Curator reference for Aztekium ritteri: a gypsum-cliff endemic from the Sierra Madre Oriental of Nuevo León, Mexico, carrying CITES Appendix I status and IUCN Least Concern. Taxonomy, habitat, morphology, identification against A. hintonii, and cultivation notes for serious collectors.
Discovered in 1991 near Galeana, Nuevo León, and formally described in 1992, Aztekium hintonii grows on near-vertical gypsum canyon walls and produces deep magenta flowers. CITES Appendix II. Cultivation notes and seed grown collector guidance for this gypsum specialist.
Described in 2013 from a single canyon in Nuevo León, Mexico, Aztekium valdezii is distinguished by exactly five smooth ribs lacking secondary inter-ribs. Its approximately 2 km² range, contested CITES status, and near-total absence from seed-grown cultivation make it among the most consequential recent additions to the genus.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus saueri: the Tamaulipas limestone endemic with long white flexible spines and a seven-subspecies complex spanning the Sierra Madre Oriental foothills. IUCN Vulnerable, CITES Appendix I, NOM-059 Amenazada. Taxonomy, morphology, elevation data, cultivation, and collector identification.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. krainzianus: the compact Sierra del Doctor segregate with wiry twisted spines and yellowish-cream flowers, diagnostic characters separating it from the autonym, IUCN Endangered status, and cultivation guidance for seed grown specimens.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) Buxb. & Backeb.: the twisted-spine limestone endemic of Queretaro and Hidalgo, Mexico. Taxonomy under the Kadenicarpus debate, IUCN Endangered status, subspecies lausseri clarification, habitat, morphology, cultivation, and collector identification against Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. macrochele.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus lophophoroides: the peyote-mimic of the San Luis Potosí gypsic flatlands. Gypsum-specialist substrate, age-dependent spine loss, alkaloid profile dominated by hordenine rather than mescaline, and Near Threatened under IUCN 2017. Taxonomy, habitat, morphology, cultivation, and full Lophophora williamsii comparison.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus boedekerianus: the flat-topped Nuevo León limestone micro-endemic described in 2019 by García-Morales et al. in Phytotaxa 391(2). Taxonomy, the Gymnocactus impossibility, Rapicactus placement, habitat, morphology, cultivation for limestone-native Turbinicarpus, and collector identification versus T. schmiedickeanus.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus valdezianus: the feathery pectinate-spined miniature from Coahuila and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Among the smallest Turbinicarpus, famously slow from seed, CITES Appendix I, and once classified as Pelecyphora valdeziana and Normanbokea valdeziana. Taxonomy, habitat, morphology, cultivation, and collector identification.
Curator reference for Turbinicarpus alonsoi: the single-locality Guanajuato endemic with vivid magenta flowers, papery grey spines, and a deeply geophytic stem. Taxonomy, habitat, morphology, CITES Appendix I status, cultivation, and collector identification guide.
