#coryphantha

Plant of the Day

Thursday 17 August 2023

The Coryphantha sulcolanata (beehive cactus) was flowering in the Duthie Park Cacti House, Aberdeen. This globular cactus often forms groups.

Coryphantha retusa

The genus Coryphantha is related to Escobaria and to Mammillaria, and the various species are generally found in northern and eastern Mexico, as well as to the north in the southwestern United States. Coryphantha retusa comes from the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca, to the southeast of Mexico City. Like other species in the genus, it has a wonderful network of interlacing spines. Its yellow flowers come in late summer to fall.

Coryphantha tripugionacantha

This modest-sized well-armed solitary cactus comes from central Mexico. Its name refers to the 3 dagger-like stout spines at the center of each spine cluster, surrounded by others that are paler and more slender. In this view looking down into the flower, it can be seen that there is a bit of red amongst all the yellow. Many species of Coryphantha continue blooming into the late summer or early fall months, after many other kinds of cactus are done for the year.

Coryphantha tripugionacantha

Coryphantha is a group in the Cactus Family found in the southwestern United States, as well as in northern and eastern Mexico. They are mostly globular in form and well-endowed with spines, with yellow as the most common flower color. The plant pictured is native to central Mexico, and its flowers have just a hint of pink at the outside.

Coryphantha pallida

Coryphantha is a genus of about 40 species (or more if you want to define the species more narrowly) in the Cactus Family, native to the southwestern U.S. and southward through northern and central Mexico down as far as western Oaxaca. These plants are relatives of the large genus Mammillaria, but they have larger flowers which are most often yellow. Many of the species flower in the latter part of summer and into the fall, as is the case with Coryphantha pallida, which comes from the state of Puebla, to the east of Mexico City. This photo was taken on August 9, when all 3 heads decided to flower on the same day, which they don’t always do.

Coryphantha pallida subsp. calipensis

This delightful cactus comes from the town of Calipan, to the southeast of Tehuacan in the Mexican state of Puebla (not far from the Oaxaca border). It is sometimes listed simply as Coryphantha calipensis. The flower color is no surprise, since yellow is the usual color in its genus, but we are very pleased to see it in flower for the first time here at the Ruth Bancroft Garden (the first time, that is, for this particular plant - we have another that has flowered before).