Melocactus (melon cactus), also known as the Turk's cap cactus, or Pope's head cactus, is a genus of cactus with about 30–40 species. They are native to the Caribbean, western Mexico through Central America to northern South America, with some species along the Andes down to southern Peru, and a concentration of species in northeastern Brazil.[1]
The first species was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, as Cactus melocactus. When the genus was separated from Cactus, the pre-Linnaean name Melocactus was used. Acting on the principle of priority, in 1922 Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Rose resurrected Linnaeus' Cactus. However, the 1905 Vienna botanical congress had already rejected the name Cactus, so this name was not available, and Melocactus Link & Otto is the correct genus name.[1] Mature plants are easily recognizable by their cephalium, a wool- and bristle-coated structure at the apex of the plant, containing a mass of areoles from which the small flowers grow.[1] The red, wool-coated cephalium, said to resemble the fez worn by Turkish men during the late Ottoman Empire, gives the plant one of its common names, Turk's cap cactus. It gives its name to the Turks Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[2] [3]
The fruits of Melocactus are pink and resemble the shape of pepper fruits. The fruits of this genus are edible, and in the wild they are frequently dispersed by lizards and birds.[4]
, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[5]
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Melocactus acunae León | Eastern Cuba | |
| Melocactus andinus R.Gruber ex N.P.Taylor | Venezuela | |
| Melocactus azureus Buining & Brederoo | Brazil (Bahia) | |
| Melocactus bahiensis (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb. | Brazil (Bahia) | |
| Melocactus bellavistensis Rauh & Backeb. | Ecuador and Peru | |
| Melocactus braunii Esteves | Brazil (Bahia) | |
| Melocactus brederooianus Buining | Brazil (Bahia) | |
| Melocactus broadwayi (Britton & Rose) A.Berger | Trinidad & Tobago | |
| Melocactus caroli-linnaei N.P.Taylor | Jamaica | |
| Melocactus conoideus Buining & Brederoo | Brazil | |
| Melocactus curvispinus Pfeiff. | Mexico, Central America, Colombia and western Venezuela | |
| Melocactus deinacanthus Buining & Brederoo | Brazil | |
| Melocactus ernestii Vaupel | Brazil (Bahia and Minas Gerais.) | |
| Melocactus estevesii P.J.Braun | Brazil (Roraima) | |
| Melocactus evae Z.Mészáros | Southeastern Cuba | |
| Melocactus ferreophilus Buining & Brederoo | Brazil (Bahia) | |
| Melocactus glaucescens Buining & Brederoo | Brazil | |
| Melocactus harlowii (Britton & Rose) Vaupel | Cuba | |
| Melocactus heimenii P.J.Braun & Gonç.Brito | Brazil (Bahia) | |
| Melocactus holguinensis Areces | Cuba | |
| Melocactus inconcinnus Buining & Brederoo | Northeastern Brazil | |
| Melocactus intortus (Mill.) Urb. | Bahamas to Turks-Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico to Lesser Antilles | |
| Melocactus lagunaensis (Z.Mészáros) D.Barrios & Majure | Southeastern Cuba | |
| Melocactus lanssensianus P.J.Braun | Brazil (Pernambuco) | |
| Melocactus lemairei (Monv. ex Lem.) Miq. ex Lem. | Hispaniola (NW. Haiti, W. & Southern Dominican Republic) | |
| Melocactus levitestatus Buining & Brederoo | Central & Eastern Brazil | |
| Melocactus macracanthos (Salm-Dyck) Link & Otto | Aruba to Netherlands Antilles | |
| Melocactus matanzanus León | Cuba | |
| Melocactus mazelianus Ríha | Eastern Colombia to Venezuela | |
| Melocactus nagyi Z.Mészáros | Southeastern Cuba | |
| Melocactus neoviridescens Guiggi | Northeastern Brazil | |
| Melocactus neryi K.Schum. | Venezuela to N. Brazil | |
| Melocactus oreas Miq. | Brazil | |
| Melocactus pachyacanthus Buining & Brederoo | Brazil | |
| Melocactus paucispinus Heimen & R.J.Paul | Bahia, Brazil | |
| Melocactus pedernalensis M.M.Mejía & R.G.García | Southeastern Haiti to southwestern Dominican Republic | |
| Melocactus perezassoi Areces | Central Cuba | |
| Melocactus peruvianus Vaupel | Peru | |
| Melocactus praerupticola Areces | Dominican Republic | |
| Melocactus pruinosus Werderm. | Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais) | |
| Melocactus radoczii Z.Mészáros | Southeastern Cuba | |
| Melocactus salvadorensis Werderm. | Brazil (Southern Bahia, Minas Gerais) | |
| Melocactus santiagoensis D.Barrios & Majure | Cuba | |
| Melocactus schatzlii H.Till & R.Gruber | Venezuela (Mérida) | |
| Melocactus sergipensis N.P.Taylor & Meiado | Brazil (Sergipe) | |
| Melocactus smithii (Alexander) Buining ex G.D.Rowley | Brazil | |
| Melocactus stramineus Suringar | Aruba | |
| Melocactus violaceus Pfeiff. | Northeastern Brazil (to Northeastern Minas Gerais) | |
| Melocactus zehntneri (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb. | Northeastern Brazil | |
, Plants of the World Online accepted the following natural hybrids:[5]
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melocactus × albicephalus Buining & Brederoo | Brazil (Bahia) | ||
| Melocactus × horridus Werderm. | Brazil (Pernambuco) | ||
| Melocactus × trachycephalus Suringar | Aruba |