''Astrophytum caput-medusae'' (synonym ''Digitostigma caput-medusae'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gre ...

native to

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, specifically the state of

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With ...

; the plant is reported to grow wild only at a single location. This species differs from the conventional star-shaped phenotype associated with other

Astrophytum ''Astrophytum'' is a genus of six species of cacti, native to North America. These species are sometimes referred to as living rocks, though the term is also used for other genera, particularly ''Lithops'' ( Aizoaceae). The generic name is de ...

members. The plant is characterized by a cylindrical, reduced stem with triangular or cylindrical

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s producing yellow flowers with orange

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ca ...

sections. Propagation by seed, tissue culture or via grafting have all been reported. The species is considered critically endangered by the IUCN due to the plant's limited growth range, destruction by livestock and over collection of wild specimen by plant collectors

References

External links

* caputmedusae Plants described in 2003 {{Cactus-stub