Ariocarpus are desert plants that grow mostly in Mexico.  These geophytes are commonly called “living rocks” due to their ability to mimic the surrounding geology and blend in.

Ariocarpus lloydii is characterized by its stem, which is flat to somewhat rounded and sometimes columnar in cultivation. In its natural habitat, the adult stems typically reach 10 to 15 cm in diameter. Its distinctive tubercles are ovate, lacking edges and lateral furrows, with coarse papillae forming transversal ledges and irregular warts. Areoles are densely covered in hairs, up to 3 mm wide, often concentrated in the middle of tubercle faces. These plants produce white to purple (usually pink) flowers with oblong-oblanceolate inner perianth-segments and woolly crowns, blooming in October and November for 3 to 4 days. Each plant features a large taproot for water storage beneath the soil surface.

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