Stenocactus multicostatus | |
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Stenocactus multicostatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Stenocactus |
Species: | S. multicostatus |
Binomial name | |
Stenocactus multicostatus | |
Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Stenocactus multicostatus, the brain cactus, is a member of the cactus family native to the deserts of Mexico, and is popular in the gardening community. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [2]
It grows single plant body is spherical to somewhat cylindrical up to 2.5 in (6 cm) tall, 2.4 to 4 in (6–10 cm) wide. It has no fewer than 120 very thin, sharp-edged, pressed, wavy ribs, between which there are narrow furrows. It has nearly 100 thin ribs around the outside, each with six to nine spines. Three white, papery, curved central spines arise from the areole, which are up to 3 centimeters long and have a square cross-section. The four marginal spines are glassy white, upright or slightly curved. In the variety or subspecies S.m. Coahuilensis there can be as many as 144 ribs, with the highest phylotaxis (55/144) of any cactus. [3] The crown is covered by a thin, whitish wool. The upper spines are wider, at 1.6 to 3.2 in (4–8 cm) long, while the lower ones are shorter, at 0.2 to 0.6 in (5–15 mm) long. The flower is white to purple, 0.8 to 2 in (2–5 cm) in diameter with many stamens. The scales of the ovary are broadly ovoid, pointed to pointed, very thin, more or less papery and fall off early. [4]
Though it has only been reported in the shrublands of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, [5] and Tamaulipas, [6] it has yet to be assessed using the IUCN Categories and Criteria because its taxonomy is still unclear. [7]
The first mention as Echinocactus multicostatus comes from 1890. [8] Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose assigned Echinocactus multicostatus as Echinofossulocactus multicostatus to the genus Echinofossulocactus, which they newly established in 1922. At the same time they published the first description of two species collected by Francis Ernest Lloyd (1868–1947). Echinofossulocactus lloydii from Zacatecas and Echinofossulocactus zacatecasensis from northern Zacatecas are now considered synonyms. In 1929, Alwin Berger placed the species described by Britton and Rose in Illustrated Handbooks of Succulent Plants: Cacti in the genus Stenocactus. Another synonym Echinofossulocactus erectocentrus was published invalidly by Curt Backeberg in 1961.
Acanthocereus is a genus of cacti. Its species take the form of shrubs with arching or climbing stems up to several meters in height. The generic name is derived from the Greek word άκανθα (acantha), meaning spine, and the Latin word cereus, meaning candle. The genus is native to the mostly tropical Americas from Texas and the southern tip of Florida to the northern part of South America, including islands of the Caribbean.
Echinocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (echînos), meaning "spiny," and cactus. It and Ferocactus are the two genera of barrel cactus. Members of the genus usually have heavy spination and relatively small flowers. The fruits are copiously woolly, and this is one major distinction between Echinocactus and Ferocactus. Propagation is by seed.
Astrophytum myriostigma, the bishop's cap cactus, bishop's hat or bishop's miter cactus, is a species of cactus native to the highlands of northeastern and central Mexico.
In 1984, the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study set up a working party, now called the International Cactaceae Systematics Group, to produce a consensus classification of the cactus family, down to the level of genus. Their classification has been used as the basis for systems published since the mid-1990s. Treatments in the 21st century have generally divided the family into around 125–130 genera and 1,400–1,500 species, which are then arranged in a number of tribes and subfamilies. However, subsequent molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that a very high proportion of the higher taxa are not monophyletic, i.e. they do not contain all of the descendants of a common ancestor. As of August 2023, the internal classification of the family Cactaceae remained uncertain and subject to change. A classification incorporating many of the insights from the molecular studies was produced by Nyffeler and Eggli in 2010.
Thelocactus is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Members of the genus are native to the arid lands of Central and Northern Mexico.
Oroya is a genus of cacti, native to Peru. The genus is widespread in the Peruvian Andes.
Brasiliopuntia is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae. It contains only one species, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis.
Kroenleinia grusonii, popularly known as the golden barrel cactus, golden ball, "mother-in-law's cushion" or "mother-in-law’s chair", is a species of barrel cactus which is endemic to east-central Mexico.
Stenocactus pentacanthus is a cactus native to Central Mexico. It can grow to 8 cm in diameter. The plant is greyish-green in colour with 30 to 40 wavy-edge ribs with few areoles. Its flowering period is normally during spring. These flowers can grow to 2 cm long. The flowers are whitish with a pale purple mid-stripe. They enjoy full sun and need a minimum temperature of 10 °C (50 °F).
Echinocereus reichenbachii is a perennial plant and shrub in the cactus family. The species is native to the Chihuahuan Desert and parts of northern Mexico and the southern United States, where they grow at elevations up to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft). This cactus earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Ferocactus echidne is a barrel cactus in the genus Ferocactus. It is found in nature in Mexico. This cactus is known commonly as Sonora barrel, Coville's barrel cactus, Emory's barrel cactus, and traveler's friend. This plant is often sold as a houseplant.
Parodia leninghausii is a species of South American cactus commonly found as a houseplant. Common names include lemon ball cactus, golden ball cactus and yellow tower cactus.
Ferocactus pilosus, also known as Mexican lime cactus or Mexican fire barrel, is a species of cactus in North America.
Gymnocalycium anisitsii is a globular cactus belonging to the family Cactaceae. The specific epithet honors the Hungarian pharmacist Dániel Anisits J. (1856-1911).
Echinocereus pectinatus is a species of hedgehog cactus.
Thelocactus hexaedrophorus is a species of cactus. It is endemic to Mexico.
Thelocactus rinconensis, synonyms including Thelocactus nidulans, is a species of cactus. It is endemic to north-east Mexico.
Thelocactus bicolor, the glory of Texas, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family, widely distributed in the northern Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Mexico.
Gymnocalycium baldianum, the spider-cactus or dwarf chin cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to the Catamarca Province in Argentina.
Ferocactus diguetii, commonly known as the giant barrel cactus, is the largest species of barrel cactus in the genus Ferocactus. It is an insular species endemic to several of Baja California Sur's southern islands in the Gulf of California. As the superlative giant of the barrel cacti, it reaches heights of up to 4 metres (13 ft) and diameters of 1 metre (3.3 ft) in the wild, a result of island gigantism. The species has red flowers that bloom from March to May. Although restricted in range, this species grows in protected habitat and lacks major threats.