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Species library › Melocactus › Melocactus curvispinus
Succulents Partly documented

Melocactus curvispinus

A widespread Turk's-cap cactus from southern Mexico to Colombia, Venezuela and the southern Caribbean. Mature plants grow a woolly cephalium on top. It is a hot, dry-scrub lowland cactus that is sensitive to cold and to wet roots.

Melocactus curvispinus
Photo: JR Ferrer-Paris, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-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

Dry tropical scrub, thorn forest and semi-desert, such as the Tatacoa Desert, often on rocky or sandy ground in full sun.

Recorded from sea level to 2,119 m, with a median of 240 m. Published accounts say up to about 1,500 m for subsp. curvispinus and up to 700 m for subsp. caesius.

MexicoGuatemalaHondurasNicaraguaCosta RicaColombiaVenezuelaArubaCubaTrinidad-Tobago

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

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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 4.0 licence, unmodified.