''Ariocarpus agavoides'' (known commonly as the Magueyito or Tamaulipas living rock cactus) is a species of

cactus 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, ...

. Some taxonomists place it in a separate genus as ''Neogomesia agavoides''. The locals use the slime from the roots of the plants as glue to repair pottery. The sweet-tasting warts are eaten and often added to salads

Description

This cactus is a small rosette-shaped succulent plant with short, stiff, dark green tubercles which closely resemble the leaves of a small ''

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

'' or ''

Haworthia ''Haworthia'' is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa). Like aloes and gasteria they are members of the Family (biology), subfamily Asphodeloideae and they ...

''. The plant grows geophytically with dark green to brownish bodies that are almost completely hidden in the ground and have a diameter of 3 to 8 centimeters. The areoles are very curiously placed halfway out on the upper surface of these pseudo-leaves. The warts protruding from the base of the shoot are spreading, elongated, 2 to 4 centimeters long and 5 to 10 millimeters wide. The spines, which are up to 7 millimeters long, can be completely absent, only present on some or on all warts. The subglobose, flattened stem is greenish brown in color and up to 6 centimeters (2.25 inches) long by 8 centimeters in diameter. The rest of the plant is rootstock growing underground. The divergent, flaccid tubercles are flattened adaxially. The areoles at the tips of the tubercles are up to 1.2 centimeters long. Some individuals lack spines, while others have whitish spines up to a centimeter long. Plants 5 to 8 years of age begin to grow magenta flowers with a diameter of 3.5 to 5 centimeters long. The pistils are a deep yellow and the stamens are white. The globose fruit is reddish to reddish purple and turn brown when ripe and up to 2.2 centimeters long. File:Ariocarpus agavoides2.jpg, Plant File:IMG 3406-Ariocarpus agavoides.jpg, Spines File:IMG 3005-Ariocarpus agavoides.jpg File:Ariocarpus seedlings (6072547143) (cropped2).jpg, seedling

Habitat and distribution

''A. agavoides'' has a narrow distribution in the rocky limestone hills at about 1200 meters in elevation in

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

and

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

in Mexico. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

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 ...

. It grows in dry shrubland in rocky calcareous substrates.

Taxonomy

The first description as ''Neogomesia agavoides'' was made in 1941 by Marcelino Castañeda, who created his new monotypic genus ''Neogomesia'' for the species. The specific epithet agavoides is derived from the Greek suffix -oides for 'resemble' and the genus ''

Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

'' and refers to the appearance of the species. However, studies by

Edward Frederick Anderson Edward Frederick Anderson (Covina, California, June 17, 1932 – March 29, 2001) was an American botanist who conducted extensive explorations in Mexico. He was a leading specialist in the cactus family. He was Senior Research Botanist at the Des ...

in 1962 showed that the species must be classified in the genus ''Ariocarpus''.

Conservation actions

This cactus is listed as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

and it is listed on CITES Appendix I. It is illegal to collect the cactus in Mexico as it is protected by the state under the national list of species at risk of extinction, NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. Despite the restriction, it still shows up in the trade market.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q137206 agavoides Cacti of Mexico Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of San Luis Potosí Flora of Tamaulipas Endangered plants Endangered biota of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot