Original description as Echinocactus cinerascens, see above

Britton & Rose, The Cactaceae (3) : 86

Synonyms according to Britton & Rose

Echinocactus copiapensis Pfeiffer, Abbild. Beschr. Cact. 2: under p1. 14. 1847.

Echinocactus conglomeratus Philippi, Fl. Atac. 23. 1860.

Echinocactus ambiguus,
Hildmann in Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 311. 1898.  

Globose, about 8 cm. in diameter, green, the apex covered with gray wool; ribs 20 or 21, somewhat compressed; 
areoles 6 to 20 mm. apart; radial spines 8, usually 10 to 12 mm. long; central spines 1 or 2, 18 to 25 mm. long, stouter than the radials, all rigid, yellowish or grayish; 
flowers yellow; outer perianth-segments acute, often recurved; inner perianth-segments lanceolate, erose, or dentate.

Type locality: Copiapó, Chile.
Distribution:    West coast of northern Chile.

In the original description of Echinocactus ambiguus it is stated that the ovary is probably scaly and woolly, but this is doubtless wrong. In all the species of Copiapoa, the ovary is buried in a mass of wool but this arises from the areoles about the base of the flower. This plant is known to us only from descriptions and figures.

Echinocactus intricatus longispinus Monville (Labouret, Monogr. Cact. 178. 1853) was referred here as a synonym.

Illustrations:Grässner, Haupt-Verz. Kakteen 1912: 5; Mdllers Deutsche Gärt. Zeit. 25: 474.  f. 6, No. 7; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 14: 89. f. a, as Echinocactus cinerascens.

Backeberg C. (1959)
Die Cactaceae 3:1906

Backeberg's entry for this species is rather brief, perhaps indicating some doubt about its exact identity, a problem with many of the 19th Century Copiapoa taxa that is later commented on by Ritter:
7. Copiapoa cineracens (SD) Br. & R - The Cactaceae III:88, 1922
Echinocactus cinerascens SD Allg. Gartenztg. 13:387, 1845
- ? Echinocactus copiapensis Pfeiff.
- ? Echinocactus conglomeratus Phil.
Kugelig, bis ca. 8 cm diam. von unten sprossend, grün; Schops weißlichgrau: Rippen 20 - 21, verhältnismäßig schmal, um die Areolen geschwollen; Areolen bis 2 cm, an jüngeren Stücken nur 6 mm entfernt: Randst. ca. 8, meist 1 - 1.2 cm lang; Mittelst. 1 (-2), 1.8 - 2.5 cm lang, starker als die randständigen, alle steif,gelb- bis kastanienbraun, später grau; Bl.(nach Andraea, gern erscheinend) gelb; Sep. spitz zulaufend, oft zurückgebogen; Pet. lanzettlich. +- gezähnelt. - Chile (Copiapó, Küstengebiet des nördl. Chile (Abb. 1839).

Echinocactus intrieatuslongispinus Monv. wird als hierhergehörendes synonym angesehen. (Betr. Syn. Echinocactus copiapensis Pfeiff s. unter C. megarhiza.)

Ritter F. (1980)
Kakteen in Südamerika (3):1083
 

Ritter points at the confusion that existed around this taxon: first with Echinocactus copiapensis, described two years later and doubtless the same plant, then with C. megarhiza, which appears to have been mistaken for C. cinerascens by Britton & Rose, and with C. calderana and C. lembckei by Backeberg.  Even Philippi made a mistake, labelling a specimen of C. coquimbana as C. cinerascens. Finally, Skottberg mistook the southernmost Copiapoa, pendulina for C. cinerascens.

He argues that Backeberg did not know C. cinerascens; Abb. 1839 in Die Cactaceae (3) is a different species: C. fiedleriana, while his new species C. applanata is really C. cinerascens.

Taylor N.P. (1981)
A commentary on Copiapoa, The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain, 43(1/3): 43-49

The typification of old Copiapoa epithets

Ritter (1980) uses it for a plant growing north of Chañaral, which is somewhat north of the region we know Bridges to have visited, though within Dept. Copiapó. Despite some misgivings, I am following Ritter’s identification because there is no real discrepancy between Salm-Dyck’s description and Ritter’s plant, nor is there an alternative name for it (save for the equally poorly typified C. applanata Backeb.).'
 

