CUSPIDATA var. ZARAGOZAE  Kimnach, 2005  (engl./ fr.)

Synonym : Echeveria cuspidata var. gemmula  Kimnach (2005)

Series Urbiniae

Type : Glass, Grigsby & Sabo s.n., collected on gypsum hills just before reaching Zaragoza, ca 16 km S of Aramberri, March 1980.

Distribution : Mexico (Nuevo León, near Zaragoza). 

Description by M. Kimnach in Cactus and Succulent Journal US 77(1): 28 ff, 2005 :

Stem  1 – 4 cm high, 7 – 9 mm thick.

Rosettes  usually single, (3.6 -) 6 - 10 cm wide, (2 -) 4 - 6 cm high.

Leaves  30 – 70 to a rosette, erect when young, slightly deflexed when old, obovate or obovate-cuneate, tapering toward base, obtuse but with prominent purplish red mucro 1 - 2 mm long, upper side slightly concave to flat, often with a paler-coloured central keel, lower side strongly convex and slightly keeled near apex, 1.2 - 5 cm long, 10 -16 mm wide 4 - 8 mm below apex, 4 - 7 mm wide near base, 4 - 6 mm thick on apical half, 3 - 4 mm thick near base, younger leaves bluish-green, older leaves less bluish, all suffused pinkish on apical half.

Flowering stems appearing from March to May, 1 - 3 per rosette, each with 1 (- 2) unbranched cincinni, 11 – 23 cm long, first flowers beginning 8 - 20 cm from base, rachis 2 - 4 mm thick near base, 1 - 2 mm thick along inflorescence,  pinkish orange, slightly glaucous, bracts more or less parallel to rachis, 3 - 8 below flowers, up to 10 above on inflorescence, linear-lanceolate, acute, 2 – 8 mm long, 1 – 4 mm wide, pedicels 8 – 18 mm long, 1 - 1.5 mm thick, tapering toward base, pinkish orange.

Flowers : Sepals expanding slightly at apex, unequal, ovate to ovate-deltoid, 2 - 3 mm long, 1 - 2 mm wide at base, ca 0.5 mm thick near base, purplish orange, corolla urceolate, 10 – 13 mm long, 6 – 8 mm thick near base, 4 - 5 mm thick just below apex, orange, petals expanding slightly at apex, linear-ovate, ca 3 mm wide on basal half, pinkish yellow inside.

Flowering time from March to May.

Note :

1. The differences between E. cuspidata var. gemmula and E. cuspidata var. zaragozae are insignificant and do not justify two varieties. Moreover according to Etter & Kristen, the type localities of the two plants are only 100 m apart.

2. The information that E. cuspidata var. gemmula had also been found by Metorn at Jalpan, Queretaro, is wrong. The plant in question had been collected near Zaragoza, NL.

The synonymisation of var. gemmula with var. zaragozae has been published in Crassulacea No. 5, 29. Sept. 2017.