Coryphantha

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Cactoideae
Tribus: Cacteae
Genus: Coryphantha
Species: C. clavata – C. compacta – C. cornifera – C. delaetiana – C. delicata – C. difficilis – C. durangensis – C. echinoidea – C. echinus – C. elephantidens – C. erecta – C. georgii – C. glanduligera – C. glassii – C. gracilis – C. hintoniorum – C. jalpanensis – C. kracikii – C. longicornis – C. macromeris – C. maiz-tablasensis – C. neglecta – C. nickelsiae – C. octacantha – C. ottonis – C. pallida – C. poselgeriana – C. potosiana – C. pseudoechinus – C. pseudonickelsiae – C. pulleineana – C. pycnacantha – C. ramillosa – C. recurvata – C. retusa – C. robustispina – C. salinensis – C. sulcata – C. tripugionacantha – C. vaupeliana – C. vogtherriana – C. werdermannii – C. wohlschlageri
Source(s) of checklist:
Name

Coryphantha (Engelm.) Lem., Cactées. 32. 1868.

Type species: Coryphantha sulcata (Engelm.) Britton & Rose

Synonyms

Mammillaria subg. Coryphanta Engelm. in Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 3: 264. 1856 syn. sec. Hunt 2006
Type: Coryphantha sulcata (Engelm.) Britton & Rose
Glandulifera Frič in Ceskoslov. Zahradn. Listy 1924: 122. 1924, nom. illeg., syn. sec. Kew WCVP (2019)
Lepidocoryphantha Backeb. in Blätt. Kakteenf. 1938(6): 22. 1938 syn. sec. Hunt 2006
Type: Lepidocoryphantha macromeris (Engelm.) Backeb.
Escobrittonia Doweld in Sukkulenty 3(1-2): 17. 2000 syn. sec. Hunt 2006
Type: Escobrittonia gracilis (L.Bremer & A.B.Lau) Doweld

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southwestern USA
Arizona
Regional: Southwestern USA
Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest
Regional: Southtern Central USA
New Mexico, Texas

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Lemaire, C. 1868. Cactées. 32.

Additional references

Korotkova, N., Aquino, D., Arias, S., Eggli, U., Franck, A. , Gómez-Hinostrosa, C., Guerrero, P.C., Hernández, H.M., Kohlbecker, A., Köhler, M., Luther, K., Majure, L.C., Müller, A., Metzing, D., Nyffeler, R., Sánchez, D., Schlumpberger, B. & Berendsohn, W.G. 2021. Cactaceae at Caryophyllales. org–a dynamic online species-level taxonomic backbone for the family. Willdenowia 51(2): 251–270. DOI: 10.3372/wi.51.51208 Open access Reference page.
Anderson, E.F. 2001. The Cactus Family. (Timber Press) ISBN 0-88192-498-9 p. 186-198.
Breslin, P.B., Wojciechowski, M.F. & Majure, L.C. 2021. Molecular phylogeny of the Mammilloid clade (Cactaceae) resolves the monophyly of Mammillaria. Taxon 70(2): 308-323. DOI: 10.1002/tax.12451 Paywall Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2021. Coryphantha. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 June 17. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Coryphantha in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 June 17. Reference page.
Korotkova, N. et al. 2021. Coryphantha in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Nov. 12. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Coryphantha. Published online. Accessed: June 17 2021.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Coryphantha in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Beehive Cactus
suomi: Piikaktukset

Coryphantha (from Greek, "flowering on the top"), or beehive cactus, is a genus of small to middle-sized, globose or columnar cacti. The genus is native to arid parts of Central America, Mexico, through Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas and north into southwestern, central, and southeastern Montana. With its two subgenera, 57 species and 20 subspecies, it is one of the largest genera of cactus.[1]

Description

There are four characteristics that distinguish Coryphantha from other cacti.

