Santa Cruz beehive cactus

Description

Coryphantha (from Greek, "flowering on the top"), or beehive cactus, is a genus of small to middle-sized, globose or columnar cacti. The genus is native to arid parts of Central America, Mexico, through Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas and north into southwestern, central, and southeastern Montana. With its two subgenera, 57 species and 20 subspecies, it is one of the largest genera of cactus. The name Coryphantha was first applied by George Engelmann in 1856 as a subgenus,the earlier name Aulacothele of Lemaire having been abandoned. In 1868 Lemaire promoted the group to genus level.Before this all Coryphantha had been classified as Mammillaria.