''Sclerocactus wetlandicus'' 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 name Uinta Basin hookless cactus. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in the United States, where it is known only from the

Uinta Basin The Uinta Basin (also known as the Uintah Basin) is a physiographic section of the larger Colorado Plateaus province, which in turn is part of the larger Intermontane Plateaus physiographic division. It is also a geologic structural basin in ...

.''Sclerocactus wetlandicus''.
The Nature Conservancy. It may also be called the Pariette cactus, but this name is more appropriate for '' Sclerocactus brevispinus'', the species endemic to the Pariette Draw of Duchesne County.USFWS
''Sclerocactus wetlandicus'' Recovery Outline.
April 2010. ''Sclerocactus wetlandicus'' is threatened by a number of processes and human activities. This plant is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States. Until 1989 it was included under the description of ''

Sclerocactus glaucus ''Sclerocactus glaucus'' is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Colorado hookless cactus. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the area between Grand Junction and Montrose.

'', a threatened cactus. When it was separated and elevated to species status it retained the threatened designation.USFWS
12-month Finding on a Petition To List Sclerocactus brevispinus (Pariette cactus) as an Endangered or Threatened Species; Taxonomic Change From ''Sclerocactus glaucus'' to ''Sclerocactus brevispinus'', ''S. glaucus'', and ''S. wetlandicus''.
''Federal Register'' September 18, 2007. Sources vary in whether they recognize the separation from ''S. glaucus''; Anderson (2001) does not. p. 626 This cactus has a spherical or cylindrical shape, a green or bluish color, and a waxy texture. It grows up to 15 centimeters tall by 12 wide. There are several white, tan, or black radial spines and a few brown, black, or reddish central spines on each

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 ...

. The radial spines are up to 2 centimeters long, the central spines sometimes a bit longer. The fragrant funnel-shaped flowers are up to 5 centimeters long by 5 wide. They have pink

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s, the outer ones tinged brown.''Sclerocactus wetlandicus''.
Flora of North America. This plant grows on

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

slopes with rough, rocky soils littered with

cobble Cobble may refer to: * Cobble (geology), a designation of particle size for sediment or clastic rock * Cobblestone, partially rounded rocks used for road paving * Hammerstone, a prehistoric stone tool * Tyringham Cobble, a nature reserve in Tyr ...

s and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

. The desert shrub

plant community A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant co ...

includes such species as ''

Atriplex confertifolia ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Description The height of ''Atriplex confertifolia'' ...

'', ''

Pleuraphis jamesii ''Hilaria jamesii'' (formerly ''Pleuraphis jamesii'') is a species of grass known by the common name James' galleta. Range and habitat It is native to the southwestern United States, where it is widespread in scrub, woodland, grassland, and pl ...

'', ''

Artemisia nova ''Artemisia nova'' is a North American species of sagebrush, known by the common name black sagebrush. It is "one of the most common shrubs in the western United States". Distribution and habitat The native range of ''Artemisia nova'' is from th ...

'', and '' Achnatherum hymenoides''. The cactus flowers are pollinated by

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, probably including bees,

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s, and

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s. This cactus grows throughout the Uinta Basin of Utah, mainly in Uintah County along the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

and its

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

. Despite its being limited to one region, it is found in many locations there and its population could number 30,000. Threats to the species include damage to the habitat during

hydrocarbon exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

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 ...

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 ...

use, 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 ...

. There are many active

oil wells An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may ...

in the area, and there is associated activities in the habitat such as road construction and maintenance and pipeline installation and maintenance, which cause

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

and the

edge effect In ecology, edge effects are changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats. Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout the range. As ...

. Other damage includes

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in homes ...

production, and the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

of weeds.

References

External links

*
USDA Plants Profile for ''Sclerocactus wetlandicus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2260409 wetlandicus Cacti of the United States Flora of Utah Endemic flora of the United States Duchesne County, Utah Plants described in 1989