''Leuchtenbergia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
which has only one
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, ''Leuchtenbergia principis'' (agave cactus or prism cactus). It is native to north-central
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
(
San Luis Potosi,
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
). The genus is named after
Maximilian Eugen Joseph (1817–1852), Duke of
Leuchtenberg
Leuchtenberg is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district), district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany, essentially a suburb of nearby Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and a larger historical region ...
and amateur botanist.
It is very slow-growing but can eventually grow up to 70 cm high, with a cylindrical stem which becomes bare and corky at the base with age. It has long, slender, grayish-green
tubercle
In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal.
In plants
A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...
s 6–12 cm long, with purplish-red blotches at their tips. The tubercles are topped with papery spines, making the plant resemble an
agave; old, basal tubercles dry up and fall off. After four years or so, yellow, funnel-shaped flowers 5–6 cm diameter may be borne at the tubercle tips. The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
is smooth and green, 3 cm long and 2 cm broad. It has a large, tuberous taproot.
Taxonomy
It is related to the genus ''
Ferocactus'', and
hybrids have been created between these two genera.
File:Leuchtenbergia principis 5.JPG, ''Leuchtenbergia principis''
File:Leuchtenbergia principis 4.JPG, ''Leuchtenbergia principis'' seen from above
File:Leuchtenbergia principis 10.JPG, The flower
File:Leuchtenbergia principis 106.jpg, The fruit
File:Leuchtenbergia principis 122.jpg, Seeds
References
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q8179748
Flora of Chihuahua (state)
Cactoideae
Monotypic Cactaceae genera