''Escobaria'', pincushion cactus or foxtail cactus 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 low-growing

cacti 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 ...

that range from the southernmost parts of central and western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

through northern

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 ...

, with one species in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The genus comprises about 23

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 ...

. The term "pincushion cactus" may also refer to the related ''

Mammillaria ''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillaria are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Caribbean ...

''. The stems of ''Escobaria'' range from globose to cylindrical, and lack nectar-secreting glands; while ribs are absent, tubercles are present, tending to become corky and deciduous as they age. The flowers usually appear in spring and may have a variety of colors, while the fruits are almost always red. The seeds in this genus are notable for being deeply pitted. Common species include the Missouri foxtail cactus '' E. missouriensis'', widespread in grassland and forest west of the Mississippi, and the spinystar '' E. vivipara'',"''Escobaria vivipara'' (Nutt.) Buxbaum - spinystar"
PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture distributed across the US and into Canada, first described by Nuttall in 1813. ''Escobaria'' was defined by

Nathaniel Britton Nathaniel Lord Britton (January 15, 1859 – June 25, 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Early life Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York to Jasper ...

and Joseph Rose in their major work ''The Cactaceae'' (1923); they named the genus after Rómulo and Numa Escobar. The cacti of this genus bear many similarities to ''

Coryphantha ''Coryphantha'' (from Greek, "flowering on the top"), or beehive cactus, is a genus of small to middle-sized, globose or columnar cacti. The genus is native to arid parts of Central America, Mexico, through Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas ...

'' and ''

''. Two species were recently moved to ''

Acharagma ''Acharagma'' is a genus of two cactus species from northern Mexico. Description These cacti are usually solitary but sometimes occur in small clusters. The globose stems tend to be about 3–7 cm in diameter. The ribs have tubercles, wit ...

''.

Taxonomy

The following genera have been brought into

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Escobaria'': *''Cochiseia'' W.H.Earle *''Escobesseya'' Hester *''Fobea'' Fric (nom. inval.) *''Neobesseya'' Britton &

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

Species

References

* Anderson, Edward F. (2001) '' The Cactus Family'' Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, pp. 307–314,
Genus Escobaria
Eng/De/Cz

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q133509 Cactoideae genera