Astrophytum asterias

It is not clear from where Zuccarini received his plants for the description. It is generally believed that came from the Mexican collection of Karwinski, but this is not documented. They hardly came from St. Petersburg, because Zuccarini sure would have been thankful for the shipment of seeds by Ludwig Fischer (director of the Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg). Likewise, the exact site where the type material from the description was collected unfortunately can not be ensured. Strictly speaking, it is not an intended first description, this should be obviously reserved to the Baron of Karwinski. In the accompanying drawing J.G. Zuccarini writes "Echinocactus Asterias karw." later, the plant is often described as Echinocactus asterias Karwinski ex Zuccarini or Astrophytum asterias (Karwinski ex Zuccarini) Lemaire (inter alia Hunt, D. 1999 p. 166). The author does not find it appropriate and maintains Astrophytum asterias (Zucc.) Lemaire.

Particularly surprising is the fact that Zuccarini describes a pure yellow flowering Astrophytum asterias which is pesently found extremely rare and isolated. Was this a plant an isolated accidental discovery or was the site of the former picking up population with a pure yellow-flowerind plants never found again? And how has the darker inner part of the flower drawing by Zuccarini to be interpreted? Unfortunately, all specimens of this beautiful cacti soon were gone in the European collections and the pure yellow flower of Asterias can be read in the entire literature up to the rediscovery by Fric, 1923. This fact has caused not only various misunderstandings and confusion with Astrophytum myriostigma (SCHUMANN, K. 1896), but also led to the establishment of a new genus Meierocactus (ROST, E.C. 1925). The classification of the genus could be corrected not until the discovery of the red throat flowering Asterias.

Literature from the author:
A chance with far reaching consequences...
At the habitat of Astrophytum asterias, Texas..
A surprise at the habitat of Astrophytum asterias...

Original descriptions
Astrophytum asterias
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