Commemorating Manuel Fraile from Salamanca, Spain (19th century) one-time curator of the cacti at the US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Body dwarf, solitary or in clusters, flattened spherical to cylindrical with shallow ribbing. Flowers diurnal, borne near the body apex, shortly funnel-shaped, opening briefly or remaining closed, yellow. Pericarpel and flower tube with small scales having wool and bristles in their axils. Fruit dry, floral remnants persistent.
These are true miniature cacti the most commonly grown being F. castanea Backeb. from NE Argentina, S Brazil and N Uruguay which has low ribs and is hardly tuberculate; spines directed downwards [F. asteroides Werderm.]; and F. pygmaea (Speg.) Britton & Rose from Argentina, S Brazil and Uruguay, which has 13-24 ribs.
Small bodies; flowers and stigmas yellowish. Similar to Parodia and Notocactus.
10-15 species from E Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, S Brazil, E Argentina.
Source: (1997). Cactaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
