Sclerocactus mesae-verdae

Sclerocactus mesae-verdae, the Mesa Verde fishhook cactus,[2] is a species of cactus native to northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. It is rare and listed as federally endangered.

Mesa Verde cactus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Core eudicots
Order:
Caryophyllales
Family:
Cactaceae
Subfamily:
Cactoideae
Tribe:
Cacteae
Genus:
Sclerocactus
Species:
S. mesae-verdae
Binomial name
Sclerocactus mesae-verdae
(Boissev. & C. Davidson) L.D. Benson
Synonyms[1]
  • Coloradoa mesae-verdae Boissev. & C. Davidson
  • Echinocactus mesa-verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) L.D. Benson
  • Ferocactus mesa-verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) N.P. Taylor
  • Pediocactus mesae-verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) Arp

It is known only from Montezuma County (Colorado) and San Juan County (New Mexico). Much of the New Mexico part of the range lies inside land controlled by the Navajo Nation. The Colorado populations lie close to Mesa Verde National Park.[3][4][5]

Descriptions

Sclerocactus mesae-verdae is an unbranched columnar cactus up to 20 cm tall and 10 cm in diameter. It has 13-17 longitudinal ribs but inconspicuous tubercules. Each areole has 7-14 radial spines up to 13 mm long, plus 0-4 central spines (usually straight but occasionally hooked) up to 15 mm long.

Flowers are bell-shaped to trumpet-shaped, up to 4 cm across and 3 cm in diameter, white to yellow with purple stripes running up the center of some of the outer tepals. Fruits at maturity are tan and cylindrical, up to 10 mm long. Seeds are black.[6][7][8][9][10]

References
  1. "Tropicos | Name - Sclerocactus mesae-verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) L.D. Benson". www.tropicos.org. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  2. "Sclerocactus mesae-verdae". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  3. "US Fish & Wildlife Species Profile, Mesa Verde Cactus". Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  4. "Southwest Colorado Wildflowers". Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  5. Naumann, Tamara S.; Decker, Karin L.; Coles, Janet J. (November 2, 2012). "Ecology and Population Dynamics of Sclerocactus Mesae-Verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) L.D. Benson". Western North American Naturalist. 72 (3): 311–322. doi:10.3398/064.072.0305. S2CID 54810236.
  6. Flora of North America v 4 p 203.
  7. Benson, Lyman David. 1966. Cactus and Succulent Journal 38(2): 54.
  8. Boissevain, Charles Hercules, & Davidson, Carol. 1940. Colorado Cacti 55–58, f. 38–40.
  9. Benson, Lyman David. 1951. The Mesa Verde Cactus. Leaflets of Western Botany 6(8):163.
  10. Arp, Gerald Kench. 1972. Cactus and Succulent Journal 44(5): 222.

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