Hechtia 'Dorothy'
4837
A rare hybrid of Hechtia argentea x tillandsioides named after Dorothy Byer. It Is not clear if this is a natural hybrid or a man-made hybrid, but was named by Dorothy along with Dutch Vandervort.
Hechtia hybrids are very rarely made as it takes a male and female plant, blooming at the same time, not just two different plants. A large grower with very many narrow, tapering leaves in a full, leafy rosette. The leaves arch gracefully, somewhat recurving. The marginal spines are very reduced, but are sharp and the plant should be handled with caution as the leaf edges can cut your skin quite easily.
Hechtia epigyna
5608
A species from Tamaulipas state of Mexico. An easy to grow species that forms large, silvery-scurfy rosettes. Oddly, the offsets come off with soft, glabrous leaves, developing the scurfy appearance that protects them from the sun, as they mature. The narrow, spiny leaves are rather soft (for a Hechtia) and the tips naturally die back and curl.