Sclerocactus brevispinus

K. D. Heil & J. M. Porter

Haseltonia 2: 26. 1994.

Common names: Parriette fishhook cactus Shortspine fishhook cactus
EndemicConservation concern
Basionym: Sclerocactus wetlandicus var. ilseae Hochstätter Succulenta (Netherlands) 72: 22. 1993
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 201. Mentioned on page 199, 200.

Stems usually unbranched, green, depressed-spheric or elliptic to shortly cylindric, ovoid when young, 2.9–8.5 (–10.4) × 1.8–7.5 (–8) cm, somewhat glaucous; ribs usually 13, obscure to well developed, tubercles evident on ribs. Spines not obscuring stems; radial spines (5–) 6–7 (–13) per areole, acicular, elliptic or rhombic in cross-section; central spines (0–) 1 (–3) per areole, abaxial central spine, if present, hooked or curving somewhat downward, straw colored to brown, highlighted purplish or reddish, hooked, porrect, terete or somewhat angled, 3–31 (–39) × 0.5–1 mm; lateral central spines 0–2 per areole, erect, similar to abaxial but not curved, angled to flat, somewhat inconspicuous, triangular in cross-section, 15–35  1–1.5 mm; adaxial central spines not differentiated. Flowers campanulate, 2–3 (–4) × 1.1–3 (–3.5) cm; outer tepals greenish to purple with brownish midstripes, pink, purple or whitish at margins, oblanceolate, 7–16 × 2–6 (–7) mm, mucronate, marginally membranous and crisped or minutely toothed; inner tepals purple, sometimes suffused with brown, largest tepals oblanceolate, 10–22 (–30) × 4–7 mm, mucronate, somewhat irregularly toothed; filaments white, tinged with pink to pink-purple; anthers yellow. Fruits irregularly dehiscent, green to tan, sometimes suffused with pink, shortly cylindric, 7–15 × 5–12 mm, dry; scales few, membranous, scarious-margined. Seeds (1.2–) 1.8–2.7 × (1.9–) 2.5–3.8 mm; cells convex but flattened apically.


Phenology: Flowering late Apr–May.
Habitat: Exposed clay hills, saltbush or sagebrush flats
Elevation: 1400-1500 m

Discussion

Of conservation concern.

The combination of spheric stems, short spines, and small pink flowers make Sclerocactus brevispinus easily identified. Morphologically, S. brevispinus is very similar to S. mesae-verdae. This similarity appears to be a case of convergent evolution. Phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast DNA sequences (J. M. Porter et al. 2000) support more recent common ancestry of S. brevispinus with S. whipplei, S. cloverae, S. glaucus, S. parviflorus, S. wetlandicus, and S. wrightiae than with S. mesae-verdae.

There is a well-documented cline of genetic mixing between Sclerocactus brevispinus and S. wetlandicus. An important natural threat to S. brevispinus is genetic swamping from the more widespread S. wetlandicus.

Sclerocactus brevispinus is considered to be conspecific with S. glaucus by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and is therefore protected with that threatened species.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thin" is not a number. "broad" is not a number.

... more about "Sclerocactus brevispinus"
3.1 cm31 mm <br />0.031 m <br /> (3.9 cm39 mm <br />0.039 m <br />) +
straw colored +  and brown highlighted purplish or reddish +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (3.1 cm31 mm <br />0.031 m <br />) +
porrect +  and downward +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
cushionlike +
spine-bearing +
circular to linear +
deciduous +  and persistent +
connected +
elliptic +  and pyriform +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
Kenneth D. Heil +  and J. Mark Porter +
K. D. Heil & J. M. Porter +
hardened +
Sclerocactus wetlandicus var. ilseae +
triangular +
flattened +  and convex +
pink +  and purplish-pink or black +
subulate +  and acicular +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Parriette fishhook cactus +  and Shortspine fishhook cactus +
mucilaginous +
notched +
1400-1500 m +
not separating +
tinged with pink +  and pink-purple +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
campanulate +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
2.1 cm21 mm <br />0.021 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
suffused with pink;green;tan +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
cylindric +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
Exposed clay hills, saltbush or sagebrush flats +
2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br />) +
toothed +, mucronate +  and oblanceolate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
triangular +  and angled to flat +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
rudimentary +
flat +  and terete +
nearly +  and microscopic +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
fluted;spheric;depressed-spheric or club-shaped +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
fimbriate +  and entire +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.6 cm16 mm <br />0.016 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
Flowering late Apr–May. +
mucilaginous +
abscission +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
greenish +  and white +
tuberculate +
scarious-margined +
triangular +
membranous +
arillate +  and strophiolate +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br />) +
0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
black +  and brown +
0.4mm;12mm +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
shiny +  and glossy +
obovoid;pyriform;obovoid;pyriform;lenticular-reniform;comma--shaped;spheric +
0.04 cm0.4 mm <br />4.0e-4 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
Endemic +  and Conservation concern +
black +, purplish-pink +, pink +, brown +, straw colored +, gray +  and white +
curved +  and straight +
deciduous +  and persistent +
6 (?) +  and 7 (?) +
rhombic +, elliptic +  and acicular +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
7.5 cm75 mm <br />0.075 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
2.9 cm29 mm <br />0.029 m <br /> (8.5 cm85 mm <br />0.085 m <br />) +
ovoid +, elliptic +  and shortly cylindric +
succulent +
1.8cm;7.5cm +
creamy white +, yellow +, green +  and pink +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
flat-topped +
tuberculate +
Coloradoa +, Ferocactus sect. Sclerocactus +, Pediocactus sect. Sclerocactus +  and Toumeya +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Sclerocactus brevispinus +
Sclerocactus +
species +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
lanceolate to oblanceolate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
dull +  and glossy +
papillate +
coalescent +
distinct +
epiphytic;epiphytic;epiphytic +
barrel-shaped +  and spheric +