Name, species and former variety
Backeberg published Neolloydia matehualensis in 1948. In some later accounts it appeared as N. conoidea var. matehualensis. POWO now accepts it as a species and places both this varietal name and Cochemiea matehualensis in synonymy. Material in the original description came from near Matehuala in San Luis Potosí. [2-WWW] [Moredia-Rosete et al. 2025, POWO, as of 11 October 2026. Moredia-Rosete et al., p. 761]
Bluish-green stem and closely packed tubercles
In the revision's material, the stem had a bluish-green surface, differing from the shinier green of N. inexpectata and the dull green of some other groups. The tubercles touched one another, and the areoles were circular to almost circular. Central spines projected away from the stem and numbered two or three. The basal constriction described for some new species was not found. [Moredia-Rosete et al. 2025, pp. 761–762, Table 5 on p. 767, key on p. 772]
The comparison table gives usually 9–11 radial spines, with extreme observations of eight and twelve. The final key gives a slightly different range. Spine number is therefore one of several identifying characters. Measurements of 20 adult individuals gave a mean radial spine count of 9.75. A bluish-green epidermis, tightly packed tubercles, almost circular areoles and projecting spines formed the combined picture of this material. [Moredia-Rosete et al. 2025, p. 757, 767, 772]
The outer tepals are dark pink with paler margins. In the key, this colour is an additional identifying character alongside the bluish-green stem, areole shape and spine arrangement. [Moredia-Rosete et al. 2025, p. 772, klucz identyfikacyjny]
Wapienne formy terenu
POWO gives northeastern Mexico as the range. In the revision, the species occupied the border area between the Chihuahuan Desert and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests. Environmental data from the sites indicated an association with karst landforms and shallow, stony soils known as lithosols. The analysis relied on five spatially separated records selected for sufficiently precise coordinates. [2-WWW] [Moredia-Rosete et al. 2025, Moredia-Rosete et al., pp. 756, 764, Table 5]
The authors compare this narrower environmental range with the greater diversity of N. conoidea sites. They suggest that the mosaic of substrates and landforms in the Sierra Madre Oriental may promote separation of populations. They derive this interpretation from comparing plant structure and site distribution. [Moredia-Rosete et al. 2025, p. 764]
Related articles
Materials from the author's archive
The species also appears in Konrad Szychowski's private material archive. [Kaktusy i Inne 2005c, file p. 23, 26]
Synonyms and names in the literature
Cochemiea matehualensis · Neolloydia conoidea var. matehualensis [2-WWW]