Thelocactus conothelos

Thelocactus conothelos
Scientific 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

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

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

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]

Thelocactus conothelos subsp. aurantiacus near Presa De Guadalupe
Plant growing in Nuevo Leon

Taxonomy

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

^ ^a ^b "Thelocactus conothelos (Regel & E.Klein bis) F.M.Knuth". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ Anderson, Edward F. (2001). The Cactus Family. Portland, Or: Timber Press (OR). p. 658. ISBN 0-88192-498-9.
^ "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.
^ 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.

External links

Media related to Thelocactus conothelos at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Thelocactus conothelos at Wikispecies

[j452-1] "Thelocactus conothelos (Regel & E.Klein bis) F.M.Knuth". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[s327-2] Anderson, Edward F. (2001). The Cactus Family. Portland, Or: Timber Press (OR). p. 658. ISBN 0-88192-498-9.

[e149-3] "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.

[w960-4] 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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