Melocactus (melon cactus), also known as the Turk's head cactus, Turk's cap cactus, or Pope's head cactus, is a genus of cactus with about 30–40 species. They are native to the Caribbean, western Mexico through Central America to northern South America, with some species along the Andes down to southern Peru, and a concentration of species in northeastern Brazil., pages=456–467
The first species was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, as Cactus melocactus. When the genus was separated from Cactus, the pre-Linnaean name Melocactus was used. Acting on the principle of priority, in 1922 Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Rose resurrected Linnaeus' Cactus. However, the 1905 Vienna botanical congress had already rejected the name Cactus, so this name was not available, and Melocactus Link & Otto is the correct genus name.
Mature plants are easily recognizable by their cephalium, a wool- and bristle-coated structure at the apex of the plant, containing a mass of areoles from which the small flowers grow. The red, wool-coated cephalium, said to resemble the fez worn by Turkish men during the late Ottoman Empire, gives the plant one of its common names, Turk's cap cactus. It gives its name to the Turks Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The fruits of Melocactus are pink and resemble the shape of pepper fruits. The fruits of this genus are edible, and in the wild they are frequently dispersed by lizards and birds.
Species , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:
Image Scientific name Distribution Melocactus acunae León Eastern Cuba Melocactus andinus R.Gruber ex N.P.Taylor Venezuela Melocactus azureus Buining & Brederoo Brazil (Bahia) Melocactus bahiensis (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb. Brazil (Bahia) Melocactus bellavistensis Rauh & Backeb. Ecuador and Peru Melocactus braunii Esteves Brazil (Bahia) Melocactus brederooianus Buining Brazil (Bahia) Melocactus broadwayi (Britton & Rose) A.Berger Trinidad & Tobago Melocactus caroli-linnaei N.P.Taylor Jamaica Melocactus conoideus Buining & Brederoo Brazil Melocactus curvispinus Pfeiff. Mexico, Central America, Colombia and western Venezuela Melocactus deinacanthus Buining & Brederoo Brazil Melocactus ernestii Vaupel Brazil (Bahia and Minas Gerais.) Melocactus estevesii P.J.Braun Brazil (Roraima) Melocactus evae Z.Mészáros Southeastern Cuba Melocactus ferreophilus Buining & Brederoo Brazil (Bahia) Melocactus glaucescens Buining & Brederoo Brazil Melocactus harlowii (Britton & Rose) Vaupel Cuba Melocactus holguinensis Areces Cuba Melocactus inconcinnus Buining & Brederoo Northeastern Brazil Melocactus intortus (Mill.) Urb. Bahamas to Turks-Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico to Lesser Antilles Melocactus lagunaensis (Z.Mészáros) D.Barrios & Majure Southeastern Cuba Melocactus lanssensianus P.J.Braun Brazil (Pernambuco) Melocactus lemairei (Monv. ex Lem.) Miq. ex Lem. Hispaniola (NW. Haiti, W. & Southern Dominican Republic) Melocactus levitestatus Buining & Brederoo Central & Eastern Brazil Melocactus macracanthos (Salm-Dyck) Link & Otto Aruba to Netherlands Antilles Melocactus matanzanus León Cuba Melocactus mazelianus Ríha Eastern Colombia to Venezuela Melocactus nagyi Z.Mészáros Southeastern CubaMelocactus natalensis (P.J.Braun & Esteves) N.P.TaylorBrazil (Rio Grande do Norte) Melocactus neoviridescens Guiggi Northeastern Brazil Melocactus neryi K.Schum. Venezuela to N. Brazil Melocactus oreas Miq. Brazil Melocactus pachyacanthus Buining & Brederoo Brazil Melocactus paucispinus Heimen & R.J.Paul Bahia, Brazil Melocactus pedernalensis M.M.Mejía & R.G.García Southeastern Haiti to southwestern Dominican Republic Melocactus perezassoi Areces Central Cuba Melocactus peruvianus Vaupel Peru Melocactus praerupticola Areces Dominican Republic Melocactus pruinosus Werderm. Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais)Melocactus pseudoviolaceus GuiggiBrazil (Bahia) Melocactus radoczii Z.Mészáros Southeastern Cuba Melocactus salvadorensis Werderm. Brazil (Southern Bahia, Minas Gerais) Melocactus santiagoensis D.Barrios & Majure Cuba Melocactus schatzlii H.Till & R.Gruber Venezuela (Mérida) Melocactus sergipensis N.P.Taylor & Meiado Brazil (Sergipe) Melocactus smithii (Alexander) Buining ex G.D.Rowley Brazil Melocactus stramineus Suringar Aruba Melocactus violaceus Pfeiff. Northeastern Brazil (to Northeastern Minas Gerais) Melocactus zehntneri (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb. Northeastern Brazil
Natural hybrids , Plants of the World Online accepted the following natural hybrids: Image Scientific name Distribution Melocactus × albicephalus Buining & Brederoo Brazil (Bahia) Melocactus × horridus Werderm. Brazil (Pernambuco) Melocactus × trachycephalus Suringar Aruba
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