Encyclopedia

Coryphantha tripugionacantha is Alfred Lau’s Zacatecas dagger-spine cory: three projecting black centrals per areole, solitary grey-green body to 9 cm, pale yellow apical flowers. CITES Appendix II, IUCN Least Concern.

Coryphantha ramillosa is the bunched cory cactus of Brewster County, Texas and adjacent Coahuila, Mexico; US ESA Threatened since 1979, small grey-green stems with stiff radials and unusual pink flowers. Cactaceae.

Coryphantha hintoniorum is the limestone-obligate Hinton’s cory cactus of Nuevo León, described by Dicht and Lüthy in 1999; hooked grey central spines, pale gold flowers, and CITES Appendix II protection. Cactaceae.

Coryphantha elephantidens is the volcanic-belt giant of central Mexico, with elephant-tusk tubercles up to 25 cm wide and 6 to 11 cm magenta flowers; the only Coryphantha with magenta blooms. Cactaceae.

Coryphantha werdermannii is the only CITES Appendix I species in its genus, a limestone-obligate globose cactus from Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Durango with a stunning juvenile-to-adult spination shift and pale gold flowers. Cactaceae.

Epithelantha cryptica is a Coahuilan microendemic button cactus described in 2011, barely emerging above the limestone substrate at La Muralla; self-sterile and among the hardest legitimately-sourced Epithelantha to obtain. Cactaceae.

Epithelantha pachyrhiza is the turnip-root button cactus of southern Coahuila, prized for its swollen napiform taproot beneath a tiny aerial body. Limestone-obligate, CITES Appendix II, seed grown cultivation. Cactaceae.

Epithelantha greggii is the largest-bodied button cactus of the genus, endemic to the Saltillo region of Coahuila; ashy grey radiating spines, calcareous limestone habitat, CITES Appendix II. Cactaceae.

Epithelantha micromeris is the type species of the genus, the self-fertile button cactus of the Chihuahuan Desert, with pinkish-tipped pectinate spines and a persistent coral-red berry. Found from Trans-Pecos Texas into northeast Mexico. Cactaceae.

Epithelantha bokei is the chalk-white button cactus of Brewster County, Texas and adjacent Coahuila; 50 to 90 tightly appressed white spines per areole and pale pink flowers. IUCN Least Concern. Cactaceae.