Cactaceae FAMILY Vulnerable

Melocactus pachyacanthus

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Melocactus pachyacanthus is a spiny, evergreen depressed globose to ovoid cactus, producing a single stem that can be 15 - 30cm tall and 20cm in diameter. Flowers are produced in a cephalium, a perennial structure up to 12cm high and 10cm in diameter that develops atop the adult cactus The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. Melocactus pachyacanthus has a very restricted and fragmented distribution, and there is continuing decline in its extent of occurrence and area of occupancy, and also a reduction in the extent and quality of its habitat which is mainly due to mining and agriculture. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeS. America - eastern Brazil (northern Bahia)

HabitatDry forest, growing on flat, exposed Bambuí limestone; at elevations from 520 - 750 metres[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].