Taylor N. P. (1981)
A commentary on Copiapoa , The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain, 43(2/3): 49-60

Checklist

'C. cinerascens (Salm-Dyck) B. & R., Cact. 3: 88 (1922); F. Ritter, Kakt. Südamer. 3: 1083 - 84, figs. 1015 & 1016 (1980); Echinocactus cinerascens Salm-Dyck in Allg. Gartenz. 13: 387 (1845) (‘spec. de Copiapó spinis albis Cat. Cels.’). Type: a plant in the collection of Salm-Dyck, probably collected by Thomas Bridges, c. 1841.

Typified only by the following original description: ‘Stem depressed-globose, c.9 cm. diam., greyish dirty green, convex and grey-woolly at apex; ribs 20, narrow, sub-compressed, tuberculate, indented between the ar.; ar. crowded, roundish, c. 6-9 mm. apart, with grey or blackish felt; rad. sp. 8, 10-13 mm. long, lower ones longest, spreading and inter­twined; cent. sp. 2, 18-21 mm. long; all spines very rigid, at first blackish, then ash grey. Fl. medium sized, yellow, surrounded by spines; lowermost per. segs narrowly lanceolate, upper ones broader and red at the tip, recurved; inner per. segs. broadly lanceolate, erect, acute, margin denticulate; stamens numerous, grouped together, anthers yellow; style thick and hollow with 8 yellow stigmas’.

Ritter applies this old name to a plant growing 11-25 km. N. of Chañaral, and S. of Barquito (Prov. Atacama, Dept. Copiapó). He designates Ritter 524 as a neotype, but the specimen has not been received at ZSS, the place of deposition cited. Ritter has also described C. cinerascens var. intermedia (loc. cit., figs. 1017 & 1018) in which he includes the poorly known C. applanata Backeb., Die Cact. 3: 1913 (1959).

A distinctive plant to which C. calderana, C. megarhiza and C. fiedlerana seem to be allied.  

C. cinerascens (SD 1845) Br.&R. Plant no.41, map 5. Ritt. 524:., KK 176.

Body-green, globular, 8 cm across with 20 ribs, 1.5-2 cm high, thickened at areoles. Crown with grey wool. Areo1es-2 cm apart, large. Spines-yellowish­brown, black to greyish with age. 8 radials 1 cm long, 1-2 centrals 2-2.5 cm long, stouter. Flower-yellow, outer petals acute, often recurved, inner petals lanceolate, toothed. Habitat.;:- Copiapó.

C. cinerascens v. intermedia Ritt. Plant no.62, map 6. KK 726.

Body-broad round, leafy green to bluish-green. Ribs divided into blunt, cone­shaped almost cylindrical tubercles, spirally arranged; Spines-about 10, moder­ately strong, radiating porrect radials. In the bluish-green form about 4 centrals darker brown with lower parts reddish. In the leafy green form about 1-2 centrals, at first yellowish-brown, soon whitish. On average all centrals are a little stronger and longer than the radials. Habitat-Chile!

Note: Ritter includes C. applanata here.

Recognised as a good species with two 'new' varieties: var. applanata (Ritter) Hoffmann and var. intermedia (Ritter) Hoffmann, despite Ritter's inclusion of this variety in 1980.  She also makes the new combination C. cinerascens var. grandiflora (Ritter) Hoffmann.

Copiapoa cinerascens FR524
Sample at the Utrecht Herbarium
Image by Paul Klaassen

The authors concentrate on the environmental matters rather than taxonomy issues. They use the name in the narrow sense.

Recognised as a good species with variety grandiflora included and includes three more synonyms:

Copiapoa applanata Backeberg 1959
C. cinarescens var. applanata Ritter, 1980
C. cinarescens var. intermedia Ritter, 1980

but leaves off the last two of Britton & Rose's list.

The consensus view places this taxon first in a group referred to as 'The Rest', with C. grandiflora, but later is keyed out to the Cinerascens group.  Taylor's contribution in the European Garden Flora (1989:253) includes C. montana under C. cinerascens, while C. calderana and C. grandiflora as 'probably only varieties'. The status of C. atacamensis and C. longistaminea remains under discussion.

Considered as a good species, syn. C. cinerascens var intermedia Ritter, Echinocactus copiapensis Pfeiffer, C. applanata Backeberg