Escobaria vivipara var. arizonica
(Syn: Coryphantha arizonica)

Escobaria vivipara var. arizonica SB1078 Apache County, Arizona, USA

Description: Escobaria vivipara is a small solitary or clumping cactus, some varieties forming colonies of over 200 stems. This species is the most widespread, abundant and variable member of the genus.
The Arizonica variety has small low thick stem, usually single, spines are very dense, red-white, dark red or black.
 

Varieties include:

• E. vivipara var. arizonica (Arizona spinystar) - native to the desert southwest of the United States
• E. vivipara var bisbeeana (Bisbee spinystar) - native to Arizona and New Mexico
• E. vivipara var. deserti (Desert spinystar) - found in the desert southwest
• E. vivipara var. kaibabensis (Kaibab spinystar) - mostly limited to Arizona
• E. vivipara var. neomexicana (New Mexico spinystar) - native to New Mexico and Texas
• E. vivipara var. vivipara - known as far north as Manitoba
  
  and also:
• E. vivipara var. radiosa
• E. vivipara var. rosea

  
  

  

Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Scientific name:  Escobaria vivipara var. arizonica (Engelm.) D.R.Hunt,    1978

Common Names include: Arizona spinystar, Arizona foxtail cactus.

Origin:  USA (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah)

Habitat: Often found in  grassy meadows.

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 2.

Synonyms:  

• Mammillaria arizonica Engelm.
• Mammillaria vivipara var. arizonica (Engelm.) L.D. Benson
• Coryphantha vivipara var. arizonica (Engelm.) W.T. Marsh
• Mammillaria radiosa var. arizonica
• Escobaria arizonica (Engelm.) F.Buxbaum, 1951
• Coryphantha arizonica (Engelm.) Britton & Rose
• Cactus radiosus var. arizonicus

Cultivation: It comes from an area of summer rainfall;  keep drier in winter (but for outdoors cultivation it is very resistant to wet conditions, too). Needs good drainage. Very cold-resistant, but the frost resistance varies a lot from clone to clone. It can easily be grown outdoors in areas with  minimum winter temperatures of -15 -25°. Needs full sun to light shade.

Propagation: Seeds (no dormancy requirement, they germinate best at  25°C) or by offsets (if available), or occasionally grafted.

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Escobaria vivipara.
(This Taxon has lots of synonyms and comprises a multitude of different forms, but where each form is linked to others by populations of plants with intermediate characteristics):

• Escobaria vivipara
• Escobaria vivipara var. arizonica