Each tubercle, or "bump",
on Coryphantha is grooved on the upper side. The flowers of C. missouriensis
are located in a ring near
the apex of the plant. The red berries appear the following year. The tubercles
of Coryphantha appear to be randomly arranged, in contrast to the longitudinal
ridges with spines in straight lines found on Echinocereus
sp. While Weber describes
C. missouriensis as infrequent, large patches can be found. The pictured
plants are part of a large population in Gateway Park on the streambank of the
North Fork of the Poudre River, just below Seaman Reservoir.
Compare to Coryphantha
vivipara which has bright pink flowers and is the more common species
on the plains.
