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Thelocactus conothelos

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Thelocactus conothelos
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Thelocactus
Species:
T. conothelos
Binomial name
Thelocactus conothelos
(Regel & Klein) Backeb. & F.M.Knuth
Synonyms
  • Echinocactus conothelos Regel & E.Klein bis 1860
  • Gymnocactus conothelos (Regel & E.Klein bis) Backeb. 1961
  • Torreycactus conothelos (Regel & E.Klein bis) Doweld 1998

Thelocactus conothelos is a species of cactus endemic to Mexico.[1]

Description

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Thelocactus conothelos is a solitary, spherical cactus, growing 7 to 18 cm (2.8 to 7.1 in) in height and diameter. Its ribs are indistinct, with conical warts that are light green at the base and squared. The areoles are woolly and about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide. It has 7 to 20 glassy, ocher yellow to grayish radial spines, 8 to 12 mm (0.31 to 0.47 in) long, and 4 central spines that are 1 to 9 cm (0.39 to 3.54 in) long. The large, spreading flowers range from 4.5 to 6 cm (1.8 to 2.4 in) wide and vary in color from white to magenta. Fruits are 12 mm (0.47 in) long and 7 mm (0.28 in) in diameter, with dark reddish to black seeds.[2]

Subspecies

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Accepted subspecies:[1]

Image Scientific name Distribution
Thelocactus conothelos subsp. argenteus (Glass & R.A.Foster) Glass Mexico (Nuevo León)
Thelocactus conothelos subsp. aurantiacus (Glass & R.A.Foster) Glass NE. Mexico
Thelocactus conothelos subsp. conothelos NE. Mexico
Thelocactus conothelos subsp. garciae (Glass & Mend.-Garc.) Mosco & Zanov. Mexico (Tamaulipas)

Distribution

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This species is native to Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and San Luis Potosí, Mexico at elevations between 1200 to 2200 meters growing in shrubland and limestone slopes. Plants are found growing along Mammillaria candida, Mammillaria picta, Mammillaria formosa subsp. formosa, Mammillaria winterae subsp. aramberri , Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. gracilis, Thelocactus bicolor, Astrophytum myriostigma and Echinocactus platyacanthus[3]

Taxonomy

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It was first described as Echinocactus conothelos in 1860 by Eduard von Regel and Edward Klein.[4] The name, derived from Greek, refers to the cone-shaped warts. In 1936, Frederik Marcus Knuth reclassified it as Thelocactus.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Thelocactus conothelos (Regel & E.Klein bis) F.M.Knuth". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  2. ^ Anderson, Edward F. (2001). The Cactus Family. Portland, Or: Timber Press (OR). p. 658. ISBN 0-88192-498-9.
  3. ^ "Thelocactus conothelos". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-09-17. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
  4. ^ Avé-Lallemant, Julius Leopold Eduard; Fischer, F. E. L.; Herder, Ferdinand Gottfried von.; Meyer, Carl Anton; Regel, E.; Trautvetter, Ernst Rudolph von (1845). "Index seminum, quae Hortus Botanicus Imperialis Petropolitanus pro mutua commutatione offert". Hortus. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
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