Pelecyphora

Pelecyphora
Pelecyphora strobiliformis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Cacteae
Genus: Pelecyphora
C.Ehrenb.
Type species
Pelecyphora aselliformis
Species

see text

Synonyms

Pelecyphora, pincushion cactus or foxtail cactus[1] is a genus of cacti, comprising 20 species. They originate from Mexico and the United States.[2][3]

Common species include the Missouri foxtail cactus P. missouriensis,[4] widespread in grassland and forest west of the Mississippi, and the spinystar P. vivipara,[5] distributed across the US and into Canada, first described by Nuttall in 1813.

Description

Pelecyphores are spherical to club-shaped stem succulents up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter and gray-green in color. They branch only sparsely and only at an older age. The areoles standing on the longitudinally or transversely flattened warts have thorns in a pectinate (comb-shaped) arrangement. As we age, the thorns, then the areoles and finally the warts fall off. Between the warts, the plant bodies are initially dense and short-haired, so that the apexes are hidden.

The flowers arise individually from short furrows on the upper surfaces of the youngest areoles. They are bright purple and about 3 cm (1.2 in) long. The greenish fruits that form after the flowers are fertilized dry out when ripe and release the black seeds into the crown wool, from which they are only washed out (in nature) after a long time.[6]

Taxonomy

Species accepted As of November 2023 by Plants of the World Online with sections from Nigel Paul Taylor from 1986:[7] [8]

Section Group Image Scientific name Subspecies Distribution
Pelecyphora Pelecyphora aselliformis C.Ehrenb. San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Pelecyphora strobiliformis (Werderm.) Frič & Schelle ex Kreutz Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas states in Mexico
Pleurantha N.P.Taylor Pelecyphora chihuahuensis (Britton & Rose) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora chihuahuensis subsp. chihuahuensis
  • Pelecyphora chihuahuensis subsp. henricksonii (Glass & R.A.Foster) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
 Mexico
Pelecyphora tuberculosa (Engelm.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez New Mexico, Mexico
Escobaria Britton & Rose Sneedii Group Pelecyphora laredoi (Glass & R.A.Foster) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Coahuila de Zaragoza - Mexico
Pelecyphora sneedii (Britton & Rose) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora sneedii subsp. sneedii
  • Pelecyphora sneedii subsp. orcuttii (Boed.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
 Mexico (Chihuahua), United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas)
Vivipara Group Pelecyphora alversonii (J.M.Coult.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Arizona, California
Pelecyphora hesteri (Y.Wright) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora hesteri subsp. grata (M.Kaplan, Kunte & Šnicer) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora hesteri subsp. hesteri
 Texas
Pelecyphora vivipara (Nutt.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Canada (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan ), Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Sonora), United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming)
Neobesseya (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor Pelecyphora abdita (Řepka & Vaško) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora abdita subsp. abdita
  • Pelecyphora abdita subsp. tenuispina (Perez Badillo, Delladdio & Raya Sanchez) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
 Mexico (Coahuila)
Pelecyphora emskoetteriana (Quehl) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Mexico (Coahuila de Zaragoza, Tamaulipas ), United States (Texas)
Dasyacantha Group Pelecyphora dasyacantha (Engelm.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora dasyacantha subsp. dasyacantha
  • Pelecyphora dasyacantha subsp. chaffeyi (Britton & Rose) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
 Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Zacatecas), USA (Texas, New Mexico)
Pelecyphora duncanii (Hester) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez New Mexico, Texas
Pelecyphora lloydii (Britton & Rose) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Mexico (Zacatecas)
Pelecyphora minima (Baird) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Texas
Pelecyphora robbinsiorum (W.H.Earle) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Arizona
Missouriensis Group Pelecyphora cubensis (Britton & Rose) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Cuba
Pelecyphora macromeris (Engelm.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora macromeris subsp. macromeris
  • Pelecyphora macromeris subsp. runyonii (Britton & Rose) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
 S. New Mexico to W. Texas and NE. Mexico.
Pelecyphora missouriensis (Sweet) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora missouriensis subsp. missouriensis
  • Pelecyphora missouriensis subsp. asperispina (Boed.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
 USA ( Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota), Mexico (Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo Leon)
Pelecyphora zilziana (Boed.) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez Mexico (Coahuila de Zaragoza)

Synonymy

At genus level

  • The genus Encephalocarpus A.Berger has been brought into synonymy with Pelecyphora.

At species level

The following are synonyms of species now placed outside of Pelecyphora:

Psychoactivity

  • Pelecyphora aselliformis: Mescaline (Less than 0.00002% in dry weight) Neal et al. 1972

Conservation status

Both P. aselliformis and P. strobiliformis are classified as being of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, however both species are contained in Appendix 1 of CITES species (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) as at June 2013.

References

  1. ^ "Escobaria Britton & Rose foxtail cactus" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture
  2. ^ Sánchez, Daniel; Vázquez-Benítez, Balbina; Vázquez-Sánchez, Monserrat; Aquino, David; Arias, Salvador (2022-01-21). "Phylogenetic relationships in Coryphantha and implications on Pelecyphora and Escobaria (Cacteae, Cactoideae, Cactaceae)". PhytoKeys (188): 115–165. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.188.75739. ISSN 1314-2003. PMC 8799629. PMID 35106054.
  3. ^ Neal, J. M.; Sato, P. T.; Howald, W. N.; McLaughlin, J. L. (1972-06-09). "Peyote Alkaloids: Identification in the Mexican Cactus Pelecyphora aselliformis Ehrenberg". Science. 176 (4039): 1131–1133. Bibcode:1972Sci...176.1131N. doi:10.1126/science.176.4039.1131. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17775137.
  4. ^ "Escobaria missouriensis (Sweet) D.R. Hunt - Missouri foxtail cactus" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture
  5. ^ "Escobaria vivipara (Nutt.) Buxbaum - spinystar" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture
  6. ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. pp. 520–522. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
  7. ^ Sánchez, Daniel; Vázquez-Benítez, Balbina; Vázquez-Sánchez, Monserrat; Aquino, David; Arias, Salvador (2022-01-21). "Phylogenetic relationships in Coryphantha and implications on Pelecyphora and Escobaria (Cacteae, Cactoideae, Cactaceae)". PhytoKeys (188). Pensoft Publishers: 115–165. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.188.75739. ISSN 1314-2003. PMC 8799629. PMID 35106054.
  8. ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.