Melocactus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Orthokaryota
Cladus: Neokaryota
Cladus: Photokaryota
Cladus: Diaphoretickes
Cladus: CAM
Cladus: Archaeplastida
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Cactoideae
Tribus: Cereeae
Subtribus: Cereinae
Genus: Melocactus
Series: M. ser. Guitarti – M. ser. Harlowi – M. ser. Matanzanus – M. ser. Melocactus

Species: M. acunae – M. andinus – M. azureus – M. bahiensis – M. bellavistensis – M. braunii – M. brederooianus – M. broadwayi – M. caroli-linnaei – M. concinnus – M. conoideus – M. curvispinus – M. deinacanthus – M. ernestii – M. estevesii – M. ferreophilus – M. glaucescens – M. harlowii – M. inconcinnus – M. intortus – M. lanssensianus – M. lemairei – M. levitestatus – M. macracanthos – M. matanzanus – M. mazelianus – M. neryi – M. oreas – M. pachyacanthus – M. paucispinus – M. pedernalensis – M. perezassoi – M. peruvianus – M. praerupticola – M. radoczii – M. salvadorensis – M. schatzlii – M. sergipensis – M. smithii – M. violaceus – M. zehntneri – Nothospecies: M. × albicephalus – M. × bozsingianus – M. × horridus

M. albicephalus - M. andinus - M. azureus - M. bahiensis - - M. concinnus - M. conoideus - M. curvispinus - M. deinacanthus - M. ernestii - M. estevesii - M. glaucescens - M. grueberi - M. harlowii - M. horridus - M. intortus - M. lanssensianus - M. lemairei - - M. matanzanus - - M. oreas - M. pachyacanthus - M. paucispinus - - M. violaceus - - M. conoideus - M. deinacanthus - M. glaucescens - - M. paucispinus

Melocactus caroli-linnaei, Pierre-Joseph Redoute

Source(s) of checklist:

Korotkova, N. et al. 2021. Melocactus in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Apr 03. Reference page.

Name

Melocactus (L.) Link & Otto, Verh. Vereins Beford. Gartenbaues Konigl. Preuss. Staaten 3: 418. 1827, nom. cons.

Type species: Melocactus communis (W.T.Aiton) Link & Otto

Synonyms

Basionym
Cactus [infragen. unranked] Melocactus L., Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 210. 1754.

Homotypic
Cactus sect. Melocactus (Link & Otto) Kuntze in Post & Kuntze, Lex. Gen. Phan. 86. 1903.
Cactus subg. Melocactus (Link & Otto) Miq., Bull. Sci. Phys. Nat. Néerl. 2: 104. 1839.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: S. Mexico to Tropical America
Aruba, Bahamas, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Link, H.F. & Otto, C.F. (1827) Verh. Vereins Beford. Gartenbaues Konigl. Preuss. Staaten 3: 417.

Additional references

Korotkova, N., Aquino, D., Arias, S., Eggli, U., Franck, A. , Gómez-Hinostrosa, C., Guerrero, P.C., Hernández, H.M., Kohlbecker, A., Köhler, M., Luther, K., Majure, L.C., Müller, A., Metzing, D., Nyffeler, R., Sánchez, D., Schlumpberger, B. & Berendsohn, W.G. 2021. Cactaceae at Caryophyllales. org–a dynamic online species-level taxonomic backbone for the family. Willdenowia 51(2): 251–270. DOI: 10.3372/wi.51.51208 Open access Reference page.

Links

Korotkova, N. et al. 2021. Melocactus in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Nov. 25. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Melocactus in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Apr 03. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Melocactus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Melocactus. Published online. Accessed: Apr 03 2021. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2021. Melocactus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 03 Apr 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. Melocactus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Apr 03. Reference page.

Vernacular names
Ελληνικά: Μελόκακτος
English: Melon Cactus
español: Gorro Turco
suomi: Melonikaktukset
magyar: Dinnyekaktusz
svenska: Melonkaktussläktet

Melocactus (melon cactus), also known as the Turk's head cactus, Turk's cap cactus, or Pope's head cactus, is a genus of cactus with about 30–40 species. They are native to the Caribbean, western Mexico through Central America to northern South America, with some species along the Andes down to southern Peru, and a concentration of species in northeastern Brazil.[2]

The first species was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, as Cactus melocactus. When the genus was separated from Cactus, the pre-Linnaean name Melocactus was used. Acting on the principle of priority, in 1922 Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Rose resurrected Linnaeus' Cactus. However, the 1905 Vienna botanical congress had already rejected the name Cactus, so this name was not available, and Melocactus Link & Otto is the correct genus name.[2]
Cactaceae melocactus
A Cactae melocactus depicted by Joaquim José Codina in the 18th century.

