Tephrocactus aulacothele

Structure and former name

In the 2019 paper, the plant appears as Tephrocactus weberi. It has fibrous roots, cylindrical segments, needle-like spines and strong connections between stem sections. Leaves are shed quickly. Yellow flowers and stem outline help distinguish it from globose members of the genus with pale flowers. [Las Peñas et al. 2019] [2-WWW]

Fruit is dry and opens at maturity. Seeds are surrounded by a corky covering. In the chloroplast analysis, the species formed one of the three main Tephrocactus lineages, separate from the T. articulatus group and the T. bonnieae lineage. [Las Peñas et al. 2019]

Subspecies and chromosomes

POWO accepts the nominate subspecies and T. aulacothele subsp. deminutus. The latter was named T. weberi var. deminutus in the 2019 study. It was distinguished partly by sepal-tip traits and flower armament. [2-WWW] [Las Peñas et al. 2019]

Material identified as T. weberi var. weberi included plants with 2n = 22 and 2n = 44. The variety deminutus was reported with 2n = 22. Several cytotypes and endopolyploidy in the tissues indicate variation that segment appearance alone does not convey. [Las Peñas et al. 2019, Table 2]

Scope of names in the atlas

The name T. weberi leads to the current T. aulacothele profile. Lower-rank taxa retain separate addresses when the source allows a result to be assigned to a particular subspecies. T. abditus, linked in one paper with the deminutus group, remains a separate species in current POWO. [2-WWW] [Kiesling et al. 2023]