Acharagma roseanum

Tilcayo Cats original · Plants · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Acharagma roseanum is a small cactus native to northern Mexico. Kew currently recognises it as a species of the cactus family, Cactaceae, and records its native range in Nuevo León, in desert or dry shrubland vegetation.

Appearance

The horticultural account published by LLIFLE describes rounded to egg-shaped stems, sometimes forming small clusters, with dense pale yellow to golden spines. The flowers appear near the top of the stem and may be cream or pink, with darker reddish stripes along the floral segments. A thick taproot develops beneath the plant.

That account uses a broader classification than current Kew, including galeanense as a subspecies. Its description therefore should not be treated as a complete diagnosis separating the species recognised today.

Names and classification

The cactus was originally named Echinocactus roseanus by Friedrich Boedeker in 1928. It was subsequently placed in several genera, including Escobaria and Gymnocactus, before Edward F. Anderson published the combination in Acharagma in 1999.

The spelling Acharagma roseana, used in that publication and still encountered in horticulture, is corrected to Acharagma roseanum. Kew now accepts Acharagma galeanense as a separate species, rather than a subspecies of A. roseanum.