Species library › Melocactus › Melocactus stramineus
Succulents Well documented

Melocactus stramineus

A Turk's cap cactus endemic to Aruba, growing in hot, windy coastal scrub. Like other Caribbean Melocactus it wants warmth all year, full sun and a fast-draining mineral mix, and it dislikes cool, wet roots.

Melocactus stramineus
Photo: erikmartin, CC BY-SA 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
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Open, arid coastal scrub on rocky and gravelly ground near sea level, among low shrubs and columnar cacti. This is inferred from the genus and the measured sites rather than species-specific accounts.

Recorded sites are at roughly 5–20 m above sea level; Aruba's highest ground is under 200 m.

Aruba

🔒 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 stramineus? 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-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.