Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus root description at Querétaro

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus belongs to the family of the Cactaceae, which refers to a type of succulent plants characterized by their fleshy stems and their aptitude to thrive in arid places. A morphological description and comparison between various Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus specimens found in different Queretarós locations is presented. Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus seems like a small plant with a flattened body on the surface, but it has a fleshy underground structure Even though the superficial part of this plant is well known and described, the underground body and the behavior that it adopts for survival remains unknown or has been poorly described. Four populations were visited for above and underground measuring and observation at two different regions within Queretaro, México; two of the populations are found at Toliman and two at Cadereyta. Despite the fact that the specimens present similar underground body behaviors such as negative gravitropism in some lateral roots and signals of complete self-pulling down in both locations, some differences in size and proportions were observed.