Publication: Cactaceae (Britton & Rose) 4: 7. 1923 [24 Dec 1923]
Description
Thelocactus rinconensis is one of the most decorative cacti of the deserts of Mexico and extremely variable in its spines. Thelocactus rinconensis has received many unnecessary infraspecific epithets, and in cultivation it is commonly found under its three varieties, the type and var. nidulans with long spines, var. phymatothele with very short spines, but the only acceptable distinction is Thelocactus rinconensis subsp. hintonii, which occurs in Nuevo Leon at some distance from the main population.
Habit: Usually solitary, develops a squat and highly ribbed stem with a flattened top.
Stem: Spherical or somewhat depressed 4-15 cm tall, 9-20 cm across. It can have either a light glaucous-grey or green epidermis sometimes tinged with purple.
Ribs: 20 to 31, rather indistinct, divided into strong tubercles.
Tubercles: Conical, angled quite pointed, elongate toward the tip but flattened on top,12-27 mm long, 7-15 mm wide, 8-15 mm high.
Areoles: Round to elongate, mostly more than 2 cm apart and without nectaries.
Spines: Sometimes absent, very variable in length, depending on the clone, dark, usually black-brown , pale at apex, but also grey, brown or yellow, with a distinctive silvery appearance, and sometimes shredding.
Central spines: 0-4 straight, terete to angled, sometimes scaly with age, variable in length very short or to 6 (or more) cm long.
Radial spines: 0-5 very similar to the centrals, erect to radiating, straight 3-35(-50) mm long.
Flowers: 3-5 cm long, 2,7-3 cm in diameter, salmon-pink or whitish, often yellowish in the throat, or occasionally yellowish or magenta with a dark midvein. Tube short, pericarpels covered
with scales. The plants usually fail to flower until they are 5-9 years old.
Fruit: Spherical ta oblong with scales, 7-9 mm in diameter, greenish or yellowish, slightly fleshy when ripe, opening by basal pore.
Seeds: 1,7-2 mm long, 0,5-1 mm broad, net-patterned with polygonal or square areas.
Origin and Habitat
It occurs in Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Altitude: 1200-1900 metres above sea level.
Habitat: It is widespread and quite common in the Chihuahuan Desert in xerophytic shrubland on calcareous soils. There are no major threats to this species, although the habitat is overgrazed by goats.
Cultivation and Propagation
Thelocactus rinconensis is a summer grower species easy to cultivate.
Growth rate: It is a slow growing species.
Soil: Use mineral well permeable substratum with little organic matter (peat, humus), plants may become too elongated if compost is too rich.
Repotting: Re-pot every 2 years. Use pot with good drainage.
Fertilization: It grows much faster with a low nitrogen content fertilizer in spring and summer.
Watering: Requires careful watering to keep plant compact. Water sparingly from March till October, the thin, fibrous roots suffer if there is humidity, therefore the plant should be watered only when the surrounding terrain is dry. Keep dry as soon as the temperature starts dropping in October and keep it perfectly dry in winter at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade.
Hardiness: They need to be kept in a cool place during winter rest and are somewhat resistant to frost if kept on the dry side prior to, and during, cold weather ( they are hardy to -5 C ° C or less for short periods). Although it is one of the easier cacti to grow, it tends to rot in winter during the resting phase, if kept wet. In the rest period no high atmospheric humidity!!
Sun Exposure: Requires full sun in winter and some protection in summer, its colour tends to richer and darker when grown in light shade.
Uses: It is an excellent plant for container growing. It always looks good and stays small.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to a variety of insects, but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation. Nonetheless, there are several pests to watch for:
- Red spiders: Red spiders may be effectively rubbed up by watering the infested plants from above.
- Mealy bugs: Mealy bugs occasionally develop aerial into the new growth among the wool with disfiguring results, but the worst types develop underground on the roots and are invisible except by their effects.
- Scales: Scales are rarely a problem.
- Rot: Rot is only a minor problem with cacti if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won’t help all that much. To prevent rottenness it is also advisable to surround its root neck by very rough sand or grit, this help a fast water drainage.
Propagation: Nearly always from seed, since the plant rarely produces plantlets.
