Grusonia bradtiana

Description

Grusonia bradtiana is a species of plant in the genus Grusonia ofthe cactus family (Cactaceae). The specific epithet bradtiana honors George M. Bradt, editor of The Southern Florist and Gardener magazine. Common Spanish names are "Organillo" and "Viejo". Grusonia bradtiana grows short, branching and forms dense, impenetrable mats up to 1 meter high. The green shoot sections have a diameter of 4 to 7 centimeters. There are eight to ten low, bumpy ribs. The white areoles on it measure 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter. The linear, fleshy, green leaf rudiments reach a diameter of up to 8 millimeters and disappear quickly. The 15 to 25 initially brownish-yellow thorns later become whitish. They are acicular, circular or slightly flattened and 1 to 3 centimeters long. Occasionally the longest of them is directed downwards. The yellow flowers reach lengths of 3 to 4 centimeters. The ellipsoidal fruits have a strongly sunken umbilicus at the end. Grusonia bradtiana is found in the Mexican state of Coahuila at altitudes of 150 to 1450 meters. The first description as Cereus bradtianus was in 1896 by John Merle Coulter. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus Grusonia in 1919. Another nomenclatural synonym is Opuntia bradtiana (JMCoult.) K.Brandegee (1897). In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is listed as Least Concern (LC). H. listed as not endangered. The future development of the populations is unknown.