cactusclassification – Page 35 – THE LAST CACTUS CLASSIFICATION

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016

BACKEBERGIA

Autor: Bravo

http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/mauseth/researchoncacti/Backe%20militaris%20plant%20w%20cephs%20large%20lo%20res.jpg

• ETYMOLOGY
A genus honouring Curt Backeberg (1894-1966), a prolific author of descriptions and expert in the Cactaceae family
(see portrait above, Arch. JL).
• DESCRIPTION
Monospecific genus of plants with columnar stems, up to 6 m tall (sometimes 9 m), first solitary, then branched,
consstricted when mature, with a typical cylindrical terminal cephalium consisting of wool and golden setose hairs
darkening with age. Areoles close to each other, spines short, aciculate. Branches fallen on the ground root and
produce new plants.
Flowers nocturnal, self sterile, emerging from the cephalium, yellow or greenish to pinkish, pollinated by bats. Fruits
elongated, although buried in the cephalium, fleshy, dry when ripe. Seeds shiny, black, few, scattered mainly by ants
(myrmecochory).
• HABITAT
The monotypic genus Backebergia grows endemically in Mexico, in semi arid zones, tropical deciduous open forests, from 100 m up to 600 m in altitude, on rocky soils of sedimentary origin. The rainfall is quite high (400 / 1200 mm annually), but, due to the high temperatures that persist almost throughout the year (28-30°C, max in summer of +46°C), evaporation is intense. It grows with other rare Cactaceae: Mammillaria beneckei, Ferocactus lindsayi, Pereskiopsis rotundifolia etc., as well as of many species of Burseraceae.
• DISTRIBUTION
Mexico (Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán).

Currently one recognised species:
– Backebergia militaris* (Audot) Sanchez-Mejorada 1973

References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" -  ISBN 978-84-617-3723-9 (Vol. 1)

April 14, 2016April 19, 2016

AZUREOCEREUS

Autor: Akers & Johnson

• ETYMOLOGY
” Blue Wax candle “, referring to the typical blue colour of the epidermis of the genus.
• DESCRIPTION
A genus of erect sturdy plants, usually sparsely branched, reaching up to 10 m high, glaucous, with a bluish epidermis (blue-green in A. viridis). First branches appearing from 1 m high. Ribs are tuberculate at the areoles, spines are strong, more numerous in the flowering area.
Flowers nocturnal, tubular, slightly curved and scaly, white, with a foul odour, pollinated by bats. Floral tube brown, bearing ciliate scales. Fruits dry when ripe. Seeds shiny, black.
• HABITAT
The genus Azureocereus grows endemically in Peru, growing In full sun, in valleys, on sandy plains or rocks, sometimes being a part of a woody shrub vegetation (A. viridis), between 1500 m and 2500 m in altitude.
• DISTRIBUTION
Peru (Apurimac, Ayacucho, Cuzco).

Currently, 3 recognised species:
– Azureocereus columnaris (Ritter) J.Lodé 2014
– Azureocereus hertlingianus* (Backeb.) Backeb. 1956
– Azureocereus viridis Rauh & Backeb. 1957

References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" -  ISBN 978-84-617-3723-9 (Vol. 1)

April 14, 2016April 19, 2016

AZTEKIUM

Autor: Boedeker

• ETYMOLOGY
A genus so called because, according to the author, the side reliefs on the ribs evoked the sculptures of the Aztecs.
• DESCRIPTION
A genus of small to medium plants, solitary or caespitose, globose, depressed at the apex, with a greyish-green epidermis, weakly spiny, with deciduous spines, with wrinkled ribs, transversally streaked and fibrous roots.
Fowers diurnal, apical, pinkish white to intense pink, or magenta, pollinated by small insects. Fruits rather small, elongated, deep in the apical wool, dry when ripe, with irregular dehiscence. Seeds brown to black, tuberculate and having a strophiole near the hilum. Dispersion is myrmecophilous (by ants).
• HABITAT
In their respective habitats, Aztekium ritteri and A. valdezii grow at the foot of the Sierra Madre Occidental, in the
matorral (xerophytic scrub), but rather in the shade, on ravines and steep slopes of weathered slate, while Aztekium hintonii usually grows in full sun, on cliffs and gypsum hills, together with Geohintonia mexicana, Dasylirion sp. and Selaginella sp. These plants grow between 600 m and 1200 m in altitude, in fairly dense colonies, but the few habitats are extremely localized.
• DISTRIBUTION
Mexico (Nuevo-León).

