Thelocactus rinconensis explained

Thelocactus rinconensis, synonyms including Thelocactus nidulans, is a species of cactus. It is endemic to north-east Mexico.

Description

Thelocactus rinconensis is a small perennial gray-green cactus, growing 6 - 8 centimeters high and is between 12 - 20 centimeters in diameter. It has 20-25 ribs with marked with angular tubercles. The areolas are 2 to 2.5 centimeters apart, circular or elliptical and covered with white wooly hairs. Areoles have 3 to 4 central spines are 6 - 8 centimeters long It features up to six dark brown to black main spines and thin, radial spines that are 1.3-1.5 cm long. Flowers, about 4 cm long and 2.5-7.5 cm wide, are funnel-shaped and yellow or whitish, growing from new growth at the top of the plant. Fruits are spherical to oblong with scales, 7-9 mm in diameter, greenish or yellowish. Seeds are 1.7-2 mm long[1]

Distribution

The plant is found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico growing at elevations of 1200-1900 meters growing in xerophytic shrubland on calcareous soils.[2]

Taxonomy

Echinocactus rinconensis was described in The Cactaceae in 1855 by Heinrich Poselger.[3] Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus Thelocactus in 1923.[4]

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Find Trees & Learn . University of Arizona Campus Arboretum . 2024-05-09.
  2. Web site: Thelocactus rinconensis . LLIFLE . 2013-08-04 . . 2024-05-09.
  3. Web site: Dietrich . Albert . Otto . Friedrich . Allgemeine Gartenzeitung . Biodiversity Heritage Library . v.23 (1855) . 1855 . 2024-05-09.
  4. Book: Britton, Nathaniel Lord . Eaton . Mary E. . Rose . J. N. . Wood . Helen Adelaide . The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family . Carnegie Institution of Washington . Washington . 1919 . 10.5962/bhl.title.46288 .