Epithelantha

Epithelantha
	Epithelantha micromeris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Tribe:	Cacteae
Genus:	Epithelantha; F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose
Type species
	Epithelantha micromeris;

Epithelantha (button cactus) is a genus of cactus that is native to north-eastern Mexico, and the south-western United States. There are ten species recognised in the genus Epithelantha. The name Epithelantha refers to the flower position near the apex of the tubercles.^[1]

Description

Epithelantha species grow either solitarily or in dense clusters formed by offsets. They vary in size, spination, growth habit, and color. The plant body is depressed-globose or cylindrical stems, measuring around 1 to 6 cm in diameter. The surface is distinctly tuberculate and fully covered with spines. Tubercles are 1 to 3 mm long with small areoles at their tips. The spines, numbering 19 to 38, are arranged in several series without clear central or radial differentiation and are colored from white to pale yellow. Flowers bloom in spring and summer, emerging from the of the stem. They are bell-shaped, measure 3 to 12 mm, and range in color from white to pink. The pericarpel is smooth and glabrous. Fruits are club-shaped, bright red, smooth, and indehiscent, measuring 3 to 18 mm. They contain a few seeds, which are oval, 1 to 1.5 mm long, glossy black, and have a reticulate or finely warty surface. Plants in this genus are closely related and similar to Mammillaria. However, key differences exist: Mammillaria has bipartite areoles and flowers that emerge from the base of tubercles, while Epithelantha has areoles with a different structure and flowers that emerge from the apex of the areole—the same area that produces spines.^[2]^[3]

Distribution

Plants in this genus are from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in Southern United States to northeastern Mexico, including the states of Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, and Nuevo León. Plants mainly grow in open areas, often partly covered by limestone fragments.^[3]

Taxonomy

This genus was first described in 1922 by Frédéric Albert Constantin Weber, Nathaniel Lord Britton, and Joseph Nelson Rose who published it in The Cactaceae. The genus is named after the morphological characteristics that the flowers grow directly from the stem tubercles. Before 1922, all species now classified as Epithelantha were included within Mammillaria.^[4]^[5]

Species

As of June 2026^[update], Plants of the World Online accepted ten species:^[6]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Epithelantha bokei L.D.Benson	Texas in the United States and Coahuila in Mexico
	Epithelantha cryptica D.Donati & Zanov.	Mexico (Coahuila)
	Epithelantha greggii (Engelm.) Orcutt	Mexico (Coahuila)
	Epithelantha ilariae D.Donati & Zanov.	Mexico (Nuevo León)
	Epithelantha micromeris (Engelm.) F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose	United States in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in Mexico in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas^{[citation needed]}
	Epithelantha pachyrhiza (W.T.Marshall) Backeb.	Mexico (Coahuila)
	Epithelantha polycephala Backeb.	Mexico (Coahuila)
	Epithelantha potosina (D.Donati & Zanov.) D.Aquino & S.Arias	Mexico (San Luis Potosí)
	Epithelantha pulchra (D.Donati & Zanov.) D.Aquino & S.Arias	Mexico (Nuevo León)
	Epithelantha spinosior C.Schmoll	Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León)

References

↑ A. Michael Powell; James F. Weedin (15 November 2004). Cacti of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas. Texas Tech University Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-89672-531-7. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
↑ "Cactuses of Big Bend National Park". University of Texas Press. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
1 2 Anderson, Edward F. (2011). Das große Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart: Ulmer. p. 252-254. ISBN 978-3-8001-5964-2.
↑ Boke, Norman H. (1955). "DIMORPHIC AREOLES OF EPITHELANTHA". American Journal of Botany. 42 (8): 725–733. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1955.tb10414.x. ISSN 0002-9122. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
↑ Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Eaton, Mary E.; Rose, J. N.; Wood, Helen Adelaide (1919). The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46288.
↑ "Epithelantha F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2026-06-28.

External links

Media related to Epithelantha at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Epithelantha at Wikispecies

[PowellWeedin2004-1] A. Michael Powell; James F. Weedin (15 November 2004). Cacti of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas. Texas Tech University Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-89672-531-7. Retrieved 5 September 2012.

[2] "Cactuses of Big Bend National Park". University of Texas Press. Retrieved 5 September 2012.

[c070-3] 1 2 Anderson, Edward F. (2011). Das große Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart: Ulmer. p. 252-254. ISBN 978-3-8001-5964-2.

[t849-4] Boke, Norman H. (1955). "DIMORPHIC AREOLES OF EPITHELANTHA". American Journal of Botany. 42 (8): 725–733. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1955.tb10414.x. ISSN 0002-9122. Retrieved 2026-06-28.

[l459-5] Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Eaton, Mary E.; Rose, J. N.; Wood, Helen Adelaide (1919). The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46288.

[POWO_5314-1-6] "Epithelantha F.A.C.Weber ex Britton & Rose". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2026-06-28.

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