Scientific taxonomy article
Accepted name and nomenclatural basis
The current Kew backbone accepts the species as Astrophytum capricorne (A.Dietr.) Britton & Rose.1 The International Plant Names Index records the combination under urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:128908-1, published in volume three of Britton and Rose's The Cactaceae in 1922.2 Its basionym is A. Dietrich's 1851 name Echinocactus capricornis.12
Systematic position
The species belongs to order Caryophyllales, family Cactaceae, and genus Astrophytum.1 This payload updates only the species node and its editorial surface. Existing Astrophytum, Cactaceae, and Caryophyllales nodes remain outside its ownership. Two commercial products linked to one botanical and taxonomy identity do not represent two accepted species.
Native range and life form
Plants of the World Online gives the native range as northeastern Mexico. It records the plant as a succulent subshrub growing primarily in desert or dry shrubland.1 Native range is kept distinct from the nursery origin of commercial specimens.
Conservation
The Kew species page links to an IUCN assessment directly for Astrophytum capricorne. That species-level record gives the global category as LC — Least Concern.13 The live LC value is therefore retained, while legacy Google-grounding metadata is replaced by the Kew, IPNI, and IUCN authority bundle.
Synonym surface
The reviewed current POWO page lists 26 synonyms: two homotypic and 24 heterotypic.1 The homotypic names are Echinocactus capricornis A.Dietr. and Maierocactus capricornus (A.Dietr.) E.C.Rost. The remaining names, including Astrophytum capricorne var. nudum, represent heterotypic historical or infraspecific combinations. “Nudum” in the product presentation does not create a second accepted species, so both product links remain attached to this species node.
References
- Plants of the World Online. “Astrophytum capricorne (A.Dietr.) Britton & Rose.” Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accessed: 2026-08-10. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:128908-1 ↩
- International Plant Names Index. “Astrophytum capricorne (A.Dietr.) Britton & Rose.” Accessed: 2026-08-10. https://www.ipni.org/n/128908-1 ↩
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Astrophytum capricorne.” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/152404/121473566 ↩
