''Pediocactus nigrispinus'' is a

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 ...

in the

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 ...

family with the common names snowball cactus and Columbia Plateau cactus. It is found in dry areas in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Hitchcock, C.L. and Cronquist, A. 2018. Flora of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd Edition, p. 378. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Description

The Columbia Plateau cactus is a densely spiny plant that forms an (often flattened) ovoid up to 30 centimeters in diameter and 15 centimeters tall, sometimes with a single stem but often as a cluster of stems. The showy pink to magenta colored flowers appear in the spring and form a cluster near the apex of each stem. Burke Herbarium Image Collection, http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Pediocactus%20nigrispinus Full technical description at Flora of North America.

Range and habitat

The Columbia Plateau cactus grows in big sagebrush and lower montane dry habitats in eastern Washington and Oregon and extending into Idaho. It grows in scattered locations but is often locally abundant.

References

nigrispinus Endemic flora of the United States Flora of the Western United States {{Cactus-stub