''Geohintonia mexicana'' (discovered in 1992) is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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, ...

, the only species in the

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 ...

''Geohintonia''. This genus is named after its discoverer

George S. Hinton George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

. As its

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

suggests, the plant is found in

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 ...

(

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

), where it grows on

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

hills near Galeana., p. 342

Description

It is a solitary, globose plant, slowly becoming columnar, up to 11 cm tall and 10 cm in diameter. grayish bluish green has between 18 and 20 very prominent ribs. The ribs have large wooly areoles with 3 curved spines about 3 to 15 mm long, yellowish in color. The hot pink, funnel-shaped flowers emerge at the apex and open after dark. The flowers are 2 to 4 cm in diameter and appear at the apex. They are open during the day and are pink to magenta in color. Fruits are ovoid 9 x 4-5 mm File:Geohintonia mexicana0.jpg, Plant File:Geohintonia mexicana fma cristata.jpg, ''Geohintonia mexicana'' f. ''cristata''

Distribution

The plants grow exclusively in Mexico in the state of

on gypsum hills at 1200 to 1350 meters. '' Aztekium hintonii'' and '' Selaginella gypsophila'' can also be found at the site. It is thought that the species may have arisen from a natural hybrid with ''Aztekium hintonii'' as one parent.

Taxonomy

The plants were discovered by

in 1991 and the genus and species were first described in 1992 by

Charlie Glass Charles Edward Glass (24 May 1934 – 23 February 1998) was an American horticulturalist and plant collector. Together with his best friend, Bob Foster, Glass collected and scientifically described dozens of cacti species, edited the '' Cactus ...

and Walter A. Fitz-Maurice. A nomenclature synonym was created through an unaccepted recombination in 2000 to ''Echinocactus mexicanus'' (Glass & W.A.Fitz Maurice) Halda.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q8178626, from2=Q137774 Cacti of Mexico Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of Nuevo León Monotypic Cactaceae genera Near threatened biota of Mexico Cactoideae