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Species library › Melocactus › Melocactus smithii
Succulents Well documented

Melocactus smithii

A small Turk's cap cactus from the Rupununi and Roraima savannas of Guyana and northern Brazil, one of the few Melocactus north of the Amazon. It needs full sun, constant tropical warmth and a gritty mix, with a drier spell from December to March.

Melocactus smithii
Photo: Peter L Achuff, 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 on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Inferred from the range and genus: granite outcrops and stony patches in open lowland savanna, often rooted in thin sand over rock.

Lowland, roughly 110–280 m at the recorded sites.

Brazil NorthGuyana

🔒 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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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.