Bibliography
Major references and further lectures
-
Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 2001
-
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
-
David R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. “The New Cactus Lexicon” dh books, 2006
-
Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: “Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names” Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg 2010
-
Philip Perl “Cacti and succulents” 1978
-
N. L. Britton, J. N. Rose: “The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family.” Volume III, The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1922
-
Hans Hecht “BLV-Handbuch der Kakteen” BLV-Verlagsgesellschaft, 1982
-
E Haustein “Der Kosmos Kakteenfuehrer (the Kosmos Cactus Guide)” Balogh Scientific Books 01 December 1998
-
Paul Carpenter Standley “Trees and shrubs of Mexico, Parti 1-3” Govt. Print. Off., 1926
-
Edgar Lamb, Brian Lamb “The Illustrated Reference on Cacti & Other Succulents, Volume 5” Blandford Press, 1978
-
Clive Innes “Complete Handbook of Cacti and Succulents” Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 01/Dec/1981
-
Walther Haage “Cacti and succulents: a practical handbook” Dutton, 1963
-
A. J. van Laren, Scott Edson Haselton “Cactus” Abbey San Encino Press, 1935
-
Gordon D. Rowley “The illustrated encyclopedia of succulents” Crown Publishers, 01/Aug/1978
-
Hans Hecht “Cacti & Succulents” Sterling Publishing Company Incorporated, 1994
-
Roger Spencer “Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia: The Identification of Garden and Cultivated Plants. Flowering plants : Dicotyledons, Volume 2, Parte 1” UNSW Press, 1997
-
John Pilbeam “Cacti for the Connoisseur: A Guide for Growers & Collectors” Timber Press, 01/Jul/1987
-
Gómez-Hinostrosa, C., Hernández, H.M., Sotomayor, M. & Smith, M. 2013. Thelocactus rinconensis. In: IUCN 2013. “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.” Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 November 2013.
From llifle page Echinocactus lophothele
Description
This is a large, vigorous plant solitary or in its native state sprouting at the base.
Stem: Globose or short-cylindric, woolly and depressed at the top, glaucous or greyish green, which eventually becomes about 25 cm high of similar diameter.
Ribs: 15- 20 rather slender thickened at intervals into tubercles.
Roots: Fibrous-rooted.
Spines: Different, radial spines finer, central spines clearly different long.
Flowers: Yellowish-white, sulphur yellow, peach-coloured/rose-red, and silver-shiny.
Origin and Habitat
Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico.
Altitude: Around 1600-1700 metres above sea level.
Habitat: Chihuahuan Desert. Often found growing together with Echinocereus cinerascens, Ferocactus histrix.
Cultivation and Propagation
Thelocactus rinconensis is a summer grower species easy to cultivate.
Growth rate: It is a slow growing species.
Soil: Use mineral well permeable substratum with little organic matter (peat, humus), plants may become too elongated if compost is too rich.
Repotting: Re-pot every 2 years. Use pot with good drainage.
Fertilization: It grows much faster with a low nitrogen content fertilizer in spring and summer.
Watering: Requires careful watering to keep plant compact. Water sparingly from March till October, the thin, fibrous roots suffer if there is humidity, therefore the plant should be watered only when the surrounding terrain is dry. Keep dry as soon as the temperature starts dropping in October and keep it perfectly dry in winter at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade.
Hardiness: They need to be kept in a cool place during winter rest and are somewhat resistant to frost if kept on the dry side prior to, and during, cold weather ( they are hardy to -5 C ° C or less for short periods). Although it is one of the easier Parodia to grow, it tends to rot in winter during the resting phase, if kept wet. In the rest period no high atmospheric humidity!!
Sun Exposure: Requires full sun in winter and some protection in summer, its colour tends to richer and darker when grown in light shade.
Uses: It is an excellent plant for container growing. It always looks good and stays small.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to a variety of insects, but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation. Nonetheless, there are several pests to watch for:
- Red spiders: Red spiders may be effectively rubbed up by watering the infested plants from above.
- Mealy bugs: Mealy bugs occasionally develop aerial into the new growth among the wool with disfiguring results, but the worst types develop underground on the roots and are invisible except by their effects.
