Glandulicactus uncinatus

Name and range

Glandulicactus uncinatus is the name accepted in POWO. Its native range includes southern New Mexico, western and southern Texas, and Mexico. The names Ferocactus uncinatus and Sclerocactus uncinatus indicate the same species under other genus treatments. POWO also includes plants described as G. wrightii or G. uncinatus var. wrightii here. [2-WWW]

Britton and Rose associated the plants with rocky ridges from western Texas into Mexico. The more recent report of long spines concerns Anthony's Nose in the Franklin Mountains, at the northwestern tip of Texas near the New Mexico border. This locality identifies the specific population for which photographic documentation was made. [Britton and Rose 1922] [Gorelick 2021]

Tubercles and elongated areoles

The classical monograph described stems 10–20 cm tall and around 13 ribs divided into tubercles. A groove runs along the side of the tubercle facing the tip. Areoles are elongated and woolly, with yellowish glands nearby. The authors recorded nectar-like drops and bees visiting this part of the plant. The insects described visited structures outside the flowers. [Britton and Rose 1922, p. 146]

The spine arrangement includes a strong central spine bent away from the stem and hooked at the tip, and spines surrounding the areole. In Britton and Rose's description, the central spine reached 12 cm. Lower radial spines could also be hooked, while upper ones remained straight. The root was described as spindle-shaped. These features come from the historical account of the species' material. [Britton and Rose 1922, p. 146]

Flowers and fruits

Britton and Rose described brown flowers 2–2.5 cm long. They develop near the tip, away from older, lower stem sections. The fruit, around 2 cm long, changes from green to scarlet. Black seeds measure around 1–1.5 mm. When identifying a plant, flower colour and areole details provide information independent of the length of the most conspicuous spine. [Britton and Rose 1922, p. 146]

Spines more than ten centimetres long

In 2021, Gorelick published photographs of plants on Anthony's Nose taken in February 2020. He used the name G. uncinatus var. wrightii (currently G. uncinatus in POWO). Among plants growing close together, he observed both spines of around 5 cm and individuals with spines reaching around 15 cm. The report covers local variation and several exceptional specimens. [Gorelick 2021] [2-WWW]

The longest spine analysed was estimated at around 15–16.5 cm. Its length was derived from a photograph with a lens cap 7.2 cm in diameter and a correction for the objects' positions in perspective. The author tested this estimation method on ten other plants in his collection. Deviations from direct measurements were within about 6%. The interval for the wild cactus remains a photographic estimate. [Gorelick 2021, p. 569–573, tab. 1–2]

The exceptional size extends the documented spine variation of this population. The mechanism producing such long spines remains an open question. The note discusses possible effects of site conditions, while the available data primarily allow the structure of the visible plants to be described. Genotypes and growth histories of short-spined and long-spined individuals were not compared. [Gorelick 2021]

Materials from the author's archive

The species also appears in Konrad Szychowski's private material archive. [Kaktologia 2009b, file p. 9] [Neciu b.d., file p. 1]