Jepson Herbarium
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Indexes to all accepted names and synonyms: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Perennial, shrub, tree, generally fleshy.
Stem: cylindric to spheric, or flat; surface smooth, tubercled, or ribbed (grooved); nodal areoles bearing flowers.
Leaf: generally 0 or early- deciduous, flat to ± cylindric.
Spines: areoles generally with central, radial spines, occasionally with glochids.
Flower: generally 1 per areole, bisexual [ unisexual], sessile, radial [ bilateral]; perianth parts generally many [5], scale-like to petal-like; stamens many; ovary inferior [superior], style 1, stigma lobes generally several [many].
Fruit: dry to fleshy or juicy, indehiscent to variously dehiscent, spiny, scaly, or naked; tubercled or smooth.
Seed: generally many, occasionally 0–few.
± 125 genera, ± 1800 species: Am (especially deserts), Africa; many cultivated, some edible. [Parfitt & Gibson 2004 FNANM 4:92–257] Spines smaller, fewer (0) in shade forms; yellow spines blacken in age. Introduced species increasingly escape cultivation. Hybridization common in some genera. Taxa of Escobaria in TJM (1993) moved to Coryphantha. —Scientific Editors: Bruce D. Parfitt, Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin.
Unabridged references: [Hunt 2006 The New Cactus Lexicon, DH Books, Milborne Port, England]

Key to Cactaceae

Perennial or shrub, erect to decumbent, many-branched, matted, succulent.
Stem: winter- or drought- deciduous, regularly segmented, segments < 30 cm, < 6 cm diam, cylindric to club-shaped, fleshy, glabrous; ribs 0, tubercles generally elongate, occasionally 0.
Leaf: deciduous.
Spines: 0–many per areole, densest and longest near stem tip, < 4 mm wide, awl- to dagger-shaped, flat to angular, straight, roughened, tip smooth or barbed, epidermis at spine tip separating as a papery sheath; glochids generally numerous in each areole.
Flower: lateral to terminal on stem, from upper portion of areole, 30–50 mm diam; perianth yellow or pink; ovary glabrous, spines 0–many, glochids many in each areole, scales 0.
Fruit: indehiscent, obconic, base generally long-tapering, glabrous to densely spiny, glochids many in each areole.
Seed: 3–6 mm, ± round, encased in an aril; bony, ± white when dry.
14 species: North America, Mex. (H.A.J. Gruson, German engineer, industrialist, 1821–1895) Hybridization unknown.
Unabridged etymology: (Hermann August Jacques Gruson, German engineer, industrialist, 1821–1895)

Perennial generally < 0.2 m diam, occasionally much larger.
Stem: 10–20 cm, single to clumped, from glochid-covered tuber; segments narrowly club-shaped to cylindric, generally terminal < 10 cm, 0.5–2.5 cm diam; tubercles occasionally 0, generally 6–9 mm, < 1.5 mm high.
Spines: < 15, < 6 cm, bulbous at base, largest flat, sharply angled; sheath separating only near tip; glochids of tuber generally 1–1.5 cm.
Flower: inner perianth pink-magenta, 1.5–2.5 cm; filaments green to yellow.
Fruit: 2–3 cm, fleshy, red; spines generally thin, numerous, crowded.
Seed: 3–6 mm.
2n=22. Borders of dry lakes, sandy flats; 1500–1700 m. East of Sierra Nevada;

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Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

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Bioregions in which taxon occurs	Red area (if present) is the part of the bioregion lying between the upper and lower elevation limits of the taxon; markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may have georeferencing or identification issues.
Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.	Map made in collaboration with Scott Loarie. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records   CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa. Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.