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Coryphantha glanduligera (Otto & A.Dietr.) Lem.

Family: CACTACEAE

Publication: Cactées 34. 1868 [Aug 1868]

Description

Coryphantha glanduligera is a solitary club-shaped cactus with yellow flowers borne near the apex on young areoles. The flower anatomy and the sweet fragrance of Coryphantha glanduligera are very similar to that of Coryphantha echinoidea, its closest relative.

Derivation of specific name: The epithet “glanduligera” is derived from the Latin words glandula for ‘gland’ as well as -ger for ‘carrying’.

Stem: Inverted club shaped or egg-shaped (when young) to short columnar, dull dark leaf-green to dark blue-green, to 12 cm high and 6 cm in diameter. Apex somewhat depressed.

Roots: Thick taproot with narrow neck.

Tubercles: Loosely arranged in 8 and 13 series, conical, to 14 mm long, axils and furrows with white wool and 1-2 prominent red glands.

Areoles: Oval, 3 mm long, 2 mm wide, at first slightly woolly initially, then naked.

Central spines: (3-)4, awl shaped, one straight slightly curved down-wards, the 3 upper ones slightly spreading, whitish or grey, with reddish tips, lower one curved inward and 10-20 mm long, upper ones diverging and to 12 mm long.

Radial spines: (15-)17-20, spreading horizontally, needle-like, slightly curved to the body, rigid, grey to white, 9-17 mm long, upper 6-8 bundled in two layers often lighter with dark tips.

Flowers: Yellow, funnel-shaped, sweetly fragrant, to 4 cm long and 7 cm in diameter. Filaments yellowish-white, anthers dark yellow. Style light yellow. Stigma lobes 7-12 whitish yellow,.

Fruits: Large (ca. 20 mm long,8 mm wide), green and juicy.

Seeds: Kidney-shaped 1.3 mm long,0.7 mm wide, shiny, netted, dark brown.

Taxonomy notes: This taxon was firstly described by OTTO (1848) as Mammillaria glanduligera. POSUGER (1853) renamed this species Echinocactus glanduligerus and LEMAIRE (1868) made the new combination Coryphantha glanduligera. BRITTON & ROSES (1923) wrongly treated Coryphantha glanduligera as a synonym of Coryphantha exsudans and the name disappeared from cactus literature. In 1985, ZIMMERMAN resurrected the name Coryphantha glanduligera as a synonym of Coryphantha echinoidea.

Origin and Habitat

Coryphantha glanduligera has a fairly wide range and is a common species found at many locations in the Mexican states of Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas . A very common species with many thousands of plants.

Habitat and Ecology: The solitary plants grow in shrubland on hill slopes in calcareous gravels, sometimes protected by other bushes such as Agaves and Opuntias. Although this species may be grown in specialist collections it is not widely sought after as an ornamental. No major threats are known. Natural hybrids between C. glanduligera and Coryphantha vaupeliana can be found in the Jaumave-valley and also between C. glanduligera and Coryphantha echinoidea to the north of Dr. Arroyo (Nuevo Leon) and near Mier y Noriega (Nuevo Leon).

Cultivation and Propagation

Easily grown in normal cactus compost, requires good drainage. Water in moderation, keep drier in winter. Full sun to partial shade. In humid conditions, the exudation of nectar (if not completely removed by ants) can cause the formation of mould which leads to ugly black-colouring of the epidermis. To prevent this, spray the plant with water to remove the nectar. And provide very good ventilation.

Notes

The Subgenus Neocoryphantha Backeberg is characterised by the presence of extra floral nectaries; they are glands typically located in the tubercle-grooves or in the axils. These nectary-glands are red, orange or yellow and exude in the summer and autumn a viscous juice (nectar) with a high sugar-content. These glands represent a sophisticated strategy for ant attraction.

  1. The first hypothesis for why plants secrete extra floral nectar is that the presence of pugnacious ants seems to reduce the vulnerability of flower buds by herbivorous insects, resulting in greater fruit production and tissue survival. (or by decreasing seed predation on plants.)

  2. The second hypothesis is that they distract ants from foraging at the floral nectaries, this might also serve as an adaptation to reduce ant visitation to flowers.

  3. The third hypothesis is the nutrient enhancement. Ant colonies tend to concentrate on nutrients in the immediate vicinity of their nests - through storing food, discarding debris, and defecating. Plants that bear extra floral nectar, attract ant nests to their base.

  4. Moreover ants can play an important rule in distributing the seeds of these Coryphanthas. (see: Myrmecochory )

Bibliography

Major references and further lectures

  1. Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 2001

  2. James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey “The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass” Cambridge University Press, 11/Aug/2011

  3. David R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. “The New Cactus Lexicon” dh books, 2006

  4. Gómez-Hinostrosa, C., Hernández, H.M., Goettsch, B.K., Lüthy, A.D. & Dicht, R.F. 2013. Coryphantha glanduligera. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T152803A680350. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T152803A680350.en. Downloaded on 01 May 2017.

  5. Reto Dicht, Adrian Lüthy “Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA” Springer Science & Business Media, 14 mar 2006

  6. Nathaniel Lord Britton, Joseph Nelson Rose “Cactaceae: Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family” vol. 4 The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1923

  7. Dicht, R.F. 1998. “Coryphantha glanduligera (Otto) Lemaire - Rehabilitation of a forgottem taxon.” The Journal of the Mammillaria Society 38(1): 2.

  8. Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton “Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names”. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg 2010

  9. Albert Dietrich “Beiträge zur Cacteenkunde, mitgetheilt aus der Linke’sche[n] Sammlung in Berlin”. In: Allgemeine Gartenzeitung. Band 16, Nummer 38, 16. September 1848, S. 298 (online).

  10. Charles Lemaire “Les Cactées Histoire, Patrie Organes de Vegetation, Inflorescence Culture etc.” Paris 1868

From llifle page Coryphantha bergeriana

Description

Coryphantha bergeriana is only a younger synonym of Coryphantha glanduligera and not distinguished from it.

History: In 1929, BOEDEKER described Coryphantha bergeriana, but afterwards, there was no indication in the whole literature that Coryphantha glanduligera might be related to this species, or identical to it, however, new comparison analysis (DICHT 1997) showed that Coryphantha bergeriana should be included within (as a synonym of) C. glanduligera.

For more details see: Coryphantha glanduligera.

Origin and Habitat

Coryphantha bergeriana grows in Nuevo Leon and San Luis Potosi (also in Coahuila?) together with other cactus species such as: Echinofossulocactus lamellosus, and Encephalocarpus strobiliformis.

Bibliography

Major references and further lectures

  1. Dicht, R.F. 1998. “Coryphantha glanduligera (Otto) Lemaire - Rehabilitation of a forgottem taxon.” The Journal of the Mammillaria Society 38(1): 2.

  2. José Ángel Villarreal Q. “Flora de Coahuila” UNAM, 2001

  3. Reto Dicht, Adrian Lüthy “Coryphantha: Cacti of Mexico and Southern USA” Springer Science & Business Media, 14 mar 2006

Source: Coryphantha bergeriana, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.