''Rapicactus mandragora'',
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
''Turbinicarpus mandragora'', is a species of
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
in the family
Cactaceae
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, ...
.
[
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 ...
to Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...
state 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 ...
. Its natural habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
is hot desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
s. It is a Critically Endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
species, threatened by habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
.
Description
''Rapicactus mandragora'' usually grows solitary with grey-green,globular to elongated bodies and has tuberous to rounded thickened roots, which are formed from an often long, neck-like or stalk-shaped base. The bodies reach heights of 3-5 centimeters and diameters of 4-6 centimeters. Their ribs are conical. The 1 to 2 straight, protruding, whitish central spines become darker with age and are 1.8 - 2.2 centiimeters long. The 8 - 14 radiating, straight, white marginal spines are between 8-15 millimeters long.
The flowers are white with a reddish central stripe or yellow. They are 2 centimeters long and have a diameter of 2.5 centimeters. The spherical fruits are reddish green.
Subspecies
*''Rapicactus mandragora'' subsp. ''mandragora''
*''Rapicactus mandragora'' subsp. ''pailanus''
Distribution
''Rapicactus mandragora'' is widespread in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
Taxonomy
The plant was first description as ''Echinocactus mandragora'' in 1929 by Alwin Berger
Alwin Berger (28 August 1871 – 20 April 1931) was a German botanist best known for his contribution to the nomenclature of succulent plants, particularly agaves and cacti. Born in Germany he worked at the botanical gardens in Dresden and Fra ...
. The specific epithet mandragora comes from Latin, means 'mandrake' and refers to the similarity of the root tubers of both species. Franz Buxbaum and Hans Oehme placed the species in the genus ''Rapicactus'' in 1942.
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from1=Q50868015, from2=Q145018
Cactoideae
Cacti of Mexico
Endemic flora of Mexico
Flora of Coahuila
Critically endangered plants
Endangered biota of Mexico
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot