Scientific taxonomy article
Accepted name and nomenclatural record
Kew POWO accepts Frailea cataphracta with the author citation (Dams) Britton & Rose; IPNI confirms the first-publication record as “The Cactaceae 3: 210 (1922)”.12 The native distribution is Bolivia, southern and west-central Brazil, and Paraguay. The native distribution includes open, stony or grassland microhabitats in the subtropical biome; cultivated appearance is not a habitat record.
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 crescent markings beneath the areoles, fine appressed spines, flowers, seeds 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 13 nomenclatural synonym records. Kew maintains 13 synonyms: two homotypic and 11 heterotypic. Historical matoana, melitae and uhligiana names are not separate accepted-species routes. 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 Bolivia, southern and west-central Brazil, and Paraguay.1 Commercial inventory, nursery origin and retail price are not measures of wild-population status. The global conservation field remains NT.4 The live and official target remain NT; Near Threatened is not absence of risk and supports monitoring and documented legal nursery provenance.
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 cataphracta (Dams) Britton & Rose” Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accessed: 2026-08-06. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A105527-2 ↩
- International Plant Names Index. “Frailea cataphracta.” Accessed: 2026-08-06. https://www.ipni.org/n/105527-2 ↩
- 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 ↩
- IUCN Red List. “Frailea cataphracta conservation evidence.” Accessed: 2026-08-06. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/152100/121521902 ↩
