Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele

Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele, synonym Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae.^[3]

Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Kadenicarpus
Species:	K. pseudomacrochele
Binomial name
Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) Doweld[3]
Synonyms[3]
Neolloydia pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) E.F.Anderson Pediocactus pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) Halda Strombocactus pseudomacrochele Backeb. Toumeya pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) W.T.Marshall Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) Buxb. & Backeb.

It is an endangered species, threatened by habitat loss.

Description

Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele grows mostly singly with light green to darker blue-green, spherical to spherical-cylindrical bodies that occasionally sprout and has a large fleshy turnip root. The bodies, which are woolly at the top, reach heights of 2 to 4 cm (0.79 to 1.57 in) and diameters of 2.5 to 3.4 cm (0.98 to 1.34 in). Their rounded cusps become narrower towards their tip and are 3 to 5 mm (0.12 to 0.20 in) high. There are 5 to 8 yellowish-brown thorns that turn gray with age and cannot be differentiated into marginal and central thorns. They are bristle-like, twisted, mostly stick out and are 15 to 30 mm (0.59 to 1.18 in) long.

The white to reddish purple or yellowish green or magenta flowers are 2.5 to 3.2 cm (0.98 to 1.26 in) long and 2 to 3.5 cm (0.79 to 1.38 in) in diameter. The green, almost spherical fruits are 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long.^[4]

Subspecies

Accepted subspecies:^[3]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. pseudomacrochele	NE. Mexico
	Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. krainzianus (Gerhart Frank) Vázquez-Sánchez	Mexico (Querétaro, Hidalgo)
	Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. minimus (G.Frank) Vázquez-Sánchez	Mexico (Hidalgo)

Distribution

It is endemic to Hidalgo and Querétaro states of Mexico. Its natural habitat is hot deserts.

Taxonomy

The first description as Strombocactus pseudomacrochele was made in 1935 by Curt Backeberg.^[5] The specific epithet pseudomacrochele is derived from the Greek word pseudo for 'false' and the similarity to the species Turbinicarpus macrochele. Alexander Borissovitch Doweld placed the species in the genus Kadenicarpus in 1998.^[6] Further nomenclature synonym are Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) Buxb. & Backeb. (1937), Toumeya pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) W.T.Marshall (1946), Neolloydia pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) E.F.Anderson (1986) and Pediocactus pseudomacrochele (Backeb.) Halda (1998).