Pelecyphora duncanii is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to the southern United States.

Pelecyphora duncanii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Pelecyphora
Species:
P. duncanii
Binomial name
Pelecyphora duncanii
(Hester) D.Aquino & Dan.Sánchez

Description

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Pelecyphora duncanii grows solitary or forms groups. The circular, almost spherical to inverted conical green shoots reach heights of 2.5 to 6 centimeters and the same diameter. The shoots are covered by the dense thorns. Their non-solid, cylindrical warts are up to 6 millimeters long. The 30 to 75 white thorns have a darker tip and cannot be divided into central and peripheral thorns. They are slender, fragile, needle-like, straight to curved or twisted, and up to 2 centimeters long.

The pink flowers are up to 3 centimeters long. The red, club-shaped fruits are up to 10 millimeters long.[2]

Distribution

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Pelecyphora duncanii is widespread in the United States in southern New Mexico and western Texas.

Taxonomy

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The first description as Escobesseya duncanii by John Pinckney Hester was published in 1945. The specific epithet duncanii honors the American Frank Duncan, who owned the mining field where the species was discovered. Franz Buxbaum placed the species in the genus Escobaria in 1960. David Aquino & Daniel Sánchez moved the species to Pelecyphora based on phylogenetic studies in 2022.[3] Further nomenclature synonyms are Escobaria duncanii (Hester) Backeb. (1961), Coryphantha duncanii (Hester) L.D.Benson (1969), Mammillaria duncanii (Hester) D.Weniger (1970), Escobaria dasyacantha var. duncanii (Hester) N.P.Taylor (1983) and Neobesseya duncanii (Hester) Lodé (2013).[4]

References

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  1. ^ Univ., Martin Terry (Sul Rose State; College, Kenneth Heil (San Juan; Mexico, New; Ambiental), Rafael Corral-Díaz (Consultor (2009-11-17). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  2. ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 274. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
  3. ^ Sánchez, Daniel; Vázquez-Benítez, Balbina; Vázquez-Sánchez, Monserrat; Aquino, David; Arias, Salvador (2022-01-21). "Phylogenetic relationships in Coryphantha and implications on Pelecyphora and Escobaria (Cacteae, Cactoideae, Cactaceae)". PhytoKeys (188). Pensoft Publishers: 115–165. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.188.75739. ISSN 1314-2003. PMC 8799629. PMID 35106054.
  4. ^ "Au Cactus Francophone". Au Cactus Francophone (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
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