Scientific taxonomy article
Accepted name and nomenclatural record
Kew POWO accepts Frailea castanea with the author citation Backeb.; IPNI confirms the first-publication record as “Kaktus-ABC: 248 (1936)”.12 The native distribution is Northeast Argentina, southern Brazil and Uruguay. The native distribution is associated with subtropical grassland and open microhabitats in southern South America; nursery production in Adana is not native-range evidence.
Classification and production boundary
The live lineage is species → Frailea → Cactaceae → Caryophyllales → Plantae. This package owns only the existing species node and its direct Frailea genus relationship; it creates or updates no genus, family, order or kingdom node. A small flattened-globose body, dark chestnut to purplish colour, rib and areole pattern, short spines, seed surface and documented provenance should be evaluated together.
Although Frailea species are small-bodied, identification is not simple. Metzing and Kiesling explain that plants may be relatively uniform within a local population while appearance differs strongly between populations, with the reproductive and ecological strategy of the genus contributing to that pattern.3 One product photograph, body colour or a flower that remains closed is therefore insufficient for a definitive identification.
Synonymy and canonical boundary
The current Kew surface maintains 12 nomenclatural synonym records. Kew lists 12 synonyms. Metzing and Kiesling specifically discuss typification of the historical asterioides usage and the boundary of castanea, so a trade label alone is not identity evidence. Homotypic names share a nomenclatural type; heterotypic names represent historical opinions based on other types. None creates a separate accepted product, botanical or taxonomy route.
Synonyms support search and literature retrieval. The synonym sets of the three Frailea species are not mixed, and accepted ancestor names are never inserted as synonyms.
Range and conservation
The native distribution is recorded as Northeast Argentina, southern Brazil and Uruguay.1 Commercial inventory, nursery origin and retail price are not measures of wild-population status. The global conservation field remains LC.4 The live and sourced target are both LC, so the field is unchanged; Least Concern does not mean habitat loss or local pressure is impossible.
Editorial ownership boundary
Product name and copy, price, stock, SKU, images, variants, categories, common names, slugs and the product-to-botanical link are not changed by this taxonomy-only source. Live toxicity, difficulty and light enums are carried forward exactly; watering, temperature and soil metrics are omitted from the curated source and preserved from live data. Legacy pricing research and Google-grounding metadata are not reused as scientific authority.
References
- Plants of the World Online. “Frailea castanea Backeb.” Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accessed: 2026-08-06. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A105526-2 ↩
- International Plant Names Index. “Frailea castanea.” Accessed: 2026-08-06. https://www.ipni.org/n/105526-2 ↩
- Metzing, D. & Kiesling, R. (2006). “Notes on the diversity, biology, and taxonomy of Frailea (Cactaceae).” Bradleya 24: 115–128. https://doi.org/10.25223/brad.n24.2006.a13 ↩
- Kew POWO General Information. “Frailea castanea conservation evidence.” Accessed: 2026-08-06. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A105526-2/general-information ↩
