Fun and Games

Sonoran Desert Endangered Species Game Card: Nichol Turk's Head Cactus - Echinocactus horizonthalonius var. nicholii

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Directions: Print two copies of the card, then select the remaining cards from the Learning Materials menu.

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

 

 

 

Nichol Turk's Head Cactus - Echinocactus horizonthalonius var. nicholii

Description: The Nichol Turk's head cactus ranges from blue-green to yellow-green. It is a barrel cactus, reaching a maximum height of 18 inches and diameter of eight inches. It has eight ribs which spiral on the trunk. Spines are found on the ridges of the plant, with three central spines and five radial spines. The flowers are bright purple and bloom from April to May. The fruits are covered with white, wooly hairs. This cactus is very slow-growing, taking ten years to reach just two inches.

Habitat: This species occurs in semi-arid Sonoran desert scrub. It persists on limestones outcroppings and limestone derived soils in incline terraces, saddles, and alluvial fans at elevations from 2,400 to 4,100 feet.

Range: The range of the Nichol Turk's Head Cactus is restricted to the Vekol and Waterman Mountains in Arizona, and to a population in the Sierra del Viejo of northwestern Sonora, Mexico.

Status: This species was listed endangered in 1976, and has an approved recovery plan. The cactus is threatened by mining, off-road vehicle use, collecting, and in some cases, human encroachment. In order to remove this species from the endangered species list, natural populations of this plant must be maintained, protected, and if possible, enhanced.

Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan • Pima County Administrator’s Office • 130 West Congress, 10th floor, Tucson, AZ 85701-1317 • Phone: 520-740-8661 • http://www.SDCPonline.org

Return to the Sonoran Desert Endangered Species Card Game

Learning Information

About This Page

Collection: This game's content provided by Pima County Natural Resources Parks & Recreation. The Sonoran Desert Kids is a kids club sponsored by Pima County Natural Resources Parks & Recreation. The Sonoran Desert Kids Club has online activities and real life meetings that kids can join.

All Rights Reserved.

 Treehouses are authored by students, teachers, science enthusiasts, or professional scientists. Anyone can sign up as a treehouse contributor and share their knowledge and enthusiasm about organisms. Treehouse contributions are checked for general accuracy and quality by teachers and ToL editors, but they are not usually reviewed by expert scientists. If you spot an error, please get in touch with the author or the teacher. For more information about quality control of Tree of Life content, see Status of Tree of Life Pages.

ToL Treehouses

Treehouse Content

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top