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Pediocactus nigrispinus

black-spine snowball cactus, Columbia Plateau cactus, dark-spine ball cactus, snowball cactus

mountain ball cactus, mountain cactus, Simpon's hedgehog cactus, Simpson's footcactus, Simpson's hedgehog cactus

Habit Plants typically branched. Plants only occasionally branched.
Stems

depressed-ovoid to elongate-ovoid, 5–30 × 5–15 cm;

areoles oval, villous.

depressed-ovoid to ovoid or globose, 2.5–15(–25) × 2.5–15 cm;

areoles circular to oval, villous.

Spines

smooth, hard and rigid, distinguishable as radial and central;

radial spines 10–30 per areole, spreading at right angles to tubercles, nearly straight, white to dull reddish brown, 8–20 mm;

central spines 6–12 per areole, widely spreading or nearly erect, reddish brown to nearly black, rigid, straight or slightly curved, base yellow or cream, 15–35 mm, less than 1 mm diam. at base.

smooth, relatively hard, distinguishable as radial and central;

radial spines 15–35 per areole, widely spreading, white, slender, 3–13 mm;

central spines 4–11 per areole, reddish brown (rarely black) with basal 1/2 cream or yellow, rigid, straight or slightly curved, 5–21 × 0.3 mm.

Flowers

1–3.5 × 2.5–5 cm;

scales and outer tepals of flower tube minutely toothed, laciniate, or entire and undulate;

outer tepals with greenish brown midstripes, oblong-cuneate, 12–25 × 4.5–9 mm;

inner tepals white, pink, magenta, yellow, or yellow-green, 19–27 × 5–10 mm.

1.2–3 × 1–2.5 cm;

scales and outer tepals minutely toothed and laciniate or entire and often undulate;

outer tepals with greenish brown midstripes, oblong-cuneate, 9–20 × 3–5(–6) mm;

inner tepals white, pink, magenta, yellow, or yellow-green, 12–25 × 4.5–6(–9) mm.

Fruits

green tinged with red, drying reddish brown, short cylindric, 6–11 × 5–10 mm.

green tinged with red, drying reddish brown, short cylindric, 6–11 × 5–10 mm.

Seeds

gray to black, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm, papillate but not rugose.

gray to black, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm, papillate but not rugose.

Pediocactus nigrispinus

Pediocactus simpsonii

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring–early summer.
Habitat Great Basin desert scrub, sagebrush, grasslands, coniferous forests Pinyon-juniper woodlands, sagebrush, montane, and prairie grasslands, coniferous forests
Elevation 400-2000 m (1300-6600 ft) 1400-3500 m (4600-11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; SD; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

No known morphologic character supports the taxonomic recognition of infraspecific taxa within Pediocactus nigrispinus. Characteristics used to distinguish the three described subspecies almost completely overlap. Pediocactus nigrispinus has been referred to P. simpsonii var. robustior (J. M. Coulter) L. D. Benson, which remains well within the range of variation for P. simpsonii. An unpublished study by J. M. Porter et al. of noncoding chloroplast DNA sequences shows P. simpsonii is less closely related to P. nigripsinus than to P. knowltonii, P. winkleri, and P. despainii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Pediocactus simpsonii is an exceedingly variable species. The segregation of the many forms, varieties, and subspecies on the basis of morphology, however, is difficult to support, given the continuous range of variation in stem size and flower color over its geographic range. The species has the widest distribution of any Pediocactus, and is found at the highest elevation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 4. FNA vol. 4, p. 214.
Parent taxa Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Pediocactus Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Pediocactus
Sibling taxa
P. bradyi, P. despainii, P. knowltonii, P. paradinei, P. peeblesianus, P. sileri, P. simpsonii, P. winkleri
P. bradyi, P. despainii, P. knowltonii, P. nigrispinus, P. paradinei, P. peeblesianus, P. sileri, P. winkleri
Synonyms P. simpsonii var. nigrispinus, P. nigrispinus var. beastonii, P. nigrispinus subsp. beastonii, P. nigrispinus subsp. puebloensis Echinocactus simpsonii, Echinocactus simpsonii var. minor, Echinocactus simpsonii var. robustior, Mammillaria simpsonii, P. simpsonii subsp. bensonii, P. simpsonii var. hermannii, P. simpsonii subsp. idahoensis, P. simpsonii var. indraianus, P. simpsonii subsp. robustior, P. simpsonii var. robustior
Name authority (Hochstätter) Hochstätter: Succulenta (Netherlands) 71: 99. (1992) (Engelmann) Britton & Rose: in N. L. Britton and A. Brown, Ill. Fl. N. U.S. ed. 2, 2: 570. (1913)
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