Pelecyphora


Pelecyphora, pincushion cactus or foxtail cactus is a genus of cacti, comprising 20 species. They originate from Mexico and the United States.
Common species include the Missouri foxtail cactus P. missouriensis, widespread in grassland and forest west of the Mississippi, and the spinystar P. vivipara, distributed across the US and into Canada, first described by Nuttall in 1813.

Description

Pelecyphores are spherical to club-shaped stem succulents up to in diameter and gray-green in color. They branch only sparsely and only at an older age. The areoles standing on the longitudinally or transversely flattened warts have thorns in a pectinate arrangement. As we age, the thorns, then the areoles and finally the warts fall off. Between the warts, the plant bodies are initially dense and short-haired, so that the apexes are hidden.
The flowers arise individually from short furrows on the upper surfaces of the youngest areoles. They are bright purple and about long. The greenish fruits that form after the flowers are fertilized dry out when ripe and release the black seeds into the crown wool, from which they are only washed out after a long time.

Taxonomy

Species accepted by Plants of the World Online with sections from Nigel Paul Taylor from 1986:
SectionGroupImageScientific nameSubspeciesDistribution
PelecyphoraPelecyphora aselliformis C.Ehrenb.San Luis Potosi, Mexico
PelecyphoraPelecyphora strobiliformis Frič & Schelle ex KreutzNuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas states in Mexico
Pleurantha N.P.TaylorPelecyphora chihuahuensis D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora chihuahuensis subsp. chihuahuensis
  • Pelecyphora chihuahuensis subsp. henricksonii D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
Mexico
Pleurantha N.P.TaylorPelecyphora tuberculosa D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezNew Mexico, Mexico
Escobaria Britton & RoseSneedii GroupPelecyphora laredoi D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezCoahuila de Zaragoza - Mexico
Escobaria Britton & RoseSneedii GroupPelecyphora sneedii D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora sneedii subsp. sneedii
  • Pelecyphora sneedii subsp. orcuttii D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
    		• Mexico, United States
    Escobaria Britton & RoseVivipara GroupPelecyphora alversonii D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezArizona, California
    Escobaria Britton & RoseVivipara GroupPelecyphora chlorantha StockArizona, California, Nevada, Utah
    Escobaria Britton & RoseVivipara GroupPelecyphora hesteri D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora hesteri subsp. grata D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora hesteri subsp. hesteri
    		• Texas
    Escobaria Britton & RoseVivipara GroupPelecyphora vivipara D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezCanada, Mexico, United States
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorPelecyphora abdita D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora abdita subsp. abdita
  • Pelecyphora abdita subsp. tenuispina D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
    		• Mexico
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorPelecyphora emskoetteriana D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezMexico, United States
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorDasyacantha GroupPelecyphora dasyacantha D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora dasyacantha subsp. dasyacantha
  • Pelecyphora dasyacantha subsp. chaffeyi D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
    		• Mexico, USA
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorDasyacantha GroupPelecyphora duncanii D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezNew Mexico, Texas
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorDasyacantha GroupPelecyphora lloydii D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezMexico
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorDasyacantha GroupPelecyphora minima D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezTexas
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorDasyacantha GroupPelecyphora robbinsiorum D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezArizona
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorMissouriensis GroupPelecyphora cubensis D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezCuba
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorMissouriensis GroupPelecyphora macromeris D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora macromeris subsp. macromeris
  • Pelecyphora macromeris subsp. runyonii D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
    		• S. New Mexico to W. Texas and NE. Mexico.
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorMissouriensis GroupPelecyphora missouriensis D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
  • Pelecyphora missouriensis subsp. missouriensis
  • Pelecyphora missouriensis subsp. asperispina D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez
    		• USA, Mexico
    Neobesseya N.P.TaylorMissouriensis GroupPelecyphora zilziana D.Aquino & Dan.SánchezMexico

    Synonymy

    At genus level
    • The genus Encephalocarpus A.Berger has been brought into synonymy with Pelecyphora.
    At species level
    The following are synonyms of species now placed outside of Pelecyphora:
    • Pelecyphora aselliformis var. pectinata
    • Pelecyphora pectinata
    • Pelecyphora pseudopectinata
    • Pelecyphora valdeziana
    • Pelecyphora plumosa
    • ''Pelecyphora pulcherrima''

      Psychoactivity

    • Pelecyphora aselliformis: Mescaline Neal et al. 1972

      Conservation status

    Both ' and ' are classified as being of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, however both species are of CITES species as at June 2013.