Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Ancistrocactus | image = Ancistrocactus_brevihamatus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Cacteae | genus = '''Ancistrocactus''' | authority = Britton & Rose (1923) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). The genus is accepted as distinct from ''Sclerocactus''. }} == Etymology == The name derives from the Greek ''ancistron'' (fishhook) and ''kaktos'' (thistle), referring to the strongly..."

2026-04-18T08:18:47Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Ancistrocactus | image = Ancistrocactus_brevihamatus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Cacteae | genus = '''Ancistrocactus''' | authority = Britton & Rose (1923) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). The genus is accepted as distinct from ''Sclerocactus''. }} == Etymology == The name derives from the Greek ''ancistron'' (fishhook) and ''kaktos'' (thistle), referring to the strongly..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Ancistrocactus
| image = Ancistrocactus_brevihamatus.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Cacteae]]
| genus = '''Ancistrocactus'''
| authority = Britton & Rose (1923)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). The genus is accepted as distinct from ''Sclerocactus''.
}}

== Etymology ==
The name derives from the Greek ''ancistron'' (fishhook) and ''kaktos'' (thistle), referring to the strongly hooked central spines.

== Description ==
'''Ancistrocactus''' is a genus of small globose to elongated cacti with characteristic hooked spines.

* '''Habit''': Solitary plants, sometimes constricted at the base, often with a taproot.
* '''Stems''': Globose to short cylindrical.
* '''Ribs''': More or less tuberculate; tubercles often bearing nectar glands.
* '''Spines''': One central spine typically hooked, usually the longest and most distinctive.
* '''Flowers''': Diurnal, small, creamy, greenish, yellow or pale pink; self-sterile.
* '''Fruits''': Clavate, fleshy, greenish.
* '''Seeds''': Brown to black, finely papillose.

== Habitat ==
The genus grows in arid environments, on limestone, gypsum, sandy or rocky soils, often among shrubs or grasses.

Altitude range: from about 20 m up to 1700 m.

== Distribution ==
* '''North America''':
Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas),
United States (Texas)

== Taxonomy ==
The genus ''Ancistrocactus'' was established by Britton & Rose (1923).

Its taxonomic status has been debated, and it has often been included within ''Sclerocactus''. However, molecular studies (Porter et al. 2000; Nyffeler 2002; Butterworth et al. 2002; Hernández-Hernández et al. 2012) indicate that such inclusion would render ''Sclerocactus'' polyphyletic.

The genus is closely related to ''Echinomastus'', ''Glandulicactus'', and ''Toumeya'', but remains distinct.

According to Joël Lodé (2015), ''Ancistrocactus'' is maintained as a valid genus.

== Species ==
Following the classification of Joël Lodé (2015).

* [[Ancistrocactus brevihamatus]]
** [[Ancistrocactus brevihamatus subsp. tobuschii]]
* [[Ancistrocactus megarhizus]]
* [[Ancistrocactus scheeri]]

== Notes ==
* ''Ancistrocactus megarhizus'' is sometimes treated as a subspecies of ''A. scheeri''.
* The genus is defined by its strongly hooked central spines.
* Represents part of a complex group of closely related genera within Cacteae.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Cacteae]]
[[Category:Ancistrocactus]]

Ancistrocactus - Revision history