About Pelecyphora missouriensis subsp. missouriensis
Pelecyphora missouriensis subsp. missouriensis grows up to 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, and forms clumps that reach between 3.8–30 centimetres (1.5–11.8 in) or more in diameter. Individuals are generally larger in the Southwest. Most plants are primarily unbranched, except for eastern populations which can be profusely branched. Its warts are elongated, growing up to 18 millimeters long. It produces 10 to 20 spines that are bright white, pale gray, or pale tan when new, fading to gray or yellowish brown with weathering. It blooms from April to June; its flowers are pale greenish yellow to yellow-green with green, rose-pink, or pale brown midstripes, and measure 2.5 to 6.2 centimeters in both length and diameter. Its fruits are red and 1 to 2 centimeters long. Many of this taxon's historical sites have lost populations due to introduced fire ants, suburban development, brush encroachment after fire suppression, and over-grazing. This subspecies occurs along the Missouri River in the tallgrass prairie and shortgrass Great Plains, ranging from Texas north to Montana and the Dakotas. It also grows west of the Great Plains in Rocky Mountain woodlands of Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), pinyon-juniper, and Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii). It is native to the Southwestern United States (Idaho, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) and Mexico, where it occurs in the states of Coahuila and Nuevo León.
