Parodia microsperma aka Golden Tom Thumb

Parodia microsperma is a cactus. It belongs to the cactus family, Cactaceae. Kew gives its native range as Bolivia to northwestern Argentina. Kew calls it a succulent subshrub, a small shrub with fleshy growth. In the wild, it grows in desert and dry shrubland. The RHS accepts this species name. It lists Parodia mutabilis as a synonym, or another name for the same plant. The RHS also says it is not native to Britain or Ireland.

LLIFLE uses the older name Hickenia microsperma for its page. That page gives Parodia microsperma as the accepted name. It lists the plant in several parts of Argentina. These are Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca and La Rioja. The range also takes in northeastern San Juan. It reaches northwestern Santiago del Estero as well. LLIFLE says records from Bolivia are likely, but not certain. It names Tarija and San Pedro as places there. Kew includes Bolivia but does not state this doubt.

The plant grows on rocky ground in Monte and Chaco habitats. LLIFLE gives its height above sea level as about 1,640 to 6,560 feet [500–2,000 metres]. It describes a wide range, with many plants in some places. Farming affects the places where it grows. These notes tell us about the plant in the wild. They do not report tests of care in a garden. They give no set plan for when to water it. Nor do they show how much light it needs in gardens. They give no frost limit for plants grown there.

The supplied sources for this species give no sound mature garden size. They do not settle what colour its flowers are. Nor do they settle when it blooms or give clear fruit details. Most of the detailed care notes concern other named plants or varieties. Those notes cannot show the traits of this species as a whole. This limit also holds for stem sizes and spine details. We cannot use those accounts to fill these gaps.

The matching sources give no grounds to claim any parts are edible. They give no grounds for claims of use as medicine. They do not show that it is safe for people or pets. The supplied material has no pest list for this species. It also has no formal review of the species' conservation status.