Cochemiea halei

Cochemiea halei
Flowering in habitat
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Cochemiea
Species:	C. halei
Binomial name
Cochemiea halei (Brandegee) Walton
Synonyms
Cactus halei(Brandegee) J.M.Coult. 1894 Mammillaria haleiBrandegee 1889

Cochemiea halei is a species of cactus in the genus Cochemiea commonly known as the Magdalena cochemiea. It is endemic to the Magdalena Bay region in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. ^[2]

Description

Cochemiea halei forms large clusters up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in size. Individual shoots are cylindrical, 30–40 cm (12–16 in) long, and 5–7.5 cm (2.0–3.0 in) in diameter. The warts are short, and the axillae are woolly. It has 6-9 stiff, strong, reddish-brown central spines 2.0–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) long that turn gray with age. The 15-22 radial spines are initially reddish-brown and gray, 0.9–1.5 cm (0.35–0.59 in) long.

The red flowers are vertical with a crooked-hemmed and 3.5–5 cm (1.4–2.0 in) long with a long flower tube. The fruits are club-shaped, red, and up to 1.2 cm (0.47 in) long. Seeds are reticulated. ^[3]

Distribution

Cochemiea halei is found in Baja California Sur, Mexico, specifically on the islands of Magdalena and Santa Margarita at elevations of 10 to 100 meters. It grows on sand dunes on the beach along with Echinocereus barthelowanus , Opuntia pycnantha , Cochemiea dioica , and Stenocereus eruca . ^[4] It is also rarely found in a few adjacent mainland localities. ^[2]

• 
  Several plants on Magdalena Island
• 
  Plants growing in habitat San Carlos, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Taxonomy

First described as Mammillaria halei in 1889 by American botanist Townshend Stith Brandegee, the specific epithet honors J.P. Hale, a landowner in Baja California who supported Brandegee's expedition. ^[5] Frederick Arthur Walton reclassified the species to the genus Cochemiea in 1899. ^[6]

References

1. Burquez Montijo, A.; Felger, R.S. (2017) [amended version of 2013 assessment]. "Mammillaria halei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T152780A121548404. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T152780A121548404.en .
2. Rebman, Jon P.; Gibson, Judy; Rich, Karen (15 November 2016). "Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Baja California, Mexico" (PDF). Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 45. San Diego Natural History Museum: 99 – via San Diego Plant Atlas.
3. Anderson, Edward F. (2011). Das große Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 386. ISBN   978-3-8001-5964-2.
4. "Cochemiea halei". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-06-15.  This article incorporates textfrom this source, which is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
5. "The Cactus journal : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
6. Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Eaton, Mary E.; Rose, J. N.; Wood, Helen Adelaide (1919). The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46288.