A pattern
with direction.
The white marks gather into a V across the ribs, giving this Super Kabuto a different rhythm from the all-over Snow Type.
Most of what makes this specimen distinctive is visible in the pattern. The pale flecks do not spread evenly; they align into directional marks that echo the star’s ribs. From one angle the V is crisp, from another it breaks into separate islands of white.
“V-type” is a horticultural pattern name within Astrophytum asterias ‘Super Kabuto’. I have not found a reliable record of the first breeder or selection date, so this page treats it as a grower’s form rather than a formally established cultivar with a documented pedigree. Its own acquisition details and wild provenance are not recorded here.
The species’ discovery is better documented than the cultivar’s. Karwinsky collected A. asterias in Tamaulipas in 1843; Zuccarini described it two years later. These field photographs show the naturally star-shaped species in Texas. Their flecking and habitat are not evidence for the V-type pattern, which belongs to cultivation.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service · species history and habitat · Kew · accepted species record.
