Native records: 1 botanical areas
Mexico Northeast
See all areasNatural distribution
Explore mapNativeIntroducedUncertain
Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.
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A spineless cactus species in the family Cactaceae, native to northeastern Mexico. It has a spherical to columnar stem with usually 5 (occasionally 3-7) prominent vertical ribs that give it a star-shaped appearance when viewed from above.
Description
A distinctive spineless cactus with an unbranched, rounded to oval or spherical to columnar stem. Typically has 5 prominent vertical ribs (occasionally 3-7, sometimes 8), creating a star-shaped outline when viewed from above—hence the common name 'bishop's cap' or 'bishop's miter'. The stem is green to blue-green and covered with tiny white woolly areoles and numerous small white flecks or scales, giving it a silver-gray appearance. Bears woolly areoles but no spines. Produces yellow flowers in summer, followed by green to red fruits. Grows 30-60 cm tall and 18-20 cm in diameter.
Habitat
Native to northeastern Mexico (highlands of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí states), where it grows on calcareous rocky outcrops and in desert or dry shrubland biomes, typically at elevations of 1000-2000 meters.
Distribution areas
Mexico
- Mexico NortheastNative
Climate of the native range
The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.
- BSh Arid, steppe, hot
- BSk Arid, steppe, cold
- BWh Arid, desert, hot
- Cwb Temperate, dry winter, warm summer
The same climate occurs in 64 areas worldwide, 63 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map
A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).
Other names
Bishop's cap cactus、Bishop's hat、Bishop's miter cactus、Star cactus
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Genus
- Astrophytum
Other species in Astrophytum
- Astrophytum asteriasStar cactus
- Astrophytum capricornebishop's-cap
- Astrophytum caput-medusae
- Astrophytum coahuilense
- Astrophytum ornatummonk's-hood
Sources
World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Mexico · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open source
Image information
Photograph of Astrophytum myriostigma
sergio niebla from Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, México · CC BY-SA 2.0 · File page