Lophophora fricii

Accepted name and former ranks

Lophophora fricii Haberm. is an accepted species in Plants of the World Online. The former combinations Lophophora diffusa subsp. fricii and Lophophora williamsii var. fricii are synonyms based on the same name type. The epithet therefore remains the same, while treatment and rank changed. POWO dates first publication to 1975, while the IPNI record cites a volume labelled 1974 and also refers to a 1975 note. [2-WWW] [3-WWW]

Variable stems and branching

In his 2000 account, Hansen compared specimens with green, grey-green and grey-blue epidermis. Soft stems reached 12 cm in diameter and contracted markedly during rest. Older plants often had thirteen ribs, although the number could be higher. Ribs could run straight, twist or break into poorly delimited areas. Variation also included the amount, length and colour of areole hairs. [Hansen 2000, p. 226–227]

Branching differed greatly between specimens. The author showed compact clumps, including part of a plant with a total diameter exceeding 40 cm. He also documented one specimen that produced no offset for more than 25 years. The first number concerns a clump of many stems, and the second the observation period of a particular specimen. The description of photographed plants shows a broad range of growth forms, without establishing the frequency of each variant in the whole population. [Hansen 2000, p. 227–229]

Flowers and fruiting

Both tepal shape and flower size varied in the specimens compared. Broad, rounded tepals occurred alongside narrower, lanceolate ones. Pink flowers were shown most often, but the accounts also include plants with almost white and dark pink flowers. One older specimen produced eleven flowers simultaneously, while others flowered singly much less often. These are observations of individual plants in Hansen's collection. [Hansen 2000, p. 225–227]

Šnicer and colleagues' 2009 key includes flowers from light pink to dark pink with a purple tint, and also white. Fruits were described as pink to dark purplish pink. Hansen presented an intensely red fruit on a specimen with almost straight ribs and a light pink flower. This combination documents variation in specific material. The colour of one flower alone does not define all limits of species identification. [Šnicer et al. 2009, Šnicer et al., p. 297. Hansen, p. 227] [Hansen 2000, Šnicer et al., p. 297. Hansen, p. 227]

The seed under a microscope

Šnicer and colleagues showed a seed from Coahuila material, 1.5 mm long and 1.2 mm wide. A black, relatively coarsely papillose coat accompanied a hilum compressed into a V shape. Protrusions decreased near the hilum, while cell boundaries remained visible. The numbers describe material presented in the publication, without estimating size variation for the whole species. [Šnicer et al. 2009, p. 299]

Hansen compared seed coats by scanning electron microscopy. In the L. fricii seeds studied, outer cell walls had distinct, mostly conical protrusions and fine cuticular folds. He recognised similar sculpture in some specimens bearing earlier labels of L. williamsii var. decipiens. Linking seed structure to the whole specimen formed the basis for his proposal to identify these plants as L. fricii. [Hansen 2000, p. 229–232]

Coahuila and names from older collections

POWO places the natural range in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The Cactus Conservation Institute describes two habitat types, plains with dry scrub, mesquite and agaves, and limestone slopes and summits. Hansen discussed plants from plains and higher locations in this region. Microhabitat differences and individual stem variation accompany the richness of forms seen in collections. [2-WWW] [25-WWW] [Hansen 2000, Hansen, p. 226, 228]

Hansen considered many studied plants labelled L. williamsii var. decipiens to be L. fricii, retaining unclear cases. The formal name L. williamsii var. decipiens remains a synonym of L. williamsii in current POWO. A historical collection label and the name's nomenclatural status therefore require distinction. Documented origin, flower and seed sculpture help assess a specific plant without automatically transferring the entire former name to L. fricii. [Hansen 2000, Hansen, p. 228–232] [2-WWW]

Dane chloroplastowe

Zhang and colleagues' 2026 plastid tree used the available L. fricii sequence PV872148 alongside genomes of L. diffusa and L. williamsii. The representatives of the genus studied formed a shared group. The analysis helps place this material among sequences of other cacti. It did not include samples from many L. fricii populations or all four accepted species of the genus. [Zhang et al. 2026, p. 676–678, ryc. 3]

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