Lophophora identification

[swim]

Hello everyone,

 

A friend of mine overseas sent me these pictures of degrafted and rooted lophophoras which he bought for an amazing price (around 25 bucks each?). I was rather suspicious since it sounds too good to be true so decided to ask if these are just some of the more common lookalikes out there. The three heads in the photo are approximately 6 cm each and the one with the roots is around 5 cm. The ribs are clearly defined but these do not look like any of the classic williamsii's I have seen on the web so far. Unfortunately I don't own any so I can't compare. Any of you guys know if this is a particular variation of williamsii or another species altogether? 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[cactusjames]

It's difficult to tell because of the condition they are in but the largest one(the one with the pups on the side) looks like it could be williamsii. The others I can't tell. They look less like williamsii and more like fricii or koehresii to me. 

I'm guessing you have no idea what the flowers look like? You may have to wait until they flower to get a proper ID.

And given the state they are in, I would make sure they don't feel squishy or have any pests crawling around on them. They could have been so cheap bc they were starting to rot.

Good luck on the ID.

-CJ-

[swim]

Thanks CJ,

 

As far as I remember he only mentioned seed pods with no seeds in it. It might hint of some self-infertile species. As far as I know williamsii fits that definition but have no idea about fricii and koehresii. The latter are very rare though aren't they? I would be surprised if they turned out to be those species. Also this link decribes a variation called "decipiens" and the plants fit the description quite well in my opinion.  

 

http://sacredcacti.com/blog/decipiens/