Turbinicarpus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Cactoideae
Tribus: Cacteae
Genus: Turbinicarpus
Subgenera: T. subg. Gymnocactus – T. subg. Turbinicarpus
Species: T. alonsoi – T. boedekerianus – T. bonatzii – T. dickisoniae – T. flaviflorus – T. gielsdorfianus – T. graminispinus – T. hoferi – T. jauernigii – T. knuthianus – T. laui – T. lophophoroides – T. nieblae – T. nikolae – T. pseudopectinatus – T. rioverdensis – T. saueri – T. schmiedickeanus – T. schwarzii – T. swobodae – T. valdezianus – T. viereckii – T. ysabelae
Natural Nothospecies: T. × amoenulus – T. × mombergeri – T. × roseiflorus –

Name

Turbinicarpus (Backeb.) Buxb. & Backeb. (1937)

Type species: Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus (Boed.) Buxb. & Backeb. (1937)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Gymnocactus Backeb., Blätt. Kakteenf. 1938(6): [22]. 1938.
Type species: Gymnocactus saueri (Boed.) Backeb.
Gymnocactus V.John & Říha, Kaktusy (Brno) 19(1): 22. 1981, nom. illeg. non Backeb. (1938).
Type species: Gymnocactus beguinii (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Backeb.
Normanbokea Kladiwa & Buxb., Kakteen (H. Krainz) 40/41: Gen. [CVIIb]. 1969.
Type species: Normanbokea valdeziana (H.Moeller) Kladiwa & Buxb.
Pseudosolisia Y.Itô, Cactaceae: 477. 1981.
Type: Pseudosolisia valdeziana (H.Moeller) Y.Itô (1981)

Npte: Species circumscription differs significantly between the sources below and CACO includes both natural and artificial nothospecies. See Table 1 Vazquez-Sanchez (2019) for an example of the still unresolved problem.
References
Primary references

Buxbaum, F. & Backeberg, C. 1937. Cactaceae. Jahrbücher der Deutschen Kakteen-Gesellschaft e. V. Berlin 1937(1): 27.

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.
Vazquez-Sanchez, M., Sánchez, D., Terrazas, T., De La Rosa-Tilapa, A. & Arias, S. 2019. Polyphyly of the iconic cactus genus Turbinicarpus (Cactaceae) and its generic circumscription. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 190(4): 405-420. DOI: 10.1093/botlinnean/boz027 Paywall ResearchGate Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2025. Turbinicarpus in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Jan. 9. Reference page.
Korotkova, N. et al. 2025. Turbinicarpus in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Jan. 11. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2025. Turbinicarpus. Published online. Accessed: Jan. 9 2025. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2021. Turbinicarpus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 29 Mar 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. Turbinicarpus. 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 Mar 29. Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Top Cactus
suomi: Keijukaktukset
svenska: Småkaktussläktet

Turbinicarpus is a genus of very small to medium-sized cacti, which inhabit the north-eastern regions of Mexico, in particular the states of San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.
Taxonomy

The taxon was first proposed by Curt Backeberg as Strombocactus subgenus Turbinicarpus. It was elevated to a genus in 1937 by Franz Buxbaum and Backeberg.[1] The circumscription of Turbinicarpus has been described as "remarkably unstable", with species regularly transferred to other genera.[2] Its taxonomic history is often mixed with that of other genera like Echinocactus, Echinomastus, Gymnocactus, Mammillaria, Neolloydia, Normanbokea, Pediocactus, Pelecyphora, Strombocactus, Thelocactus and Toumeya, as the results of almost two centuries of constant evolution in the understanding of the affinities and relationships inside the family Cactaceae. A genus revision by Davide Donati in 2003, and again in 2004 with Carlo Zanovello, was based on a wide range of characters. At the end of that study, Rapicactus was considered a distinct genus from Turbinicarpus. The genus Turbinicarpus was subdivided in two subgenera at the light of the results of the DNA analysis, and into many series because of the ontogeny of the spination.[3] The broad circumscription of Turbinicarpus was recognized as polyphyletic by Hunt in 2016.[4] A phylogenetic study published in 2019 showed that both Kadenicarpus and Rapicactus were distinct from a more narrowly circumscribed and so monophyletic Turbinicarpus:[2]