Mature plants are easily recognizable by their cephalium, a wool- and bristle-coated structure at the apex of the plant, containing a mass of areoles from which the small flowers grow.[2] The red, wool-coated cephalium, said to resemble the fez worn by Turkish men during the late Ottoman Empire, gives the plant one of its common names, Turk's cap cactus. It gives its name to the Turks Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[3][4]

The fruits of Melocactus are pink and resemble the shape of pepper fruits. The fruits of this genus are edible, and in the wild they are frequently dispersed by lizards and birds.[5]
Species

As of September 2023, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[1]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Melocactus acunae León	Eastern Cuba
	Melocactus andinus R.Gruber ex N.P.Taylor	Venezuela
	Melocactus azureus Buining & Brederoo	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus bahiensis (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb.	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus bellavistensis Rauh & Backeb.	Ecuador and Peru
	Melocactus braunii Esteves	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus brederooianus Buining	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus broadwayi (Britton & Rose) A.Berger	Trinidad & Tobago
	Melocactus caroli-linnaei N.P.Taylor	Jamaica
	Melocactus conoideus Buining & Brederoo	Brazil
	Melocactus curvispinus Pfeiff.	Mexico, Central America, Colombia and western Venezuela
	Melocactus deinacanthus Buining & Brederoo	Brazil
	Melocactus ernestii Vaupel	Brazil (Bahia and Minas Gerais.)
	Melocactus estevesii P.J.Braun	Brazil (Roraima)
	Melocactus evae Z.Mészáros	Southeastern Cuba
	Melocactus ferreophilus Buining & Brederoo	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus glaucescens Buining & Brederoo	Brazil
	Melocactus harlowii (Britton & Rose) Vaupel	Cuba
	Melocactus heimenii P.J.Braun & Gonç.Brito	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus holguinensis Areces	Cuba
	Melocactus inconcinnus Buining & Brederoo	Northeastern Brazil
	Melocactus intortus (Mill.) Urb.	Bahamas to Turks-Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico to Lesser Antilles
	Melocactus lagunaensis (Z.Mészáros) D.Barrios & Majure	Southeastern Cuba
	Melocactus lanssensianus P.J.Braun	Brazil (Pernambuco)
	Melocactus lemairei (Monv. ex Lem.) Miq. ex Lem.	Hispaniola (NW. Haiti, W. & Southern Dominican Republic)
	Melocactus levitestatus Buining & Brederoo	Central & Eastern Brazil
	Melocactus macracanthos (Salm-Dyck) Link & Otto	Aruba to Netherlands Antilles
	Melocactus matanzanus León	Cuba
	Melocactus mazelianus Ríha	Eastern Colombia to Venezuela
	Melocactus nagyi Z.Mészáros	Southeastern Cuba
	Melocactus neoviridescens Guiggi	Northeastern Brazil
	Melocactus neryi K.Schum.	Venezuela to N. Brazil
	Melocactus oreas Miq.	Brazil
	Melocactus pachyacanthus Buining & Brederoo	Brazil
	Melocactus paucispinus Heimen & R.J.Paul	Bahia, Brazil
	Melocactus pedernalensis M.M.Mejía & R.G.García	Southeastern Haiti to southwestern Dominican Republic
	Melocactus perezassoi Areces	Central Cuba
	Melocactus peruvianus Vaupel	Peru
	Melocactus praerupticola Areces	Dominican Republic
	Melocactus pruinosus Werderm.	Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais)
	Melocactus radoczii Z.Mészáros	Southeastern Cuba
	Melocactus salvadorensis Werderm.	Brazil (Southern Bahia, Minas Gerais)
	Melocactus santiagoensis D.Barrios & Majure	Cuba
	Melocactus schatzlii H.Till & R.Gruber	Venezuela (Mérida)
	Melocactus sergipensis N.P.Taylor & Meiado	Brazil (Sergipe)
	Melocactus smithii (Alexander) Buining ex G.D.Rowley	Brazil
	Melocactus stramineus Suringar	Aruba
	Melocactus violaceus Pfeiff.	Northeastern Brazil (to Northeastern Minas Gerais)
	Melocactus zehntneri (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb.	Northeastern Brazil

Natural hybrids

As of September 2023, Plants of the World Online accepted the following natural hybrids:[1]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Melocactus × albicephalus Buining & Brederoo	Brazil (Bahia)
	Melocactus × horridus Werderm.	Brazil (Pernambuco)
	Melocactus × trachycephalus Suringar	Aruba

References

"Melocactus Link & Otto". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
Anderson, Edward F. (2001), The Cactus Family, Pentland, Oregon: Timber Press, ISBN 978-0-88192-498-5, pages=456–467
[1] Archived June 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
"Coastal Lake-Sediment Records of Prehistoric Hurricane Strikes in Honduras and Turks and Caicos Islands of the Caribbean Basin" (PDF). googleusercontent.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-19.
Thomson, George (2008). Melocactus: care and cultivation. p. 13.