Epithelantha
{{Short description|Genus of cacti}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Epithelantha micromeris1000.jpg
| image_caption = Epithelantha micromeris
| taxon = Epithelantha
| authority = F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose
| subdivision =
| type_species =Epithelantha micromeris
}}
Epithelantha (button cactus) is a genus of cactus that is native to north-eastern Mexico, and the south-western United States from western Texas to Arizona. There are eight species recognised in the genus Epithelantha. The name Epithelantha refers to the flower position near the apex of the tubercles.{{cite book|author1=A. Michael Powell|author2=James F. Weedin|title=Cacti of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tix9HeLUOt4C&pg=PA364|access-date=5 September 2012|date=15 November 2004|publisher=Texas Tech University Press|isbn=978-0-89672-531-7|page=364}}
Description
Epithelantha are very small cacti with globe-shaped or cylindrical stems typically up to one inch in diameter, rarely reaching two inches long. Tiny whitish spines completely cover the surface of the stem. The flowers are also tiny, growing from the tip of the stem. Fruits are bright red.{{cite web|url=http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exevacac.html|title=Cactuses of Big Bend National Park|publisher=University of Texas Press|access-date=5 September 2012}}
The fruit of all species is said to be edible.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}
Species
{{As of|2021|January}}, Plants of the World Online accepted eight species:{{cite web |title=Epithelantha F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:5314-1 |access-date=2021-01-07 }}
| class="wikitable " | ||
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| 120px | Epithelantha bokei {{small|L.D.Benson}} | Texas in the United States and Coahuila in Mexico |
| Epithelantha cryptica D.Donati & Zanov. | Mexico (Coahuila) | |
| 120px | Epithelantha greggii (Engelm.) Orcutt | Mexico (Coahuila) |
| Epithelantha ilariae D.Donati & Zanov. | Mexico (Nuevo León) | |
| 120px | Epithelantha micromeris {{small|(Engelm.) F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose}} | United States in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in Mexico in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} |
| Epithelantha pachyrhiza (W.T.Marshall) Backeb. | Mexico (Coahuila) | |
| Epithelantha polycephala Backeb. | Mexico (Coahuila) | |
| Epithelantha spinosior C.Schmoll | Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León) |
References
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