Species

As of March 2022, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species and hybrids:[5]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Turbinicarpus alonsoi Glass & S.Arias	Mexico.
	Turbinicarpus boedekerianus García-Mor., Gonz.-Bot., Matusz., Nitzschke & Iamonico	Mexico (Nuevo León)
	Turbinicarpus gielsdorfianus (Werderm.) V.John & Ríha	Mexico (San Luis Potosí)
	Turbinicarpus graminispinus Matusz., Myšák & Jiruše	Mexico (Nuevo León)
	Turbinicarpus heliae García-Mor., Díaz-Salím & Gonz.-Bot.	Mexico (Hidalgo)
	Turbinicarpus hoferi Lüthy & A.B.Lau	Mexico (Nuevo León)
	Turbinicarpus laui Glass & R.A.Foster	Mexico (San Luis Potosí)
	Turbinicarpus lophophoroides (Werderm.) Buxb. & Backeb.	Mexico (Ciudad del Maiz on the north, and Cerritos-Villa Juarez on the west and Rio Verde )
	Turbinicarpus nikolae Šnicer, Myšák, Zachar & Jiruše	Mexico Northeast
	Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus (Backeb.) Glass & R.A.Foster	Mexico(Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas )
	Turbinicarpus saueri (Boed.) V.John & Ríha	Mexico ( San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas )
	Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus (Boed.) Buxb. & Backeb.	Mexico(Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas )
	Turbinicarpus swobodae Diers	Mexico (Rayones, Nuevo León)
	Turbinicarpus valdezianus (H.Moeller) Glass & R.A.Foster	Mexico (Coahuila and San Luis Potosí)
	Turbinicarpus viereckii (Werderm.) V.John & Ríha	Mexico (Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí)

Natural hybrids

Image	Scientific name	Parentage	Distribution
	Turbinicarpus × mombergeri Ríha	Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus × Turbinicarpus laui	Mexico (Cerritos, San Lois Potosi )
	Turbinicarpus × pulcherrimus Halda & Panar.	Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus ssp. jarmilae × Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus	Mexico (Nuevo León)
	Turbinicarpus × roseiflorus Backeb.	Turbinicarpus viereckii × Turbinicarpus laui	Mexico Northeast

Synonymy

The following genera haven been brought into synonymy with Turbinicarpus:

Gymnocactus Backeb.
Normanbokea Kladiwa & Buxb.

Ecology


Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. schwarzii

These succulent plants grow mostly on limestone soil (never on volcanic soil), at altitudes between 300 and 3300 metres above sea level.

Turbinicarpus species are usually confined to specific habitats, generally hostile for the majority of plants, mostly in very drained rocky areas, composed of limestone, sandstone, schist (neutral or alkaline), or in very acidic and humiferous understorey, or in gypsum veins, sometimes so pure that they are almost white.

In particular, Turbinicarpus sensu stricto is adapted to extreme niches: more than 80% of the species grow in rock cracks or among the pebbles beneath them, where enough dust has accumulated to enable root development. It would seem almost impossible that plants so small could survive in such an environment, however in those species that inhabit dry and exposed areas, the root is very thick, becoming a taproot and acting like an anchor on the slopes but, more important, as water storage for the dry periods, capable of significantly retracting into the ground so that the stem is less exposed to the sun; the spines are often changed to adopt a very papery structure, capable of absorbing good quantities of water. Furthermore, the general look is extremely mimetic, thanks to the epidermis colour and the interlacing spines, guaranteeing a certain protection from eventual herbivores.
References

"Turbinicarpus Buxb. & Oehme". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
Vázquez-sánchez, Monserrat; Sánchez, Daniel; Terrazas, Teresa; De La Rosa-Tilapa, Alejandro & Arias, Salvador (2019). "Polyphyly of the iconic cactus genus Turbinicarpus (Cactaceae) and its generic circumscription". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 190 (4): 405–420. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boz027.
Donati, Davide & Zanovello, Carlo (2005). Knowing, understanding, growing Turbinicarpus-Rapicactus. Cactus Trentino SüdTirol. ISBN 978-88-901391-1-6.
Hunt, D.R. (2016). CITES Cactaceae checklist (3rd ed.). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens and D. Hunt. ISBN 978-0-9933113-2-1.

"Turbinicarpus Buxb. & Oehme". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2022-03-08.

Edward F. Anderson, The Cactus Family (Timber Press, 2001), pp. 665–673
Grupo San Luis, The Genus Turbinicarpus in San Luis Potosì (Ed. Cactus&Co, 2004)