Pelecyphora vivipara

Pelecyphora vivipara rarely grows individually and usually forms groups. This is a small round cactus growing to a maximum height of about , often remaining smaller and oblong or spherical. It is densely covered in a mat of star-shaped arrays of straight white spines long. It flowers in yellow, pink, red, or purple blooms across. Their conspicuous warts are up to long. The often hair-like spines are translucent and shiny. The three to seven uniformly orange or brown colored central spines are spreading and strong. The approximately 16 radiating marginal spines are white. The flowers are bright pink to purple. They are up to 6 centimeters long and reach a diameter of 5 centimeters. The green, ellipsoid fruits are up to 2.5 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters in diameter. They are often covered with scales at their tip. File:Escobaria vivipara 2004-07-25.jpg| Plant File:Coryphantha vivipara - Flickr - aspidoscelis (3).jpg|spines File:Coryphantha vivipara - Flickr - aspidoscelis.jpg|Pelecyphora vivipara in southwestern foothills of Sierra Blanca, north of Cat Mountain, Otero County, New Mexico. File:Coryphantha vivipara 7480.jpg|Pelecyphora vivipara blooming in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park Varieties Varieties include: • Pelecyphora vivipara var. arizonica (Arizona spinystar) – native to the desert southwest of the United States • Pelecyphora vivipara var. bisbeeana (Bisbee spinystar) – native to Arizona and New Mexico • Pelecyphora vivipara var. kaibabensis (Kaibab spinystar) – mostly limited to Arizona • Pelecyphora vivipara var. neomexicana (New Mexico spinystar) – native to New Mexico and Texas • Pelecyphora vivipara var. vivipara – known as far north as Manitoba ==Distribution==

The species has a broad range across the western interior of North America, from northern Mexico to the Canadian prairies. Its distribution in the early Holocene era is known to have differed locally from its present range. From pollen core data, a portion of the prehistoric distribution of this species has been mapped; for example in the Late Wisconsin period, Pelecyphora vivipara occurred in the Waterman Mountains (Coconino County) of northern Arizona, (the Waterman Mountains are in SE Arizona), although the species does not occur in this location in the present time. In the US state of Minnesota, it is listed as a threatened species and is at the most easterly extent of its natural range; it is rare in the state and found in a narrow section of the western part of the state, where it is found growing in crevices and outcroppings of granite. The remaining plants are also threatened by illegal harvesting by cactus fanciers, who plant it in rock gardens and windowsills. File: Escobaria vivipara (7462396824).jpg|Flowering specimen near Phillips, Montana, USA File:Escobaria vivipara (4008222754).jpg|Characteristic reddish spines ==Taxonomy==

The first description as Cactus viviparus by Thomas Nuttall was published in 1813. The specific epithet vivipara is derived from the Latin word viviparus and means 'living birth'. The reference to the species is unclear. Franz Buxbaum placed the species in the genus Escobaria in 1951. David Aquino & Daniel Sánchez moved the species to Pelecyphora based on phylogenetic studies in 2022. Further nomenclature synonyms are Mammillaria vivipara (Nutt.) Haw. (1819), Echinocactus viviparus (Nutt.) Poselg. (1853), Mammillaria radiosa f. vivipara (Nutt.) Schelle (1907, incorrect name ICBN article 11.4) and Coryphantha vivipara (Nutt.) Britton & Rose (1913). == Gallery ==

File:Dalea reverchonii and Pelecyphora vivipara (syn- Escobaria vivipara var. radiosa).jpg|Dalea reverchonii and Escobaria vivipara File:Escobaria vivipara.jpg File:Escobaria vivipara var. alversonii (8609415739).jpg File:Escobaria vivipara 5.jpg File:Escobaria vivipara 10.jpg ==References==