Turbinicarpus

Turbinicarpus is a genus of very small to medium-sized cacti, which inhabit the north-eastern regions of Mexico, in particular the states of San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.

Turbinicarpus
Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. knuthianus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Cacteae
Genus: Turbinicarpus
(Backeb.) Buxb. & Backeb.[1]
Type species
Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus
Species

See text.

Taxonomy

The taxon was first proposed by Curt Backeberg as Strombocactus subgenus Turbinicarpus. It was elevated to a genus in 1937 by Franz Buxbaum and Backeberg.[1] The circumscription of Turbinicarpus has been described as "remarkably unstable", with species regularly transferred to other genera.[2] Its taxonomic history is often mixed with that of other genera like Echinocactus, Echinomastus, Gymnocactus, Mammillaria, Neolloydia, Normanbokea, Pediocactus, Pelecyphora, Strombocactus, Thelocactus and Toumeya, as the results of almost two centuries of constant evolution in the understanding of the affinities and relationships inside the family Cactaceae. A genus revision by Davide Donati in 2003, and again in 2004 with Carlo Zanovello, was based on a wide range of characters. At the end of that study, Rapicactus was considered a distinct genus from Turbinicarpus. The genus Turbinicarpus was subdivided in two subgenera at the light of the results of the DNA analysis, and into many series because of the ontogeny of the spination.[3] The broad circumscription of Turbinicarpus was recognized as polyphyletic by Hunt in 2016.[4] A phylogenetic study published in 2019 showed that both Kadenicarpus and Rapicactus were distinct from a more narrowly circumscribed and so monophyletic Turbinicarpus:[2]

Three species of other genera

Acharagma

Rapicactus

Species of other genera

Epithelantha

Strombocactus

Kadenicarpus

Ariocarpus

Turbinicarpus s.s.

Species

As of March 2022, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species and hybrids:[5]

ImageScientific nameDistribution
Turbinicarpus alonsoi Glass & S.AriasMexico.
Turbinicarpus boedekerianus García-Mor., Gonz.-Bot., Matusz., Nitzschke & IamonicoMexico (Nuevo León)
Turbinicarpus gielsdorfianus (Werderm.) V.John & RíhaMexico (San Luis Potosí)
Turbinicarpus graminispinus Matusz., Myšák & JirušeMexico (Nuevo León)
Turbinicarpus heliae García-Mor., Díaz-Salím & Gonz.-Bot.Mexico (Hidalgo)
Turbinicarpus hoferi Lüthy & A.B.LauMexico (Nuevo León)
Turbinicarpus laui Glass & R.A.FosterMexico (San Luis Potosi)
Turbinicarpus lophophoroides (Werderm.) Buxb. & Backeb.Mexico (Ciudad del Maiz on the north, and Cerritos-Villa Juarez on the west and Rio Verde )
Turbinicarpus nikolae Šnicer, Myšák, Zachar & JirušeMexico Northeast
Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus (Backeb.) Glass & R.A.FosterMexico(Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas )
Turbinicarpus saueri (Boed.) V.John & RíhaMexico ( San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas )
Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus (Boed.) Buxb. & Backeb.Mexico(Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas )
Turbinicarpus swobodae DiersMexico (Rayones, Nuevo Leon)
Turbinicarpus valdezianus (H.Moeller) Glass & R.A.FosterMexico (Coahuila and San Luis Potosí)
Turbinicarpus viereckii (Werderm.) V.John & RíhaMexico (Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí)

Natural hybrids

ImageScientific nameParentageDistribution
Turbinicarpus × mombergeri RíhaTurbinicarpus pseudopectinatus × Turbinicarpus lauiMexico (Cerritos, San Lois Potosi )
Turbinicarpus × pulcherrimus Halda & Panar.Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus ssp. jarmilae × Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianusMexico (Nuevo León)
Turbinicarpus × roseiflorus Backeb.Turbinicarpus viereckii × Turbinicarpus lauiMexico Northeast

Synonymy

The following genera haven been brought into synonymy with Turbinicarpus:

  • Gymnocactus Backeb.
  • Normanbokea Kladiwa & Buxb.

Ecology

These succulent plants grow mostly on limestone soil (never on volcanic soil), at altitudes between 300 and 3300 metres above sea level.

Turbinicarpus species are usually confined to specific habitats, generally hostile for the majority of plants, mostly in very drained rocky areas, composed of limestone, sandstone, schist (neutral or alkaline), or in very acidic and humiferous understorey, or in gypsum veins, sometimes so pure that they are almost white.

In particular, Turbinicarpus sensu stricto is adapted to extreme niches: more than 80% of the species grow in rock cracks or among the pebbles beneath them, where enough dust has accumulated to enable root development. It would seem almost impossible that plants so small could survive in such an environment, however in those species that inhabit dry and exposed areas, the root is very thick, becoming a taproot and acting like an anchor on the slopes but, more important, as water storage for the dry periods, capable of significantly retracting into the ground so that the stem is less exposed to the sun; the spines are often changed to adopt a very papery structure, capable of absorbing good quantities of water. Furthermore, the general look is extremely mimetic, thanks to the epidermis colour and the interlacing spines, guaranteeing a certain protection from eventual herbivores.

References

  1. "Turbinicarpus Buxb. & Oehme". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  2. Vázquez-sánchez, Monserrat; Sánchez, Daniel; Terrazas, Teresa; De La Rosa-Tilapa, Alejandro & Arias, Salvador (2019). "Polyphyly of the iconic cactus genus Turbinicarpus (Cactaceae) and its generic circumscription". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 190 (4): 405–420. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boz027.
  3. Donati, Davide & Zanovello, Carlo (2005). Knowing, understanding, growing Turbinicarpus-Rapicactus. Cactus Trentino SüdTirol. ISBN 978-88-901391-1-6.
  4. Hunt, D.R. (2016). CITES Cactaceae checklist (3rd ed.). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens and D. Hunt. ISBN 978-0-9933113-2-1.
  5. "Turbinicarpus Buxb. & Oehme". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  • Edward F. Anderson, The Cactus Family (Timber Press, 2001), pp. 665–673
  • Grupo San Luis, The Genus Turbinicarpus in San Luis Potosì (Ed. Cactus&Co, 2004)
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