Sclerocactus brevihamatus

Sclerocactus brevihamatus is a species of cactus known by the common name shorthook fishhook cactus.

Sclerocactus brevihamatus
Sclerocactus brevihamatus tobuschii.jpg
Sclerocactus brevihamatus tobuschii
Conservation status

Apparently Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Core eudicots
Order:
Caryophyllales
Family:
Cactaceae
Subfamily:
Cactoideae
Tribe:
Cacteae
Genus:
Sclerocactus
Species:
S. brevihamatus
Binomial name
Sclerocactus brevihamatus
(Engelm.) D.R.Hunt

It is endemic to Texas, and is an endangered species.[1] Threats to the species and subspecies include collecting and development in its habitat.[2]

DescriptionEdit

Sclerocactus brevihamatus is a small, dark-green to grey globose cactus.[3] It has a short, central taproot with many fine, fibrous offshoots.[3] Its stem has 10–12 ribs, divided into tubercles with shallow, wooly grooves on the upper surface.[3] The areoles are circular with white-colored wool.[3] Its central spines are white or yellowish, and often hooked, occasionally red-tipped, and may become grey as they age.[3] The radial spines are straight and irregularly spread.[3] Its small, funnelform flowers vary in color from shades of green, yellow, and white.[3] The fruits are egg-shaped and pinkish-green, and contain kidney-shaped, dark brown to black seeds.[3]

HabitatEdit

Sclerocactus brevihamatus grows in shallow, gravel and clay soils.[3] It prefers slightly alkaline soils, and often grows in soils heavy with limestone sediments.[3] Its natural habitat is open areas with sparse vegetation, such as hilltops, floodplains, and rocky plains.[3]

SubspeciesEdit

Tobusch fishhook cactus flowers

Subspecies and varieties of this cactus include:

  • Sclerocactus brevihamatus subsp. brevihamatus – shorthook fishhook cactus.[4]
  • Sclerocactus brevihamatus var. pallidus – synonym of Sclerocactus brevihamatus,[5] also known as Ancistrocactus brevihamatus var. pallidus.[6]
  • Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii – Tobusch fishhook cactus.[6] It is also known as a separate species, Ancistrocactus tobuschii.
The rare Tobusch fishhook cactus is a federally listed endangered species also. It is known from about 200[7] to about 500[2] individual specimens on the eastern part of the Edwards Plateau. It occurs in the Juniperus ashei-Quercus fusiformis plant association on calcareous soils.

 


This article uses material from the Wikipedia article
 Metasyntactic variable, which is released under the 
Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.