Currently, 3 recognised species:
– Aztekium hintonii* Glass & Fitz Maurice 1991
– Aztekium valdezii Velazco, Alvarado & Arias 2013
– Aztekium ritteri* (Boed.) Boed. ex A.Berger 1929

References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" -  ISBN 978-84-617-3723-9 (Vol. 1)

April 14, 2016April 19, 2016

AYLOSTERA

http://www.cactofili.org/images/plants/muscula_nivosa_4_150.jpg

Autor: Spegazzini

• ETYMOLOGY
“Sturdy flute”, referring to the shape of the elongated and erect floral tube, typical of the genus.
• DESCRIPTION
A genus of small caespitose plants, stems globular flattened, forming cushions. Areoles having hairs and or bristles, Plants sometimes forming a taproot. Spines setose to finely aciculate.
Flowers diurnal, self-sterile, basal, stamens and pistil are welded to the base of receptacle (ovary inferior), red, orange or white, pollinated by bees. Fruits setose, spherical, floral remains persistent. Seeds black, bell-shaped, tuberculate.
• HABITAT
The genus Aylostera grows in the high mountains of the Andes, in the cracks of detrital rocks, also on rock faces,
usually in full sun, from 1360 m up to 4300 m in altitude.
• DISTRIBUTION
Argentina (Jujuy, Salta), Bolivia (Chuquisaca, Oruro, Potosí, Santa Cruz, Tarija).

Currently, 30 species for review, and possible subspecies. (M. = Mediolobivia) :
– Aylostera albiflora (Ritter & Buining) Backeb. 1963 (A. pulvinosa subsp. olbifloro?)
– Aylostera albopectinata (Raush) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. pygmaea?)
– Aylostera (M.) aureiflora (Backeb.) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. einsteinii subsp. aureiflora?)
– Aylostera cajasensis* (F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini 2011 {A. fiebrigii?)
– Aylostera deminuta* Britton & Rose 1923
– Aylostera donaldiana* (A.B.Lau & G.D.Rowley) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. fiebrigii subsp. donaldiana?)
– Aylostera [M.) einsteinii* (Fric ex Kreuz. & Buining) Mosti & Papini 2011
– Aylostera fiebrigii* (Gürke) Backeb. 1936 (= R. kieslingii?)
– Aylostera flavistyla* (F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. fiebrigii subsp. flavistyla?)
– Aylostera fulviseta (Rausch) 1970 (A. deminuta subsp. fulviseta?)
– Aylostera fusca (F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. deminuta subsp .fusca?)
– Aylostera heliosa* (Rausch) Mosti & Papini 2011
– Aylostera hoffmannii (Diers & Rausch) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. fiebrigii subsp. hoffmannii?)
– Aylostera (M) huasiensis (Rausch) Mosti & Papini 2011 [A. ritteri subsp. huasiensis?)
– Aylostera kupperiana* (Boed.) Backeb. in Backeb. & F.M. Knuth 1936 (A. deminuta subsp. kupperiana?)
– Aylostera mamillosa (Rausch) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. deminuta subsp. mamillosa?)
– Aylostera muscula*(F.Ritter & Thiele) Backeb. 1963 (A. fiebrigii subsp. muscula?)
– Aylostera narvaecense* Cárdenas 1971 (A/7eb/7g//subsp. narvaecense?)
– Aylostera perplexa* (Donald) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. pulvinosa subsp. donaldiana?)
– Aylostera pseudodeminuta* (Backeb.) Backeb. 1936 [A. deminuta subsp. kupperiana?)
– Aylostera pulvinosa (F.Ritter & Buining) Backeb. 1963
– Aylostera (M.) pygmaea* (R.E.Fries) Mosti & Papini 2011 (= Rebutía diersiana?)
– Aylostera (M.) rltteri* (Wessner) Mosti & Papini 2011
– Aylostera robustispina* (F. Ritter) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A deminuta subsp. robustispina?)
– Aylostera spegazziniana* (Backeb.) Backeb. 1936 (A. deminuta subsp. spegazziniana?)
– Aylostera spinosissima (Backeb.) Backeb. 1935 (A. fiebrigii subsp. spinosissima’?)
– Aylostera (M.) steinmannii* (Solms) Backeb. 1959
– Aylostera tarijensis (Rausch) Mosti & Papini 2011
– Aylostera vulpina (F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. deminuta subsp. vulpina?)
– Aylostera walteri(Diers) Mosti & Papini 2011 (A. fiebrigii subsp. walteri?)

