Aylostera pygmaea

A tiny clustering cactus from the high puna of southern Bolivia and northwest Argentina, with finger-like stems, a thick tuberous root and bright spring flowers. It lives under intense sun with a cool, wet summer and a bone-dry, frosty winter, and it only flowers well when that cold, dry rest is copied.

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

Grows in high-altitude grassland and stony puna, often partly buried among gravel and grass tufts where the stems pull down into the soil in dry weather. Information specific to this species is thin; this is based on the measured sites and on related high-Andean Rebutia and Aylostera.

The few elevation records are 3,500 to 3,800 m; the climate sites lie between about 3,300 and 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

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More Aylostera

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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 3.0 licence, unmodified.