Pediocactus sileri
The gypsum cactus is a small, globular, densely spined cactus confined to gypsum- and salt-rich soils on the Arizona Strip and in southwestern Utah. It is federally threatened and on CITES Appendix I. In cultivation it is notoriously difficult on its own roots: it needs intense light, a very mineral alkaline mix, cold dry winters and very careful summer watering.
Where it grows wild
Grows on barren, gypsiferous and saline clay and sand weathered from the Moenkopi Formation, in open desert scrub and in grassland and woodland edges on the Colorado Plateau margin. Plants sit fully exposed on bare ground.
Only two records with no elevation; the species is generally reported from about 850 to 1,700 m on the Arizona Strip.
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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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-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.