Escobaria Tuberculosa

Plants > Cacti > Escobaria > Escobaria Tuberculosa

Escobaria tuberculosa, Big Bend National Park, Texas

Scientific name:

Escobaria tuberculosa

Common name:

Cob beehive cactus, white-column foxtail cactus, white star

Range:

Extreme southeast Arizona, south New Mexico, far west Texas

Form:

Clusters of small globes or cylinders

Habitat:

Grasslands, scrubland, pine-oak woodland; elevations to 6,000 feet

Flowers:

Pale pink or lavender, with pale red centers

Once classed as coryphantha tuberculosa, escobaria tuberculosa forms small spherical or cylindrical stems, 2 inches or less in diameter and up to 6 inches in height, which readily branch to create clusters of up to 50 members, all covered in a very dense lattice of short white or grey spines. There are usually between 15 and 40 radials and 5 darker-tipped central spines, longest about 3/4 of an inch; all grow on tubercles, though these are largely or entirely hidden. Pale pink flowers appear at the top of each stem during late spring and summer, between 1 and 2 inches across. The fruits are normally bright red.