Echinomastus Mariposensis
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''Echinomastus mariposensis'' (
syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...
''Neolloydia mariposensis'', ''Sclerocactus mariposensis'') is a rare species 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 ...
known by the common names Lloyd's fishhook cactus, golfball cactus, silver column cactus, and Mariposa cactus. It is native to a small section of territory straddling the border between
Brewster County, Texas Brewster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat (and only city) is Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and borders Mexico. Brewster County is the ...
, in the United States and the state of
Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
in
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 ...
. It has been federally listed as a threatened species in the United States since 1979.USFWS
''E. mariposensis'' Recovery Plan.
April 1990.


Habitat

This tiny cactus grows at about 30 sites in Texas and Coahuila, many of which are located within
Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after ...
and the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area.''E. mariposensis''.
Center for Plant Conservation.
''E. mariposensis''.
Texas Parks and Wildlife.
In Coahuila it has been observed near
Cuatro Ciénegas Cuatro Ciénegas () is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. It stands at , at an average elevation of above sea level. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located in the ...
and
Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...
. It is named for the Mariposa Mine, a mercury mine in Texas, where it was first discovered. It was described in 1945. The plant grows in
Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...
scrub amongst other plants such as beaked yucca (''Yucca rostrata''),
creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types were ...
(''Larrea tridentata''), and
lechuguilla ''Agave lechuguilla'' (common name in Chihuahua: ''lechuguilla'', meaning "small lettuce") is an ''Agave'' species found only in the Chihuahuan Desert. The plant flowers once in its life and then dies. Description The plant reproduces most ...
(''Agave lechuguilla''), as well as many other cacti. It grows in barren, exposed, rocky habitat with substrates of
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
; it does not occur in the adjacent parts of the habitat where the rock is
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
, and the related '' Echinomastus warnockii'' fills its
niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
there.''E. mariposensis''.
Flora of North America.
This cactus may grow alongside the bunched cory cactus (''Coryphantha ramillosa''), another threatened cactus species.


Characteristics

This is a petite cactus growing up to 10 centimeters tall by 6 wide. The body is covered with
areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cacti out of which grow clusters of spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cacti, and identify them as a family distinct from other succulent plants. Gordon Rowley - W ...
s bearing spines. The central spines are up to 2 centimeters long and are white, gray, or yellow in color with brownish or bluish tips. Each areole also has many radial spines which are smaller and white or gray in color, sometimes with brown tips. The flowers are white, or pink fading to white over time, often with dark midstripes, and up to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is about a centimeter in length and yellow-green in color. Blooming occurs in February and March.


Endangered status

Threats to this rare species have included mercury mining, petroleum exploration activities,
off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...
s, and
grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...
. The worst threat has been
poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
by cactus collectors. The collectors employed professional diggers to go into the habitat and retrieve this and other species of cacti, which were stockpiled, shipped away for sale, and sometimes discarded or wasted. The type locality of the cactus has been scoured for specimens and few are found there anymore. Plants in Big Bend National Park occur on rugged terrain and have generally been safe from collectors. In 1983 the cactus was placed on Appendix 1 of
CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
in an effort to protect it from harvesting.


References


External links


USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1754549 Cactoideae Flora of Coahuila Flora of Texas Plants described in 1945