Lophophora alberto-vojtechii Flowers, Identification.

[hostilis]

Hello everyone. I have a couple L, alberto's that I grew from seed (grafted) flowering at the moment. I'm wanting to know if there's a way to identify the species by the flower. The flowers look very similar to williamsii, but with some slight differences.

First off there is not very much extra tuft "hair" coming out from the areoles where it flowered. The pistil is white with and breaks into a "Y" shape (2 tips) rather than being pink and breaking off into several "tips" The petals are a little darker and also have more pointed edges. I'm pretty sure that this is alberto-vojtechii, but would like to know if there's any distinct features on a flower to Identify it.

L. alberto-vojtechii lov. coahuila Grafted 11/2013

L. williamsii flowers

This first one is the only one that captured the real color of the flowers. My camera is weird sometimes so the others look white.

I have another one flowering right now (it's pushing out 7 flowers at once) that almost looks like a hybrid between alberto and williamsii. It grows slow like alberto, but it's growing a tuft like williamsii. It also has 8 ribs now which is supposedly rare on albertos, but it is a graft so anything can happen i guess. Kind of confusing. Guess I'll have to wait till the flowers open. This one was grafted 2/2014.

And this is irrelevant, but it's a Turbinicarpus lophophorides that's pushing out 7 flowers at once. I gave all these plants flowering ferts and they're going nuts.

Edited June 29, 2014 by hostilis

[Philocacti]

Beautiful specimen

[hostilis]

Thanks philocacti.

If anyone knows of a feature on L. alberto flowers that is a dead giveaway of the species let me know. I know that they make yellow fruits. Hopefully I'll get one since I have several of them flowering.

[naja naja]

And then hopefully you'll be kind enough to trade or sell me a few seed. if there were any spare.

Sorry I have no tips on solid id. Aren't they mini? And never get big? Or doesn't that apply via grafting?

[hostilis]

Even my grafted ones grow SUUUUPER slow and flower at around 1cm. So I guess that's a good way to ID it.

[hostilis]

So I took some more pictures of the first flower when it had opened further. Here is one of them.

Flower number 2 opened today. Here's some photos.

[hostilis]

The T. lophophorides decided to open it's first flower out of many. There are 21 other buds on it and it just keeps making more and more buds. It's going to be super crowded pretty soon. It's kind of rediculous.

[_Cursive]

[hostilis]

So, another L. alberto-vojtechii flower opened today. It was quite different looking than the Coahuila locality. I was very pleased to see that this one had a white pistil instead of pink (like on williamsii) I think the white pistil might be a good way to ID them. Have any of you seen a williamsii flower with a white pistil? Also it had white petals that were long and pointed. My other grafted alberto that hasn't flowered yet is forming a bud now and it has white petals as well. That one is locality zacatecas.

Lophophora alberto-vojtechii loc. Nuevo leon

I have a couple other albertos forming buds. Will update when the flowers open. I'm hoping to get a good understanding of how they look for identification purposes. I have been cross pollinating all of them as well so maybe some fruits are in order.

[hostilis]

3 of the T. lophophorides flowers opened today. They only last one day. It looks like tomorrow or the next day a few more will open.

[hostilis]

So flower #2 came out of the alberto loc. nuevo leon, and much to my suprise a fruit has already popped out of the first flower within a week. It looks yellow so far, but my williamsii fruit has a yellowish color to it s well. I guess I'll have to wait till it's fully formed to see if it's a yellow fruit which means it's alberto. I crossed this flower with the locality coahuila pollen. The loc. coahuila has yet to form any fruits, but i'm going to give it some time. That one was done with self polination and also x williamsii on one flower.

Flower #2

Little fruit head on flower #1

[hostilis]

Lifetime of L. alberto-vojtechii loc. zacatecas graft. From November 2013 to July 2014.

[irabionist]

You should've tried to pollinate the turb with the loph

[hostilis]

I actually have been doing a lot of cross pollinating between them.

[irabionist]

PLS, very interested in how it goes

[hostilis]

Tons of flowers. Made some crosses.

T. lophophorides x L. alberto

L. alberto (nuevo leon) x L. williamsii

L. williamsii x L. alberto (coahuila)

L. williamsii x L. alberto (neuvo leon)

T. lophophorides x L. williamsii

Some photos. These grafts have been flower machines. Very proud of them. I also am starting to get fruits as well.

[hostilis]

Some flowers.

[katu]

Beautiful plants mate. The flowers on that last set of pics u posted are interesting...

