Autor: (Backeberg) Buxbaum & Backeberg
• ETYMOLOGY
≪Top Fruit≫, referring to the characteristic inverted cone or top-shaped fruit of the species in this genus.
• DESCRIPTION
A genus of very small plants, globose flattened to elongated, neotenic, usually solitary, but some may produce clusters. Ribs absent, divided into low tubercles, rounded to conical or deltoid. Areoles situated at the end of tubercles, often woolly, white, axils shallow. Spines usually few, flexible, slightly sharp or not at all.
Flowers diurnal, self-sterile, appearing at the apex of stems, funnel-shaped, usually white to creamy white, yellowish, pinkish to magenta or purple, pollinated by insects, usually bees and flies. Fruits like berries, top-shaped, with variable dehiscence according to species. Seeds rough to granular, tuberculate, black, with a large hilum.
• HABITAT
The genus Turbinicarpus is endemic to Mexico, and grows very mimetically, among grasses, bushes and shrubs, often almost completely buried, on small hills or in mountains, on various rocky or gravelly soils, usually limestone, also clayey (T. polaskii), granite (T. swobodae), gypsum (T. hoferi), humus (T. pseudomacrochele), or even on dry salt lakes (T. Iophophoroides), on shale cliffs (T. alonsoi), always in small localized colonies, in crevices and cracks of rocks where pockets of humus are found, between 800 m and 2600 m in altitude. Populations exhibit an extreme geographic variability.
• DISTRIBUTION
Mexico (Coahuila, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas).
Currently 15 recognised species + 24 subspecies and varieties to debate and 3 supposed hybrids:
– Turbinicarpus alonsoi* Glass & Arias 1996 (supposed hybr.)
– Turbinicarpus bonatzii* Frank 1992
– Turbinicarpus gielsdorfianus* (Werdermann) John & Riha 1983
– Turbinicarpus graminispinus Matuszewski, Mysak & Jiruse 2010
– Turbinicarpus hoferi Luthy & Lau 1991
– Turbinicarpus horripilus* (Lemaire) John & Riha 1983
– Turbinicarpus horripilus subsp. wrobelianus Nitzschke & A.Montes 2000
– Turbinicarpus jauernigii* Frank 1993
– Turbinicarpus iaui* Glass & Foster 1975
– Turbinicarpus iophophoroides* (Werdermann) Buxbaum & Backeberg 1937
– Turbinicarpus x mombergeri Riha 1996 (natural hybr. between T. pseudopectinatus et T. Iaui)
– Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele* (Backeberg) Buxbaum & Backeberg 1937
– Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. krainzianus (Frank) Glass 1997
– Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. minimus* (G.Frank) Liithy & Hofer 2002
– Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele subsp. lausseri (Diers & Frank) Glass 1997
– Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus* (Backeberg) Glass & Forster 1977
– Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus subsp. jarmilae Chvastek & Halda 2000
– Turbinicarpus roseiflorus* Backeberg 1963 nom. invai, (supposed hybr.)
– Turbinicarpus saueri* (Bodecker) John & Riha 1983
– Turbinicarpus sauerii subsp. gonzalezii Pavlicek & Zatlokal 2005
– Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. knuthianus* (Bodecker) Luthy 2000
– Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. nelissae Halda & Panarotto 1998
– Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. nieblae* (Garcia-Mor., Martinez-Alv. & Bergm.) Hofer 2011
– Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. septentrionalis Matuszewski & Snicer 2004
– Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. verduzcoiZachar & Lux 2004
– Turbinicarpus saueri subsp. ysabelae* (Schlange) Luthy 1999
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus* (Bodecker) Buxbaum & Backeberg 1937
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. andersonii* (Riha) Mosco 1999 (= T. panarottoi)
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. dickisoniae (Glass & Foster) Taylor 1998
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. flaviflorus* (Frank & Lau) Glass 1997
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. gracilis (Glass & Foster) Glass 1997
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. klinkerianus* (Backeberg & Jacobsen) Taylor 1998
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. macrochele (Werdermann) Taylor 1998
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. rioverdensis* (Frank) Luthy 1999
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. rubriflorus (Frank) Panarotto 1999
– Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus subsp. schwarzii* (Shurly) Taylor 1998
– Turbinicarpus swobodae* Diers & Esteves 1987
– Turbinicarpus valdezianus* (Moller) Glass & Forster 1977
– Turbinicarpus viereckii* (Werdermann) John & Riha 1983
– Turbinicarpus viereckii subsp. major* (Glass & Foster) Glass 1997
– Turbinicarpus viereckii subsp. neglectus Donati & Zanovello 2005
– Turbinicarpus viereckii subsp. reconditus Labhart 2012
References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" - ISBN 978-84-617-3692-8 (Vol. 2)