Melocactus curvispinus

Melocactus curvispinus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Melocactus
Species:	M. curvispinus
Binomial name
Melocactus curvispinus Pfeiff. 1837
Synonyms
List Of M. curvispinus subsp. caesius: Cactus caesius(H.L.Wendl.) Britton & Rose 1921 Melocactus caesiusH.L.Wendl. 1841 Melocactus curvispinus f. caesius(H.L.Wendl.) N.P.Taylor 1991 Melocactus amoenusHoffmanns. 1833 Melocactus curvispinus subsp. saravianusFern.Alonso & Xhonneux 2002 Melocactus rubensMiq. 1841 Of M. curvispinus subsp. curvispinus: Cactus maxoniiRose 1907 Cactus oaxacensisBritton & Rose 1923 Cactus obtusipetalus(Lem.) Britton & Rose 1922 Cactus ruestii(K.Schum.) Britton & Rose 1922 Cactus salvador(L.Murillo) Britton & Rose 1922 Melocactus brongnartiiHildm. 1892 Melocactus crassicostatusLem. 1838 Melocactus curvispinus subsp. cucutensisXhonneux & Fern.Alonso 2002 Melocactus curvispinus subsp. loboguerreroi(Cárdenas) Fern.Alonso & Xhonneux 2002 Melocactus curvispinus subsp. obtusipetalus(Lem.) Xhonneux & Fern.Alonso 2002 Melocactus delessertianusLem. ex Labour. 1853 Melocactus guatemalensisGürke & Eichlam 1908 Melocactus humilisSuringar 1889 Melocactus loboguerreroiCárdenas 1967 Melocactus maxonii(Rose) Gürke 1908 Melocactus maxonii var. sanctae-rosaeL.D.Gómez 1977 Melocactus monvilleanusMiq. 1841 Melocactus oaxacensis(Britton & Rose) Backeb. 1960 Melocactus obtusipetalusLem. 1838 Melocactus obtusipetalus var. crassicostatus(Lem.) Lem. ex Miq. 1841 Melocactus ruestiiK.Schum. 1896 Melocactus ruestii subsp. centalapensisElizondo 1986 Melocactus ruestii subsp. cintalapensisElizondo 1986 Melocactus ruestii subsp. maxonii(Rose) Elizondo 1986 Melocactus ruestii subsp. oaxacensis(Britton & Rose) Elizondo 1986 Melocactus ruestii subsp. sanctae-rosae(L.D.Gómez) Elizondo 1986 Melocactus rustiiK.Schum. 1896 Melocactus salvadorL.Murillo 1897 Of M. curvispinus subsp. dawsonii: Melocactus dawsoniiBravo 1965 Of M. curvispinus subsp. guitartii: Melocactus guitartiiLeón 1934 Of M. curvispinus subsp. koolwijkianus: Melocactus koolwijkianusSuringar 1885 publ. 1886 Melocactus appropinquatusValck.Sur. 1901 Melocactus argenteusSuringar 1889 Melocactus argenteus var. tenuispinaSuringar 1889 Melocactus armatusSuringar 1889 Melocactus compactusSuringar 1889 Melocactus koolwijkianus var. adustusSuringar 1889 Melocactus koolwijkianus f. plurispinaSuringar 1889 Melocactus koolwijkianus f. quadrispinaSuringar 1889 Melocactus martialisSuringar 1889 Melocactus nanusSuringar 1889 Melocactus radiatusSuringar 1889 Melocactus roseusSuringar 1889 Melocactus uncinatusSuringar 1889 Of M. curvispinus subsp. lobelii: Melocactus caesius subsp. lobelii(Suringar) Guiggi 2010 Melocactus curvispinus f. lobelii(Suringar) N.P.Taylor 1991 Melocactus lobeliiValck.Sur. 1896 Melocactus caesius var. griseus(H.L.Wendl. ex Miq.) C.F.Först. 1846 Melocactus cephalenoplusLem. 1840 Melocactus griseusH.L.Wendl. ex Miq. 1841

Melocactus curvispinus is a species of Melocactus found from southern Mexico to Venezuela.

Description

Melocactus curvispinus grows solitary with depressed, spherical to short-cylindrical, green to glauco-colored shoots measuring 6–30 cm high and 8–27 cm in diameter. It has 10-16 pointed ribs that may become warty, with sunken areoles in the notches. Some off-white to nearly black spines are curved; 1-4 central spines that are 15–52 mm, may be absent. There are 6–11, sometimes more radial spines thatare 3–42 mm long, with the lowest being the longest. From the small cephalium 3–4 cm high and 7–11 cm wide where reddish-brown bristles emerge. Flowers, which appear from the cephalium and extend over 10 mm above it, open in late afternoon. They are pink-violet, 18–43 mm long, and 10–25 mm wide. Fruits are club-shaped, pink to bright red or magenta, slightly lighter at the base. ^[1]

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognized: ^[2]

Image	Name	Description	Distribution
	Melocactus curvispinus subsp. caesius(H.L.Wendl.) N.P.Taylor	as nearly erect or longer radial spines over 28 mm	Caribbean and coastal Colombia and Venezuela up to 700 m.
	Melocactus curvispinus subsp. curvispinus	Strongly backward-curved radial spines up to 28 mm	Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and western Venezuela up to 1,500 m elevation.
	Melocactus curvispinus subsp. dawsonii(Bravo) N.P.Taylor		Jalisco, Mexico.
	Melocactus curvispinus subsp. guitartii(León) Lodé		Cuba
	Melocactus curvispinus subsp. koolwijkianus(Suringar) G.Thomson		Aruba to Venezuela (Paraguaná Peninsula)
	Melocactus curvispinus subsp. lobelii(Suringar) Fern.Alonso & Xhonneux		NE. Colombia to N. Venezuela.

Distribution

Distribution ranges from Mexico to southern Peru, northeastern Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean. ^[3]

• 
  Habitat of Melocactus curvispinus subsp. curvispinus from Tatacoa Desert, Huila, Colombia
• 
  Habitat of Melocactus curvispinus subsp. curvispinus from Tatacoa Desert, Huila, Colombia
• 
  Melocactus curvispinus subsp. curvispinus growing in Loboguerrero, Colombia

Taxonomy

The plants was first described in 1837 by Ludwig Pfeiffer.

References

1. Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. pp. 424–425. ISBN   3-8001-4573-1.
2. "Melocactus curvispinus Pfeiff". Plants of the World Online. 2024-10-11. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
3. "Melocactus curvispinus". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2025-06-29.

External links

• Media related to Melocactus curvispinus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Melocactus curvispinus at Wikispecies