Escobaria

Escobaria
	Escobaria vivipara var. radiosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Tribe:	Cacteae
Genus:	Escobaria; Britton & Rose
Type species
	Escobaria tuberculosa;
Species
	See text

Escobaria, pincushion cactus or foxtail cactus^[1] is a genus of low-growing cacti that range from the southernmost parts of central and western Canada through northern Mexico, with one species in Cuba. The genus comprises about 23 species. The term "pincushion cactus" may also refer to the related Mammillaria.

The stems of Escobaria range from globose to cylindrical, and lack nectar-secreting glands; while ribs are absent, tubercles are present, tending to become corky and deciduous as they age. The flowers usually appear in spring and may have a variety of colors, while the fruits are almost always red. The seeds in this genus are notable for being deeply pitted.

Common species include the Missouri foxtail cactus E. missouriensis,^[2] widespread in grassland and forest west of the Mississippi, and the spinystar E. vivipara,^[3] distributed across the US and into Canada, first described by Nuttall in 1813.

Escobaria was defined by Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Rose in their major work The Cactaceae (1923); they named the genus after Rómulo and Numa Escobar. The cacti of this genus bear many similarities to Coryphantha and Mammillaria. Two species were recently moved to Acharagma.

Taxonomy

The following genera have been brought into synonymy with Escobaria:

Cochiseia W.H.Earle
Escobesseya Hester
Fobea Fric (nom. inval.)
Neobesseya Britton & Rose

Species

Section	Group	Scientific name	Subspecies	Distribution
Pleurantha N.P.Taylor		Escobaria chihuahuensis Britton & Rose	Escobaria chihuahuensis subsp. chihuahuensis Escobaria chihuahuensis subsp. henricksonii (Glass & R.A.Foster) N.P.Taylor	Mexico
Escobaria		Escobaria tuberculosa (Engelm.) Britton & Rose		New Mexico, Mexico
	Sneedii Group	Escobaria albicolumnaria Hester		Big Bend area of west Texas
		Escobaria guadalupensis S.Brack & K.D.Heil		Texas
		Escobaria laredoi (Glass & R.A.Foster) N.P.Taylor		Coahuila de Zaragoza - Mexico
		Escobaria orcuttii Boed.	Escobaria orcuttii var. orcuttii Escobaria orcuttii var. koenigii Castetter, P.Pierce & K.H.Schwer. Escobaria orcuttii var. macraxina Castetter, P.Pierce & K.H.Schwer.	Arizona, New Mexico - United States
		Escobaria organensis (Zimmerman) Castetter, P.Pierce & K.H.Schwer.		New Mexico
		Escobaria sandbergii Castetter, P.Pierce & K.H.Schwer.		New Mexico
		Escobaria sneedii Britton & Rose	Escobaria sneedii subsp. sneedii Escobaria sneedii subsp. leei (Rose ex Boed.) D.R.Hunt	New Mexico, Texas
		Escobaria villardii Castetter, P.Pierce & K.H.Schwer.		New Mexico
	Vivipara Group	Escobaria alversonii (J.M.Coult.) N.P.Taylor		Arizona, California
		Escobaria deserti (Engelm. ex S.Watson) Buxb.		Arizona, California
		Escobaria hesteri (Y.Wright) Buxb.		Texas
		Escobaria vivipara (Nutt.) Buxb.		Canada (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan ), Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Sonora), United States (Arizona, California (state), Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming)
Neobesseya (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor		Escobaria emskoetteriana (Quehl) Borg		Mexico (Coahuila de Zaragoza, Tamaulipas ), United States (Texas)
	Dasyacantha Group	Escobaria dasyacantha (Engelm.) Britton & Rose	Escobaria dasyacantha subsp. dasyacantha Escobaria dasyacantha subsp. chaffeyi (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor	Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Zacatecas), USA (Texas, New Mexico)
		Escobaria duncanii (Hester) Backeb.		New Mexico, Texas
		Escobaria lloydii Britton & Rose		Mexico (Zacatecas)
		Escobaria minima (Baird) D.R.Hunt		Texas
		Escobaria robbinsorum (W.H.Earle) D.R.Hunt		Arizona
	Missouriensis Group	Escobaria cubensis (Britton & Rose) D.R.Hunt		Cuba
		Escobaria missouriensis (Sweet) D.R.Hunt	Escobaria missouriensis subsp. missouriensis Escobaria missouriensis subsp. asperispina (Boed.) N.P.Taylor	USA ( Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota), Mexico (Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo Leon)
		Escobaria zilziana (Boed.) Backeb.		Mexico (Coahuila de Zaragoza)

Notes

^ "Escobaria Britton & Rose foxtail cactus" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture
^ "Escobaria missouriensis (Sweet) D.R. Hunt - Missouri foxtail cactus" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture
^ "Escobaria vivipara (Nutt.) Buxbaum - spinystar" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture

Sources

Anderson, Edward F. (2001) The Cactus Family Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, pp. 307–314, ISBN 0-88192-498-9
Genus Escobaria Eng/De/Cz

[1] "Escobaria Britton & Rose foxtail cactus" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture

[2] "Escobaria missouriensis (Sweet) D.R. Hunt - Missouri foxtail cactus" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture

[3] "Escobaria vivipara (Nutt.) Buxbaum - spinystar" PLANTS database, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture

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