5% of profits support Endangered & Threatened Species.
"Illegal collection continues to threaten the future of this species and its decline in the wild has been largely attributed to over-collection and poaching. It is sometimes accidentally harvested due to its similarity to the closely related and coexisting peyote."
©Juliet Whitsett |Social: @juliet_whitsett_art
COLOR PALETTE SAMPLED FROM IMAGES OF THE BLACK LACE CACTUS:
SPECIES INFO:
"Star cactus only occurs in Texas in Starr County (no relation :) near the border with Mexico in Tamaulipan thornscrub, an ecoregion with thorny vegetation mixed with grasses. Like many cacti, star cactus commonly occurs under “nurse plants” and even rocks that create shaded, cooler microclimates of less harsh conditions. The flat to dome-shaped spineless cactus occurs at soil level and can be completely covered by soil and persist and even bloom while the stem remains covered. Root plowing to decrease mesquite, herbivores like desert cottontail and southern plains woodrat, and collection for gardens or cactus enthusiasts have all been shown to threaten this federally-endangered species."
- Anna Strong, Botanist
- “In the wild, star cactus is a flat, or at most, dome-shaped, spineless cactus to 15 cm in diameter. The green or dark-green to brownish green stems are divided into eight triangular sections. Each section has a row of small, white tufts of hairs down its middle. Generally, the stems are also dotted with scattered white specks. Star cactus flowers are yellow with a red to orange center (3-5 cm in diameter). The green, woolly fruits are oval (15-20 mm long, 12 mm wide) and turn brown-red at maturity.”
- “Star cactus can be confused with peyote (Lophophora williamsii). The stems of peyote are bluish-green, can have 5-13 variously shaped sections, and have no white specks. Peyote also has pink flowers that are smaller (≤2 cm across) than star cactus flowers”.“International trade in wild-collected specimens is prohibited. Despite this protection, illegal collection continues to threaten the future of this species. and its decline in the wild has been largely attributed to over-collection and poaching. It is sometimes accidentally harvested due to its similarity to the closely related and coexisting peyote (Lophophora williamsii).”
- Common names include sand dollar cactus, sea urchin cactus, star cactus and star peyote.
- The primary pollinators of A. asterias are medium to large size bees with one species, Diadasia rinconis being the most effective.
RANGE:
Star cactus occurs in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas (Starr and Zapata counties, historically in Hidalgo, and reported from Cameron County although no habitat exists there). The cactus also grows in northern Mexico in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas.
IMAGE:
RANGE: Black lace cactus only grows within the South Texas Coastal Bend counties of Atascosa, Jim Wells, Kleberg, McMullen and Refugio.
SUPPORT:
Shop this art:HERE OR gift to the Threatened Texas Series: Venmo @Juliet-Whitsett (Your patronage donation helps spread the word about Texas' Endangered & Threatened Species).
THREATENED TEXAS SERIES:
There are 148 Threatened Species & 74 Threatened Species in Texas. Each palette & species is unique. I have sampled colors from images of actual Texas Threatened Species and created original art inspired by each group. 5% of the profits from this series enthusiastically goes to help Threatened & Endangered Species.
SOURCES:
https://mattbuckinghamphotography.com/category/star-cactus/