The
genus ''Aztekium'' contains three
species of small globular
cactus. Discovered in 1929 by F. Ritter, in
Rayones
Rayones is a municipality in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is named after the Rayón brothers, who were insurgent heroes of the country's independence achieved in 1821. The town was founded in 1852.
It is a small village consisting of fo ...
, Nuevo León, Mexico, this genus was thought to be
monotypic (with ''
Aztekium ritteri'') until a second species (''
Aztekium hintonii
Aztekium hintonii, is a species of cactus in the genus ''Aztekium''. It is the second species of ''Aztekium'' discovered by George Sebastián Hinton in 1991.
Distribution
''Aztekium hintonii'' is endemic to Nuevo León.
Description
The spec ...
'') was discovered by
George S. Hinton
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, in
Galeana, Nuevo León in 1991. A further possible species, ''Aztekium valdezii'', was described in 2011, but is considered to be a synonym of ''A. ritteri''.
Description
''Aztekium ritteri'' is a small plant (around 20 mm wide), with 9 to 11 ribs, which typically have transverse wrinkles. Its color varies from pale green to grayish-green. The center of the cactus contains a lot of white wool. Flowers are small (less than 10 mm wide), with white
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s and pinkish
sepals. The plants bear small pinkish berry-like fruits. ''A. hintonii'' is larger, to 10 cm in diameter, 10 to 18 grooved
rib
In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...
s, flowers
magenta to 3 cm. It grows only on
gypsum.
Species
Etymology
Its name is dedicated to the
Aztec people, due to the resemblance between the plant's shape