Dyckia cangaphila P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf
Literature references:
Comments:
- Discovery
In 1975 while travelling in the southwestern part of his home state Goias and searching for new cacti, Eddie Esteves Pereira passed a region with picturesque table mountains. Both in lowland campos cerrados at the base of the table mountains as well as on the tops of the table mountains, Esteves discovered a new Discocactus, later described as D. crassispinus P.J. Braun & Esteves (1994). In many places on the tops of the table mountains accumulations of so-called ”pedra canga" can be found.
This substrate is often secondary relocated concretions of indurated iron oxide. These layers of concretions are the preferred habitat for D. crassispinus and a reddish and very xeromorphic Dyckia, which is published herein as new to science as D. cangaphila. Already in 1986 when Braun and Esteves visited together this region for the first time the lowland campos cerrados were already destroyed at many places and these lands had been turned over to agricultural use. Nevertheless, at that time, it was still possible to study virgin lowland habitats. Today, if at all, probably only a few habitats have remained undestroyed. Probably already today, but definitely in the near future, both Discocactus crassispinus and Dyckia cangaphila can only be encountered on remote tops of the table mountains. Since the discovery the distinctive, reddish D. cangaphila has been studied during several subsequent expeditions, but a formal description was postponed as prior to this publication several other species (especially those described by Smith) had to be studied in their natural habitats.
Brazil, in the south-western part of the state of Goias, preferably on the top of table mountains, at an altitude of about 680 m, mostly in gravel deposits of pedra canga, but also on and between reddish rocks of sandstone, sun-exposed or in semi-shadow under low trees and shrubs, associated with other bromeliads, vellozias and cacti (Cereus bicolor Rizzini & A. Mattos and Discocactus crassispinus P.J. Braun & Esteves). Close to the populations a form of Pilosocereus vilaboensis (Diers & Esteves) P.J. Braun can be found, but it has never been observed growing sympatrically with Dyckia cangaphila. Until now, Dyckia cangaphila is only known from a small region wherein several habitats can be found. For conservation reasons and to avoid commercial collecting of Dyckia cangaphila and especially Discocactus crassispinus, the exact locality is deposited with the herbarium material. —See Die Bromelie
