Coryphantha | |
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Coryphantha ramillosa | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Core eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Tribe: | Cacteae |
Genus: | Coryphantha (Engelm.) Lem. |
Species | |
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Coryphantha (from Greek, "flowering on the top") or Beehive cactus is a genus of small to middle-sized, globous to short-columnar cacti. The genus is found from Mexico to southern New Mexico and Texas in the United States. With its two subgenera, forty-three species and eleven subspecies, it is one of the largest genera of cactus.[1]
There are four characteristics that distinguish Coryphantha from other cacti.
More than many other cacti, the Coryphantha change in their appearance over their lifespan.[4] The presence or absence of a central spine is not indicative of the genus, even in fully adult plants.[4]
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The name Coryphantha for the group was first applied by Engelmann in 1856 as a subgenus,[5] the earlier name Aulacothele of Lemaire having been abandoned.[6] In 1868 Lemaire promoted the group to genus level.[5][6] Before this all Coryphantha had been classified as Mammillaria.
The genus has two vaild synonyms,
and three invalid ones.
A number of Coryphantha have previously been classified in other genera, indeed the type species C. sulcata was originally named Mammillaria sulcata[7] Other examples include Echinocactus salinensis Poselger 1853 now Coryphantha salinensis (Poselger) Dicht and A.Lüthy 1998[8] and Neolloydia pulleineana Blackberg 1948 now Coryphantha pulleineana (Blackberg) Glass 1968.[9]
Similarly, a number of other species have been previously classified as Coryphantha. For example, Escobaria vivipara was called Coryphantha vivipara.[10]