Species library › Aylostera › Aylostera nigricans
Succulents Well documented

Aylostera nigricans

A small clustering cactus of the high Andes of southern Bolivia and northwest Argentina, growing at around 3,500-3,800 m. It needs intense light, cool nights and a strictly dry, cold winter to stay compact and flower freely in spring.

Aylostera nigricans
Photo: maria luisa novela, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

High-altitude puna and prepuna: rocky slopes, stony grassland and gaps between bunch grasses and shrubs on mineral soils, exposed to strong sun, cold nights and a long dry season.

Recorded at 3,500-3,800 m (median 3,700 m, only 3 records); the climate sites sit at 3,300-4,150 m.

BoliviaArgentina Northwest

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Aylostera nigricans? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.