Escobaria orcuttii Bödecker
Family: Cactaceae
Synonyms:
Escobaria orcuttii Bödecker var.
macraxima Castetter, Pierce & Schwerin;
Escobaria orcuttii var.
koengii Castetter, Pierce & Schwerin;
Coryphantha strobiliformis (Poselg.) Moran var.
durispina (Quehl) L. Benson;
Coryphantha strobiliformis (Poselg.) Moran var.
orcuttii (Bödecker) L. Benson
Description:
Escobaria orcuttii is distinguished by the relatively even and short length of the
central spines, which seem to grade into the radial spines of similar length. This gives
the plants something of a "groomed" appearance.
Distribution: Escobaria orcuttii occurs strictly on limestone west of the
Rio Grande from the Santa Eulalia Mountains, Chihuahua to the vicinities
of Samalayuca and Juarez, Chihuahua and into southwestern New Mexico. In New Mexico,
populations occur in the Peloncillo Mountains (Higalgo
County, also Cochise County, Arizona), Florida Mountains (Luna County),
Big Hatchet Mountains (Hidalgo County), and possibly in the Little
Hatchet Mountains (Grant and Hidalgo counties) and Animas Mountains
(Hidalgo County). The range is not well documented in Mexico, but the taxon likely
occurs on many limestone outcrops near the west edge of the Chihuahuan Desert in northern
Chihuahua. This distribution seems quite large, but the plant is restricted to
limestone outcrops, and at any given location has only been found
in small areas with relatively few individuals.
Plants Seen or Cited: The variety
orcuttii was described from the
Peloncillo Mountains. The variety
macraxina was described from the Big Hatchet
Mountains. I can find no consistent difference between it and type locality material,
cited differences do not hold true, and I do not believe that any recognition is warranted.
The variety
koenigii was described from the Florida Mountains, and differs only
slightly from the type, but tends to have shorter rounder stems on average, more
consistently pure white spines which are more slender on average.
Remarks: Escobaria orcuttii is rare in New Mexico and populations are
negatively impacted by the introduced population of Ibex in the Florida Mountains. However,
due to the distribution of this species, and the subsuming of the varieties
koengii
and
macraxina the council has recommended not to include this taxon.
Information Compiled By: David Ferguson
