Duh, I'd forgotten there was a monstrose senita. Many thanks for the correction. Here's another picture of a different shoot showing that it's in the process of forgetting its monstrosity and growing with normal ribs; still hasn't recovered the knack of long slender spines, but it's beginning to try, as you can see a few shortish, slender, twisted spines.
Looking at senita pictures I see the buds are normal; mine definitely do not open, and most of the buds fall without reaching full size.
Good to have this resolved before it blows over in a monsoon storm next year!
