Pelecyphora
(from pelekyphoros, hatchet-bearing; referring to some fancied resemblance in the tubercles to a hatchet). Hatchet Cactus. ORD. Cacteae. A monotypic genus, very nearly allied to Mammillaria. The species and its variety require a sandy soil, good drainage, and very careful supplies of water. Propagated most readily by seeds, which germinate freely in moderate heat; offsets are seldom produced. See also Cactus.
P. aselliformis (woodlouse-like).* fl. white, rose, borne near the summit of the stem, 1in. to 1 1/2in. in diameter, consisting of several series of sepals and petals, numerous stamens and stigmas. Stem short, cylindrical, covered with mammillae or tubercles of a flattened form; at the apex, and in the place of the spines of the Mammillarias, are two rows of flat, horny scales, which overlap, like the tiles of a root. June. h.4in. Mexico, 1843. Greenhouse. The specific name refers to the rows of scales, which have been compared to the scaly back of a woodlouse. (I. H. vi. 186.)
P. a. concolor (one-coloured). fl. 1 1/2in. in diameter, clustered towards the top of the stem; perianth tube short, free, naked, funnel-shaped; segments in about four series, rose-purple, obovate-oblong, acute; stamens very numerous. Stem tufted, shortly cylindric, 3in. to 4in. high, 1 1/2in. to 2in in diameter, often constricted about the middle; apex rounded; mammillae spirally arranged, vertical, 1/3in. long, woolly in the axils; spines minute, pungent. Mexico. (B. M. 6061.)