Participant Info

Species

Pediocactus simpsonii [Echinocactus simpsonii]

Family

Cactaceae

CommonName

ball cactus

Presence

Yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1979

LatestDate

2017

Ecosystem

foothill

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

La Botica

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, Pinos Cr. flowering 19 May 2014; Alamosa Co, by dry wash at south edge of the Great Sand Dunes NM, not flowering, 20 July 2021

Comments

Vouchers for Pediocactus simpsonii in the Watershed are few, less than 10. The scarcity may be due, in part, to the reluctance of botanists to sample and collect cactus in general. The species has been found from both sides of the Valley, with only a few from south of Summitville on the west or south of Ft. Garland on the east. The plant has been collected from the Rio Grande drainage of New Mexico from Taos to Bernalillo counties, but not farther down stream. It is present in most of Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Annotation

Yes