These are small, colourful cacti from the Andes mountains of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.
On behalf of Plant Heritage a National Collection of these plants is housed and maintained in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. The collection is private but may be visited by arrangement.
All of the photographs on this website are of plants in the collection.
The collection contains around 4,500 plants of approximately 98% of the known species of these three genera. Many of these plants are endangered or even extinct in their native habitats, mainly due to encroaching development but also by over-collection in the past by unscrupulous dealers and collectors. It is important, for conservation reasons, that plants which are currently in cultivation are maintained, propagated and distributed to other growers in order to protect the species from extinction and discourage further collection from the wild. All of the plants in this National Collection are from cultivated stock in glasshouses and not wild collected.
Aylostera and Rebutia are closely related; Weingartia, which includes the former genera of Sulcorebutia and Cintia, are from a different evolutionary line but are superficially similar in appearance.
The collection is entirely maintained by volunteers and subsists on donations. Cuttings and seedlings of plants are sometimes available on request. The best time to visit is in the spring (mid April to late May), when the majority of plants are flowering.
There is an annual open day, usually in May: check the blog for details.
