Melocactus with pups...?

[nachtkrabb]

Hello folks,
did you ever hear of a Melocactus growing pups? -- I never had, just that they were solitaires.
Now that new M. broadwayi does it.
Is that normal or usual...?
N.

The new M. broadwayi

IMG_1760_ergebnis.jpg (177.23 KiB) Viewed 1054 times

Here grows the miniature pup!

with pup-IMG_1765_ergebnis.jpg (151.19 KiB) Viewed 1054 times

[Steve Johnson]

Hello folks,
did you ever hear of a Melocactus growing pups? -- I never had, just that they were solitaires.
Now that new M. broadwayi does it.
Is that normal or usual...?

Everything you wanted to know about Melocactus (but were afraid to ask? ):

https://succulentalley.com/melocactus/

It appears that very few Melo species offset in their juvenile stage, and M. broadwayi isn't on the list. Either you have an unusual one, or your cactus isn't a broadwayi. Is it even a Melocactus? Wish I could tell you, but the answer will need to come from members with the level of expertise I simply don't have.

[nachtkrabb]

Hello Steve,
thank you very much for the link -- very instructive generally. They write about Melocactus broadwayi:

Usually stay solitary, mature plants are easily recognizable by their cephalium. The immature plant looks like a smallish barrel cactus, and there is nothing in its appearance that would suggest a Melocactus.

When they "usually stay solitary", they might just as well decide otherwise.

Yes, by now I am very sure I got the correct name. BTW: On that site, I have seen the very first picture of a M.broadwayi with a cephalium! The other pictures just showed immature plants like mine. I was already wondering whether notbody managed to rise such a plant to maturity? -- Well, I am going to do my very best...
N.

[Steve Johnson]

You'll see a gazillion images of M. broadwayi here:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=melocact ... &ia=images

These images come from the Microsoft Bing photo archives, so you'll see a lot besides the species you're looking for. Still a good resource though. If you do have an offsetting broadwayi, you could be the first!

[nachtkrabb]

...I hopefully won't be the first, not keen on a Bing-entry.... lol

[7george]

Sometimes they do, esp. M. intortus.

Here is one, removed already from its original Internet site.

Melocactus broadwayi

768px-Melocactus_broadwayi_0034.jpg (129.02 KiB) Viewed 975 times

photo: techieoldfox (Flickr.com), CC-BY-NC-SA

[nachtkrabb]

Hi 7george,
thanks, that is a real impressive picture. I am impressed. Two plants, and the "epithyte" might be even the bigger...!
It reminds me of the double decker buses in London.
N.