Pediocactus
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Pediocactus (Greek: πεδίον (pedion) means "plain", "flat", "field") is a genus of cacti native to the Western United States. The genus comprises between 6 and 11 species, depending upon the authority. Species of this genus are referred to as hedgehog cacti, though that name is also applied to plants from the genera Echinocereus and Echinopsis.[1] Species may also be referred to as pincushion cacti, a common name which is also applied to other genera.
Description
The Pediocactus genus includes small species of cactus that grow either individually or in clusters, reaching heights of up to Template:Convert. The shoots, which can be green or glaucous, come in cylindrical, spherical, or depressed spherical shapes, with diameters ranging from Template:Convert and heights from Template:Convert. Despite lacking ribs, these shoots have warts measuring Template:Convert in length and Template:Convert in diameter. The characteristic appearance is contributed to by the areoles, spaced Template:Convert apart (occasionally up to Template:Convert). The shoots also have thorns, varying in number, color, and orientation. There can be up to ten light gray or white central spines, measuring Template:Convert, and three to 35 reddish to whitish marginal spines, which can be straight, curved, or comb-shaped, extending Template:Convert in length.[2]
The bell-shaped flowers at the top of the shoots come in colors ranging from yellow to magenta to white, with diameters of Template:Convert. The flowers are characterized by a glabrous or nearly glabrous pericarpel and a short floral tube. Flowering typically occurs in spring, but certain species form buds in late autumn, with some capable of flowering even in their juvenile stages.[3]
The fruits, initially greenish and cylindrical to spherical, transform into reddish-brown, dry structures upon ripening. Opening with a vertical gap, the fruits may be bare or possess a few scales. As the fruit opens, the remaining flower partially detaches, leaving a residue resembling a cap. The fruits contain blackish-brown, wrinkled to tuberous, obovate, or pear-shaped seeds. These seeds ripen 4 to 6 weeks after flowering and remain viable for an exceptionally long period, lasting at least 10 years.[2]
Species
Template:As of, Plants of the World Online accepts the following species:
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| File:Pediocactus bradyi fh 055 AZ in cultur B.jpg | Pediocactus bradyi L.D.BensonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Northern Arizona[4] |
| File:Pediocactus bradyi ssp despainii fh 0100 UT.jpg | Pediocactus despainii S.L.Welsh & GoodrichScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Central Utah[5] |
| Pediocactus hajekii HochstätterScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Southeast Oregon[6] | |
| Pediocactus indranus (Hochstätter) HochstätterScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | East-northeast Idaho[7] | |
| File:Cactus free photo.jpg | Pediocactus knowltonii L.D.BensonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | San Juan County, New Mexico[8] |
| File:Pediocactus nigrispinus in Doulas County Washington.jpg | Pediocactus nigrispinus (Hochstätter) HochstätterScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Idaho, Oregon, Washington[9] |
| File:Pediocactus paradinei fh 052 0 AZ BBB.jpg | Pediocactus paradinei B.W.BensonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Arizona[10] |
| File:Navajoa peeblesiana fh 053 AZ in cultur BB.jpg | Pediocactus peeblesianus (Croizat) L.D.BensonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Arizona[11] |
| File:Pediocactus sileri fh 0203 UT B.jpg | Pediocactus sileri (Daul) L.D.BensonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona[12] |
| File:Cactus under day light.jpg | Pediocactus simpsonii (Engelm.) Britton & RoseScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming[13] |
| File:Pediocactus bradyi ssp winklerorum fh 070 UT BB.jpg | Pediocactus winkleri K.D.HeilScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Central Utah[14] |
Synonyms
The genus has 3 synonyms:
- Navajoa Croizat
- Pilocanthus B.W.Benson & Backeb.
- Utahia Britton & Rose
Sclerocactus and Pediocactus were also at one time reduced to synonymy, but this is not at present considered to be correct.
References
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