy spine production, but is likely to suffer from sun scorch or stunted growth if over exposed to direct sunlight during the hottest part of the day in summer.
Uses: It is an excellent plant for container growing. It always looks good and stays small. It look fine in a cold greenhouse and frame or outdoor in a rockery.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to and liable to damage by spider mites and thrips but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation.
Rot: This species is particularly easy and accommodating, seldom suffer of cryptogamic diseases. Rot it is only a minor problem with rebutias if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won't help all that much.
Propagation: Division, direct sow after last frost. Seeds germinate in 7-14 days at 21-27° C in spring, remove gradually the glass cover as soon the plants will be well rooted (ca 1-2 weeks) and keep ventilated, no full sun for young plants! To make a cutting twist off a branch and permit it to dry out a couple of weeks, lay it on the soil and insert the stem end partially into the soil. Try to keep the cutting somewhat upright so that the roots are able to grow downward.
Note: It would appear that in cultivation they grow larger and cluster more vigorously than in habitat.

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Cite this page: "Lobivia pygmaea" Text available under a CC-BY-SA Creative Commons Attribution License. www.llifle.com 14 Nov. 2005. 14 May 2025. </Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/4419/Lobivia_pygmaea>