Semi-desert. Shrublands, sandy openings. Spring.
BLM Land South of Bloomfield, New Mexico, April 24, 2007.

Sclerocactus cloveriae is an endemic, rare plant of New Mexico and perhaps a few counties in southern Colorado.  It is quite similar to Sclerocactus whipplei and Sclerocactus parviflorus (the latter is pictured below) but is generally smaller and more rounded, growing perhaps to four inches wide and five inches tall.  The arrangement, shape, and number of spines is also diagnostic.  Notice the new growth with several soft, red spines developing immediately in front of the two flower buds.

The plant's specific epithet honors University of Michigan botanist and explorer, Elzada Clover (1897-1980).  (More biographical information.)

Semi-desert. Shrublands, sandy openings. Spring.
BLM Land South of Bloomfield, New Mexico, April 24, 2007.

Foothills. Gravels, sandy openings. Spring.
Near Delta, May 22, 2007.

Sclerocactus glaucus has a difficult life.  Utah and Colorado plant experts Stanley Welsh and William Weber don't even believe in it.  Welsh lists it as a variety of Sclerocactus whipplei (which some Cactus experts indicate Welsh misidentifies.  See S. parviflorus below.) and William Weber says that Sclerocactus glaucus is "perhaps only a variant of [Sclerocactus whipplei]" which he too mistakenly indicates exists in Colorado.  The Flora of North America treats our lovely plant with more respect and gives it species status.  S. glaucus is found only in the vicinity of Delta and Montrose, Colorado and is often quite small (one to four inches tall) and difficult to locate.  Flowers are pink and fragrant.

Foothills. Gravels, sandy openings. Spring.
Near Delta, May 22, 2007.

Semi-desert. Shrublands, sandy openings. Spring.
New Mexico, April 24, 2007.

Sclerocactus mesae-verdae is a minute, lovely, rare Cactus found only in Colorado and New Mexico in a very small area.  It is very difficult to locate because it is so rare and so minute, but when it is found it usually occurs in groupings of several dozens.  Flowers range from creamy pink to creamy yellow.  It is a federally endangered species.  For the past several decades its populations have been very closely monitored by several groups.  Off-road vehicles, housing development, gas and oil development, and collectors threaten to annihilate this lovely plant.

Semi-desert. Shrublands, sandy openings. Spring.
New Mexico, April 24, 2007.

Spines radiate in a starburst; central spines are not always present but when they are, they may be hooked.

Semi-desert. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Corona Arch Trail, Utah, April 13, 2005.

Sclerocactus parviflorus is up to a foot and a half tall (but typically four to seven inches tall), round (up to six inches in diameter, but typically three or four inches), ribbed, and its spines radiate in a beautiful starburst.  In the photograph, the red spines below the flower buds are soft, new spring growth.  Older spines are quite stiff and sharp and the longest spines usually are hooked.  Flowers range from soft pink to satin violet-pink to white or even yellow. Young plants are half buried in the soil.  Plants are usually solitary, not in the large groupings common for Opuntia.

 and the species was named by Elzada Clover and Mary Jotter in 1941 from their collection in the Glenn Canyon area in 1940.

"Sclero" is Greek for "hard" and "parv" is Latin for "small", not a very appropriate name for this large-flowered plant.

This plant formerly appeared on this web site under the name Sclerocactus whipplei but an email to me by Cactus expert Dorde Woodruff alerted me to the fact that S. whipplei occurs only in northeast Arizona and around Bluff, Utah.  Some botanists maintain that S. whipplei has a larger range and contains many subspecies spread across Utah.  The authoritative Flora of North America agrees with Ms. Woodruff's assessment.

Semi-desert. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Corona Arch Trail, Utah, April 13, 2005.

Click for more Sclerocactus photographs.