- Scales: Scales are rarely a problem.
- Rot: Rot is only a minor problem with cacti if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won’t help all that much. To prevent rottenness it is also advisable to surround its root neck by very rough sand or grit, this help a fast water drainage.
Propagation: Nearly always from seed, since the plant rarely produces plantlets.
Bibliography
Major references and further lectures
-
Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 2001
-
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
-
David R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. “The New Cactus Lexicon” dh books, 2006
-
Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: “Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names” Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg 2010
-
Philip Perl “Cacti and succulents” 1978
-
N. L. Britton, J. N. Rose: “The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family.” Volume III, The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1922
-
Hans Hecht “BLV-Handbuch der Kakteen” BLV-Verlagsgesellschaft, 1982
-
E Haustein “Der Kosmos Kakteenfuehrer (the Kosmos Cactus Guide)” Balogh Scientific Books 01 December 1998
-
Paul Carpenter Standley “Trees and shrubs of Mexico, Parti 1-3” Govt. Print. Off., 1926
-
Edgar Lamb, Brian Lamb “The Illustrated Reference on Cacti & Other Succulents, Volume 5” Blandford Press, 1978
-
Clive Innes “Complete Handbook of Cacti and Succulents” Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 01/Dec/1981
-
Walther Haage “Cacti and succulents: a practical handbook” Dutton, 1963
-
A. J. van Laren, Scott Edson Haselton “Cactus” Abbey San Encino Press, 1935
-
Gordon D. Rowley “The illustrated encyclopedia of succulents” Crown Publishers, 01/Aug/1978
-
Hans Hecht “Cacti & Succulents” Sterling Publishing Company Incorporated, 1994
-
Roger Spencer “Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia: The Identification of Garden and Cultivated Plants. Flowering plants : Dicotyledons, Volume 2, Parte 1” UNSW Press, 1997
-
John Pilbeam “Cacti for the Connoisseur: A Guide for Growers & Collectors” Timber Press, 01/Jul/1987
Source: Echinocactus lophothele, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.
From llifle page Echinocactus nidulans
Description
Thelocactus rinconensis subs. nidulans, better known as Thelocactus nidulans, can be distinguished from other forms of the Thelocactus rinconensis complex because the stem is is covered with long spines so grouped and arranged that they look like a bird’s nest.
Habit: Usually solitary, develops a squat and highly ribbed stem with a flattened top.
Stem: Depressed-globose, 4-15 cm tall, 9-20 cm across gray, usually glaucous sometimes tinged with purple.
Ribs: 20 to 25, rather indistinct, divided into strong tubercles.
Tubercles: Conical, angled quite pointed, elongate toward the tip but flattened on top,12-27 mm long, 7-15 mm wide, 8-15 mm high.
Areoles: Round to elongate, mostly more than 2 cm apart and without nectaries.
Spines: All similar, long very variable in length, depending on the clone, dark, usually black-brown , pale at apex, but also grey, brown or yellow, with a distinctive silvery appearance, and sometimes shredding.
Central spines: 0-4 straight, terete to angled, sometimes scaly with age, variable in length very short or to 6 (or more) cm long.
Radial spines: 0-5 very similar to the centrals, erect to radiating, straight 3-35(-50) mm long.
Flowers: 3-5 cm long, 2,7-3 cm in diameter, salmon-pink or whitish, often yellowish in the throat, or occasionally yellowish or magenta with a dark midvein. Tube short, pericarpels covered
with scales. The plants usually fail to flower until they are 5-9 years old.
Fruit: Spherical ta oblong with scales, 7-9 mm in diameter, greenish or yellowish, slightly fleshy when ripe, opening by basal pore.
Seeds: 1,7-2 mm long, 0,5-1 mm broad, net-patterned with polygonal or square areas.
Origin and Habitat
Coahuila, particularly around Saltillo and Parras. Mexico.
Altitude: 1300-2100 metres above sea level.
