Sclerocactus wetlandicus is a rare species of cactus

Cactus

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...

 known by the common name Uinta Basin hookless cactus. It is endemic to Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 in the United States, where it is known only from the Uinta Basin. It may also be called the Pariette cactus, but this name is more appropriate for Sclerocactus brevispinus

Sclerocactus brevispinus

Sclerocactus brevispinus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Pariette cactus. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from the Pariette Draw, a draw in Duchesne County. It is threatened by a number of processes and human activities.This plant is federally...

, the species endemic to the Pariette Draw of Duchesne County

Duchesne County, Utah

Duchesne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2010 the population was 18,607, a 29.5% increase over the 2000 figure of 14,371. Its county seat is Duchesne and the largest city is Roosevelt.-Geography:...

.

S. wetlandicus is threatened by a number of processes and human activities. This plant is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States. Until 1989 it was included under the description of Sclerocactus glaucus

Sclerocactus glaucus

Sclerocactus glaucus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Uinta Basin hookless cactus and Colorado hookless cactus. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the area between Grand Junction and Montrose...

, a threatened cactus. When it was separated and elevated to species status it retained the threatened designation.

This cactus has a spherical or cylindrical shape, a green or bluish color, and a waxy texture. It grows up to 15 centimeters tall by 12 wide. There are several white, tan, or black radial spines and a few brown, black, or reddish central spines on each areole

Areole

Areoles are an important diagnostic feature of cacti, and identify them as a family distinct from other succulent plants. The areoles on cacti are clearly visible; they generally appear as small light- to dark-colored bumps, out of which grow clusters of spines...

. The radial spines are up to 2 centimeters long, the central spines sometimes a bit longer. The fragrant funnel-shaped flowers are up to 5 centimeters long by 5 wide. They have pink tepal

Tepal

Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...

s, the outer ones tinged brown.

This plant grows on mesa

Mesa

A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....

 slopes with rough, rocky soils littered with cobble

Cobble

Cobble may refer to:* Cobble , a designation of particle size for sediment or clastic rock* Cobblestone, partially rounded rocks used for road paving* Hammerstone, a prehistoric stone tool...

s and gravel

Gravel

Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...

. The desert shrub plant community includes such species as Atriplex confertifolia

Atriplex confertifolia

Atriplex confertifolia is a species of evergreen shrub in the Chenopodiaceae family, which is native to the western United States.-Habitat:Shadscale is a common, often dominant, shrub in the lowest and driest areas of the Great Basin...

, Pleuraphis jamesii

Pleuraphis jamesii

Pleuraphis jamesii is a species of grass known by the common name James' galleta. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it is widespread in scrub, woodland, grassland, and plateau habitat...

, Artemisia nova

Artemisia nova

Artemisia nova is a species of sagebrush known by the common name black sagebrush.It is native to the western United States from California to Montana to New Mexico, where it grows in forest, woodland, and grassland habitats. It is "one of the most common shrubs in the western United States"...

, and Achnatherum hymenoides. The cactus flowers are pollinated by insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s, probably including bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

s, ant

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

s, and beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

s.

This cactus grows throughout the Uinta Basin of Utah, mainly in Uintah County

Uintah County, Utah

This page deals with the Utah County. For the Wyoming County, see Uinta County, Wyoming.Uintah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 25,224 and by 2009 was estimated at 31,536. It was named for the Ute Indians, the tribe that lives in the basin. Its...

 along the Green River

Green River (Utah)

The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing...

 and its tributaries

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

. Despite its being limited to one region, it is found in many locations there and its population could number 30,000.

Threats to the species include damage to the habitat during hydrocarbon exploration, poaching

Poaching

Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...

, off-road vehicle

Off-road vehicle

An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...

 use, and grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

. There are many active oil wells in the area, and there is associated activities in the habitat such as road construction and maintenance and pipeline installation and maintenance, which cause habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...

 and the edge effect

Edge effect

The edge effect in ecology is the effect of the juxtaposition or placing side by side of contrasting environments on an ecosystem.This term is commonly used in conjunction with the boundary between natural habitats, especially forests, and disturbed or developed land. Edge effects are especially...

. Other damage includes erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

, dust

Dust

Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...

 production, and the introduction

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

of weeds.