A Treat for Cactus Lovers: x Lilo Fee

e6filmuser

This is one of the choicest hybrids in my cactus collection, flowering for the first time for me this week. The flower was about 2”/5cm tall.

Hildewintera cv. 'HUMKE'S LILO FEE' is a cross of [i]Hildewintera aureispina[/i] X [i]Trichocereus[/i] cv. 'Auberschigi', hybridized by Heinrich Humke.

It has the stout stems of [i]Trichocereus[/i] but the growth form and much of the flower form of [i]Hildewintera[/i].

Numerous genera are now included in [i]Cleistocactus[/i]. One of those is [i]Hildewintera[/i]. Numerous other genera are included in [i]Echinopsis[/i]. One of those is [i]Trichocereus[/i]. Hybrids within [i]Cleistocactus[/i] or within [i]Echinopsis[/i] are widely available but a cross between [i]Cleistocactus[/i] and [i]Echinopsis[/i] is rare.

The buds develop over several weeks. This series of images shows the slow opening of the flower over two sunny days.
Olympus EM-1, (aperture priority), Olympus 4/3 50mm f2 macro, f11, hand-held.

I hope to post stereos tomorrow.

Harold