''Cochemiea macdougallii'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...

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 Greek ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Cochemiea ''Cochemiea'' is a genus of cactus. It has previously been synonymized with ''Mammillaria'', but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that when broadly circumscribed, ''Mammillaria'' is not monophyletic, and ''Cochemiea'' has been accepted as ...

''. The plant has a greenish-gray

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...

and black spines. It is only known from

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

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 Guatema ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1961 by

Edward Johnston Alexander Edward Johnston Alexander (July 31, 1901 – August 18, 1985) was an American botanist who discovered three species and one genus. He is the author or one of the authors of 205 entries in the International Plant Names Index. He was born in Ashevil ...

as ''Ortegocactus macdougallii''. It was the only species in Alexander's genus ''Ortegocactus''. ''Ortegocactus'' was later synonymized with ''Cochemiea'', but a name in that genus was only provided in 2021.

References

macdougallii Flora of Oaxaca Plants described in 1961 {{Cactus-stub