Habitat: Chihuahuan Desert in xerophytic shrubland on calcareous soils together with Echinocereus conglomeratus, Epithelantha polycephala, Echinocactus platyacanthus, Gymnocactus beguinii, Mammillaria winteriae, Mammillaria ascensionis, Neolloydia sp., Echinofossulocactus sp., Astrophytum capricorne, Echinocereus scheeri, Agave stricta, Opuntia rastrera, Opuntia tunicata, Opuntia microdasys, Opuntia cantabrigiensis, Opuntia imbricata, Opuntia tunicata, Opuntia durangensis, Yucca filifera and Hechtia scariosa.
Cultivation and Propagation
Thelocactus nidulans is a summer grower species easy to cultivate.
Growth rate: It is a slow growing species.
Soil: Use mineral well permeable substratum with little organic matter (peat, humus), plants may become too elongated if compost is too rich.
Repotting: Re-pot every 2 years. Use pot with good drainage.
Fertilization: It grows much faster with a low nitrogen content fertilizer in spring and summer.
Watering: Requires careful watering to keep plant compact. Water sparingly from March till October, the thin, fibrous roots suffer if there is humidity, therefore the plant should be watered only when the surrounding terrain is dry. Keep dry as soon as the temperature starts dropping in October and keep it perfectly dry in winter at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade.
Hardiness: They need to be kept in a cool place during winter rest and are somewhat resistant to frost if kept on the dry side prior to, and during, cold weather ( they are hardy to -5 C ° C or less for short periods). Although it is one of the easier cacti to grow, it tends to rot in winter during the resting phase, if kept wet. In the rest period no high atmospheric humidity!!
Sun Exposure: Requires full sun in winter and some protection in summer, its colour tends to richer and darker when grown in light shade.
Uses: It is an excellent plant for container growing. It always looks good and stays small.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to a variety of insects, but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation. Nonetheless, there are several pests to watch for:
- Red spiders: Red spiders may be effectively rubbed up by watering the infested plants from above.
- Mealy bugs: Mealy bugs occasionally develop aerial into the new growth among the wool with disfiguring results, but the worst types develop underground on the roots and are invisible except by their effects.
- Scales: Scales are rarely a problem.
- Rot: Rot is only a minor problem with cacti if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won’t help all that much. To prevent rottenness it is also advisable to surround its root neck by very rough sand or grit, this help a fast water drainage.
Propagation: Nearly always from seed, since the plant rarely produces plantlets.
Source: Echinocactus nidulans, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.
From llifle page Echinocactus phymatothelos
Description
Thelocactus rinconensis subs. phymatothelos, better known as Thelocactus phymatothelos, can be distinguished from other forms of the Thelocactus rinconensis complex because the stem is always strongly depressed and glaucous, the spines are few, shorter and slightly curved, and the flowers are more or less clear pink.
Habit: Usually solitary or very slow to offset, develops a squat and highly ribbed stem with a flattened top.
Stem: Spherical with a compressed top, 9-15(-20) cm across, ap to 10 cm tall, chalky-grey, silvery-grey, glaucous sometimes tinged with purple.
Ribs: Mostly obscured by tubercles that are very prominent angled but more rounded and compressed than those of the main species Thelocactus rinconensis. Tubercles up to 1,5 cm hight.
Areoles: Round to elongate, mostly more than 2 cm apart and without nectaries.
Spines: Usually short but variable in length, depending on the clone, dark, usually black-brown , pale at apex, but also grey, brown or yellow, with a distinctive silvery appearance, and sometimes shredding. Spines in old age shiny grey-white.
Central spines: Most often 1-2 (rarely more) slightly curved, sometimes scaly with age, usually very short or occasionally up to 6 cm long.
Radial Spines: up to 5 (usually only1-2) similar to the centrals, erect to radiating, slightly curved shorter than the centrals.
Flowers: 3-5 cm long, 2,7-3 cm in diameter, white to pinkish with a pink midstripe. Tube short, pericarpels covered
with scales. The plants usually fail to flower until they are 5-9 years old.
Fruit: Spherical ta oblong with scales, 7-9 mm in diameter, greenish or yellowish, slightly fleshy when ripe, opening by basal pore.
Origin and Habitat
It is known only from the slopes of Arteaga Canyon just south of Saltillo, Coahuila. Mexico.
Altitude: Around 1900 metres above sea level.
Habitat: Chihuahuan Desert. Often found growing together with Neolloydia conoidea.
