Mistaken identity: Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata

Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata

 A picture of what I have been calling (and distributing seed of) as Coryphantha scheeri for many years (this picture was taken in 2007). Arguably one of the most beautiful and rewarding native wildflowers--It is fortunately being propagated and distributed by several specialty mail-order nurseries in Colorado (Ethical Desert and Cold Hardy Cactus--although the latter still uses the incorrect name "E. scheeri").

Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata

Here's a side view that shows the husky tubercles and stellate spination--a handsome plant even out of bloom...

Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata

It's the flowers, however, that make this so special--that wonderful butterscotch coloration. And the fact that they can produce multiple flushes through the summer. They often receive summer and early autumn rains in the monsoonal months of the Southwest. Most of my native American cacti bloom in the spring or early summer--so the late summer bloomers are all the more appreciated.

Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the true C. r. ssp. scheeri--which this resembles except that scheeri has smaller flowers and fruits and no central spines--blooming mostly in spring. It is restricted to Eddy and Chaves counties in New Mexico and further south and east into Texas, whereas var. uncinata grows further west and is, as I've said, a later blooming taxon.

Range of Coryphantha "uncinata" (including both subspecies)

Unfortunately the two subspecies of robustispina are combined in the BONAP map as C. uncinata --most of the Texas and far eastern New Mexico locations are var. scheeri, while the Rio Grande valley westward is our taxon var. uncinata.

Coryphantha delaetiana

There are quite a few yellow-flowered coryphanthas in Mexico: I have grown this species for a decade or more in a pot I bring in and out. It blooms reliably every summer in repeated flushes like its northern cousin.

Coryphangtha delaetiana

A side view of the same plant.

Coryphangtha calipensis

I believe I photographed this beauty at the Huntington's incomparable Desert Greenhouse. Love that wool!

Coryphangtha compacta

Another cool Mexican cory (as we call them...)

Coryphangtha sulcata

I have featured this plant repeatedly in my blog--and can't resist doing so again. I tried it years ago, and it succumbed to cold, but eventually obtained Harlan Hamernik's northern Texas accession that Bluebird Nursery sold it at ridiculously cheap prices for years. That clone is bullet proof--just check out those huge clumps in Denver Botanic Gardens'  crevice garden near the entrance to the Rock Alpine Garden.

Coryphangtha sulcata

Like its cousin I began with, this is a repeat-blooming cactus that often flushes flowers again and again through the summer months. I'd be challenged to decide whether I preferred this or the first Cory I started with as favorites...I'm glad I have multiples of BOTH!