Their bodies do not have ribs, just tubercles.[2]
The flowers form at the top of the plant (the apex or growing end of the stem).[1]
The tip (podarium) of each flowering tubercle has three parts, the spiny areole, the groove and the axil. Without the groove it is not a Coryphantha.[1]
The seed coat (or testa) has a net-like pattern (reticulate).[3]

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]
Name

The name Coryphantha was first applied by George 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.
Species

Coryphantha calipensis
Coryphantha calochlora
Coryphantha clavata
Coryphantha compacta (syn. C. palmeri)
Coryphantha cornifera
Coryphantha delaetiana
Coryphantha delicata
Coryphantha difficilis
Coryphantha durangensis
Coryphantha echinoidea
Coryphantha echinus
Coryphantha elephantidens
Coryphantha erecta
Coryphantha georgii
Coryphantha glanduligera
Coryphantha glassii
Coryphantha gracilis
Coryphantha grata
Coryphantha guerkeana
Coryphantha hintoniorum
Coryphantha indensis
Coryphantha jalpanensis
Coryphantha kracikii
Coryphantha longicornis
Coryphantha macromeris
Coryphantha maiz-tablasensis
Coryphantha maliterrarum
Coryphantha melleospina
Coryphantha neglecta
Coryphantha nickelsiae
Coryphantha octacantha
Coryphantha odorata
Coryphantha ottonis
Coryphantha pallida
Coryphantha poselgeriana
Coryphantha potosiana
Coryphantha pseudoechinus
Coryphantha pseudonickelsiae
Coryphantha pseudoradians
Coryphantha pulleineana
Coryphantha pusilliflora
Coryphantha pycnacantha
Coryphantha radians
Coryphantha ramillosa
Coryphantha recurvata
Coryphantha reduncispina
Coryphantha retusa
Coryphantha robustispina
Coryphantha salinensis
Coryphantha sulcata
Coryphantha sulcolanata
Coryphantha tripugionacantha
Coryphantha unicornis
Coryphantha vaupeliana
Coryphantha vogtherriana
Coryphantha werdermannii
Coryphantha wohlschlageri

Coryphantha delicata
Coryphantha cornifera
Coryphantha delicata
Coryphantha pycnacantha
Synonymy

The genus has two valid synonyms:

Cumarinia Buxb.[5] and
Lepidocoryphantha Backeb.[5]

and three invalid ones:

Aulacothele Monv. (nom. inval.)
Glandulifera (Salm-Dyck) Fric (nom. inval.)
Roseia Fric (nom. inval.)

Related genera

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]
References

Dicht, Reto F. and Lüthy, Adrian D. (2005) Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA. Springer, Berlin, p. 1, ISBN 3-540-22306-1
Dicht, Reto F. and Lüthy, Adrian D. (2005) "3.2 Tubercles" Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA. Springer, Berlin, pp. 9–12, ISBN 3-540-22306-1
Dicht, Reto F. and Lüthy, Adrian D. (2005) "3.7 Seeds" Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA. Springer, Berlin, p. 17-20, ISBN 3-540-22306-1
Dicht, Reto F. and Lüthy, Adrian D. (2005) Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA. Springer, Berlin, p. 2, ISBN 3-540-22306-1
Anderson, Edward F. (2001) "Coryphantha" The Cactus Family. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, p. 186, ISBN 0-88192-498-9
Dicht, Reto F. and Lüthy, Adrian D. (2005) Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA. Springer, Berlin, p. 23, ISBN 3-540-22306-1
Britton, Nathaniel Lord and Brown, Addison (1913) An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British possessions, from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102d meridian (2nd edition) Scribner, New York, pp. 1–3, OCLC 852525
Dicht, Reto F. and Lüthy, Adrian D. (1998) "Im Feld wiederaufgefunden: Coryphantha salinensis (Poselger) Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten 49(11): pp. 256ff., in German
Glass, Charles (1968) "Cactaceas Mexicanas Poco conocidas" Cactaceas y Suculentas Mexicanas 2: pp. 34ff., in Spanish
Hunt, David R. and Benson, Lyman (1976) "The lectotype of Coryphantha". Cactus and Succulent Journal (U.S.) 48: pp. 72ff.