White column foxtail cactus

Description

Escobaria tuberculosa is a species of plant in the genus Escobaria of the cactus family (Cactaceae). The epithet tuberculosa comes from Latin, means 'humped' and refers to the humped shoots of the speciesEnglish common names are " Arizona Pincushion" and "Cob Cactus". Escobaria tuberculosa grows singly or in groups and is very variable. The cylindrical to egg-shaped shoots reach heights of growth of 5 to 12 centimeters with a diameter of 2.5 to 7 centimeters. The warts, which are up to 10 millimeters long, become hard and persistent. The four to eight yellow, straight central spines have a pink or red tip and are 1 to 2 centimeters long. In the middle, one of them is stronger. The about 20 to 30 yellow, white or gray radial spines are straight and spread out. They are up to 1.2 centimeters long. The fragrant flowers are pink in color and open wide. They are 2 to 3 centimeters long and reach the same diameter. The elongated fruits are mostly red and 1.2 to 2 centimeters long.Escobaria tuberculosa is fairly widespread in the United States in the states of New Mexico and Texas, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, and Nuevo León. The first description as Mammillaria tuberculosa by George Engelmann was published in 1856. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus Escobaria in 1923. Nomenclatural synonyms are Coryphantha tuberculosa (Engelm.) Orcutt (1922) and Coryphantha tuberculosa (Engelm.) A.Berger (1929). In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is listed as " Least Concern (LC) ". H. listed as not endangered.