Cultivation and Propagation
Easy to cultivate. Water moderately from Spring to Autumn. In Winter, keep dry.
Sun Exposure: Full sun to light shade
Reproduction: Nearly always from seed, since the plant rarely produces plantlets.
Notes
Thelocactus phymatothelos is now considered a synonym of Thelocactus rinconensis, along with Thelocactus lophothele, Thelocactus nidulans, and others. It is not sufficiently distinct to deserve its own formal status.
Source: Echinocactus phymatothelos, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.
From llifle page Thelocactus lophothele subs. palomaensis
Description
Stem: Single, depressed or spherical, 210 (-250) mm wide and 120 (-170) mm tall dark green to silver epidermis, often with purplish tubercles tips. Apex of the plant covered with yellowish wool.
Ribs: 13, in spirals, deeply divided into individual tubercles, tubercles erect with blunt keel on the bottom side down of the areoles.
Areoles: Oval, about 4 mm wide and 7 mm long, at first with yellowish or whitish felt later bare.
Central spines: 2-4 longer and stronger than marginal, straight, subulate, round in cross section, 2 mm thick at the base up to 80 mm long, young spines brownish with a mauve tinge, transversely ribbed, older spines greyish asbestos-like with piling fibrous surface.
Radial spines: 4-7(-11 ) yellowish-colored glassy.
Flowers: Funnel form with a short flower tube 50 mm wide and tall, tepals dark red-violet lanceolate, numerous, arranged in two or three rows. Outer tetals dark purple with lighter edges, inner tetals lighter purple, with darker central stripe. Pistil yellow, about 20 mm long, with 10 yellow stigma lobes. Anthers yellow.
Fruit: Barrel-shaped, at first fleshy, dark purple, covered with scales, about 10-12 mm wide, with a hard pericarp, opening at maturity at the base.
Seed: Black, pear-shaped, with tuberculate testa, about 1.5 mm long.
Origin and Habitat
Northern border of the Sierra Paila, Coahuila (Mexico Northeast)
Type Locality: La Paloma, ad viam publicam no 57 inter oppida Saltillo et Monclova, 1231m.
Habitat: Grows in matorral xerofilo on limestone hills.
Cultivation and Propagation
Thelocactus rinconensis subs. palomaensis is a summer grower species easy to cultivate.
Growth rate: It is a slow growing species.
Soil: Use mineral well permeable substratum with little organic matter (peat, humus), plants may become too elongated if compost is too rich.
Repotting: Re-pot every 2 years. Use pot with good drainage.
Fertilization: It grows much faster with a low nitrogen content fertilizer in spring and summer.
Watering: Requires careful watering to keep plant compact. Water sparingly from March till October, the thin, fibrous roots suffer if there is humidity, therefore the plant should be watered only when the surrounding terrain is dry. Keep dry as soon as the temperature starts dropping in October and keep it perfectly dry in winter at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade.
Hardiness: They need to be kept in a cool place during winter rest and are somewhat resistant to frost if kept on the dry side prior to, and during, cold weather ( they are hardy to -5 C ° C or less for short periods). Although it is one of the easier Parodia to grow, it tends to rot in winter during the resting phase, if kept wet. In the rest period no high atmospheric humidity!!
Sun Exposure: Requires full sun in winter and some protection in summer, its colour tends to richer and darker when grown in light shade.
Uses: It is an excellent plant for container growing. It always looks good and stays small.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to a variety of insects, but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation. Nonetheless, there are several pests to watch for:
- Red spiders: Red spiders may be effectively rubbed up by watering the infested plants from above.
- Mealy bugs: Mealy bugs occasionally develop aerial into the new growth among the wool with disfiguring results, but the worst types develop underground on the roots and are invisible except by their effects.
- Scales: Scales are rarely a problem.
- Rot: Rot is only a minor problem with cacti if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won’t help all that much. To prevent rottenness it is also advisable to surround its root neck by very rough sand or grit, this help a fast water drainage.
Propagation: Nearly always from seed, since the plant rarely produces plantlets.
Source: Thelocactus lophothele subs. palomaensis, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.
Cultivars and forms (10)
Subspecies (6)
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