''Pelecyphora'', pincushion cactus or foxtail cactus is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

, comprising 20 species. They originate from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the United States. Common species include the Missouri foxtail cactus '' P. missouriensis'', widespread in

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

and forest west of the Mississippi, and the spinystar '' P. vivipara'',"''Escobaria vivipara'' (Nutt.) Buxbaum - spinystar"
PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture distributed across the US and into Canada, first described by

Nuttall Nuttall may refer to: People * Nuttall (name) * Nuttall baronets Nature * Nuttall's oak, a fast-growing large deciduous oak tree native to North America * Nuttall's woodpecker, a species of woodpecker found in oak woodlands of California * Nutta ...

in 1813.

Description

''Pelecyphores'' are spherical to club-shaped stem succulents up to in diameter and gray-green in color. They branch only sparsely and only at an older age. The

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

s standing on the longitudinally or transversely flattened warts have thorns in a pectinate (comb-shaped) arrangement. As we age, the thorns, then the areoles and finally the warts fall off. Between the warts, the plant bodies are initially dense and short-haired, so that the apexes are hidden. The flowers arise individually from short furrows on the upper surfaces of the youngest areoles. They are bright purple and about long. The greenish fruits that form after the flowers are fertilized dry out when ripe and release the black seeds into the crown wool, from which they are only washed out (in nature) after a long time.

Taxonomy

Species accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

with sections from Nigel Paul Taylor from 1986:

Synonymy

At genus level *The genus ''Encephalocarpus'' A.Berger has been brought into

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

with ''Pelecyphora''. At species level The following are synonyms of species now placed outside of ''Pelecyphora'': *''Pelecyphora aselliformis var. pectinata'' (= ''

Mammillaria pectinifera ''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillarias are native to Mexico, while some come from the Southwestern United States, the Car ...

'') *''Pelecyphora pectinata'' (= ''

'') *''Pelecyphora pseudopectinata'' (= ''

Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus ''Turbinicarpus'' is a genus of very small to medium-sized cacti, which inhabit the north-eastern regions of Mexico, in particular the states of San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas ...

'') *''Pelecyphora valdeziana'' (= '' Turbinicarpus valdezianus'') *''Pelecyphora plumosa'' (= '' Turbinicarpus valdezianus'') *''Pelecyphora pulcherrima'' (= ''

'')

Psychoactivity

* ''Pelecyphora aselliformis'':

Mescaline Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, and in chemical terms 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a natural product, naturally occurring psychedelic drug, psychedelic alkaloid, protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, found ...

(Less than 0.00002% in dry weight) Neal ''et al.'' 1972

Conservation status

Both
P. aselliformis
' and
P. strobiliformis
' are classified as being of Least Concern on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

, however both species ar
contained in Appendix 1
of

CITES CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

species (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) as at June 2013.

References

* Anderson, Edward F. (2001) ''

The Cactus Family ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, pp. 307–314,

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q134472 * Cactoideae Cactoideae genera