[Jox]

Great looking grafts hostilis.

I have a hard grown alberto that is about to flower, here a some photos of the little bud developing.

Its a tiny little loph, here is a photo of it next to a 5 cent coin

I will update with photos as the flower develops.

Cheers

Jox

[hostilis]

Nice!! And thanks so much for contributing to the thread!! I thought i was just going to be talking to myself on this one. Hehe. I can't wait till my own-roots ones are this big. They're all really tiny at the moment, but there's like 100 of them now!! Lol. And I have about 1000 seeds plus seed producing grafts. So in a few years i will be alberto-king.

Beautiful plant mate!! How old is that?

[hostilis]

Beautiful plants mate. The flowers on that last set of pics u posted are interesting...

Yeah, I'm starting to think that last one is either a hybrid (alberto x frcii or vise versa) or just a very unique phenotype. It does have yellow fruits and a white stamen though just like alberto and I have not seen that on any other lophs than alberto. So I know for a fact it's mostly alberto genes.

[planthelper]

not many people grow albertos, so that's probably why, you maybe had to talk to yourselfe for a while...

I was given a few alberto seeds via the forum, but they were not, true alberto seeds, but cross pollinated, and as such produced mostly bigger lophs, than albertos.

one of the seedlings though, turned out to be a true alberto!

the pic shows 3 hard grown (just learned that term ) lophs, all are the same age, guess which one is the alberto.

edit: yes some lophs have white petals, koehrens named those weisse bluete!

Edited August 28, 2014 by planthelper

[Berengar]

: yes some lophs have white petals, koehrens named those weisse bluete!

Which is literally translated as 'white flower'. I always wondered why white flowered L. williamsii is refered to as 'weisse bluete', and not something shorter and more usual like albiflora or something. So that is a particular Koehres stock?.

[planthelper]

yes tangich, I would say, as a german speaker, koehrens naturaly used his own lingo to name this trait.

and yes, koehrens is an excellent source of weisse bluete seeds.

[Jox]

Nice!! And thanks so much for contributing to the thread!! I thought i was just going to be talking to myself on this one. Hehe. I can't wait till my own-roots ones are this big. They're all really tiny at the moment, but there's like 100 of them now!! Lol. And I have about 1000 seeds plus seed producing grafts. So in a few years i will be alberto-king.

Beautiful plant mate!! How old is that?

The king, Hostilis Alberto .

Hey mate, I am not sure how old my plant is as I got it last year as a mature plant. I have done a fair bit of reading about these since there discovery, I think your three locations look the way they should including the flowers. As far as I know Alberto has been placed in the Diffusae section of Lophophora along with koehresii, fricii & diffusa so if you are thinking they or there flowers look a bit fricii it is because there are suppose to. This would also mean it should not cross with williamsii.

A basic description of alberto, Flower: color range is from almost white to pale pink with a darker mid stripe, it is very similar to L. koehresii the only differences being alberto can have rounded tepals & the bud forms differently. Growth: Alberto grows similarly to koehresii, the areoles radiate from the apical meristem, it differs from koehresii in that it never gets as many ribs, alberto has an average of 5 ribs rarely up to 8. Color: This is were alberto is different from koehresii & a lot more like fricii, alberto has a grey/mauve, greenish/violet epidermis & never get a dark bold green color like koehresii. The thing that sets alberto apart from its other Diffusae cousins is obviously its size at maturity, the seeds have very distinct differences as well.

not many people grow albertos, so that's probably why, you maybe had to talk to yourselfe for a while...

I was given a few alberto seeds via the forum, but they were not, true alberto seeds, but cross pollinated, and as such produced mostly bigger lophs, than albertos.

one of the seedlings though, turned out to be a true alberto!

the pic shows 3 hard grown (just learned that term ) lophs, all are the same age, guess which one is the alberto.

alberto.JPG

edit: yes some lophs have white petals, koehrens named those weisse bluete!

Hey planthelper, I have read your comments & am now wondering how you have come to this conclusion. I highly doubt your seeds would be alberto crosses & if they were how would only one not be? I would say they are albertos or they are not, how big is the biggest one & when were they sown? I grow a lot of cacti from seed & it is very common for the same batch of seeds to grow at very different rates, I have L.williamsii here that were sown three years ago some of these plants are pushing 4cm others are still smaller than my alberto, all the seeds are from one seed pod & have all been grow in exactly the same conditions.

Cheers

Jox