References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" -  ISBN 978-84-617-3723-9 (Vol. 1)

April 14, 2016April 19, 2016

AUSTROCYLINDROPUNTIA

Autor: Backeberg

• ETYMOLOGY
“Cylindrical Opuntia of the South”, referring to the shape of the related genus Cylindropuntia, a native of North America, while Austrocylindropuntia lives in South America.
• DESCRIPTION
A genus of compact plants forming large cushions, bushy or shrubby, with cylindrical stems of indefinite growth, with more or less persistent cylindrical leaves, tuberous roots. Areoles developing hairs, glochids and spines without papery sheath (typical of Cylindropuntia, from North America). The position of the vascular bundles, and the group of xylem and phloem cells which are arranged side by side validate the genus.
Flowers diurnal, bell-shaped, yellow, pink or red, with usually short tepals, pollinated by bees, butterflies and
hummingbirds (Patagona gigas). Fruits spherical to pear-shaped, very thick-walled. Seeds large, globose or pearshaped, yellow. Dispersal provided (amongst others) by Rheas (Pterocnemia pennata).
• HABITAT
The genus Austrocylindropuntia grows in full sun in sometimes extremely barren arid areas, or in the shade of
scattered shrubs, among grasses, on soils made up of clastic, sandy or stony sediments, on Andean highlands between 1500 and 4550 m in altitude.
• DISTRIBUTION
Argentina (Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán), Bolivia (Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Oruro, S. La Paz, Potosí, Tarija),
Ecuador (Cañar, Chimborazo, Pichincha), Peru (Ancash, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cuzco, Huancavelica, Junin, La Libertad, Lima, Piura, Puno).

Currently 7 recognised species + 2 subspecies:
– Austrocylindropuntia cylindrica* (A.L.Juss. ex Lam.) Backeb. 1942
– Austrocylindropuntia fioccosa* (Salm-Dyck ex Winterfeld) F.Ritter 1981
– Austrocylindropuntia fioccosa subsp. yanganucensis (Rauh & Backeb.) Ostolaza 2008
– Austrocylindropuntia hirschii (Backeb.) E.F.Anderson 1999
– Austrocylindropuntia pachypus* (K.Schum) Backeb. 1941
– Austrocylindropuntia shaferi* (Britton & Rose) Backeb. 1951
– Austrocylindropuntia subulata* (Muehlenpf.) Backeb. 1941
– Austrocylindropuntia subulata subsp. exaitata* (Berger) Hunt 2002
– Austrocylindropuntia teres (Cels ex F.A.C. Weber) Backeb. 1935
– Austrocylindropuntia vestita* (Salm-Dyck) Backeb. 1939

References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" -  ISBN 978-84-617-3723-9 (Vol. 1)