Maihueniopsis minuta

Maihueniopsis minuta
	Maihueniopsis minuta
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Opuntioideae
Tribe :	Tephrocacteae
Genre :	Maihueniopsis
Type :	Maihueniopsis minuta
Scientific name
	Maihueniopsis minuta
	( Backeb. ) R. Kiesling

Maihueniopsis minuta is a species of plant in the genus Maihueniopsis from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet minuta means '(Latin minutus) very small'.

description

Maihueniopsis minuta grows small and compact, is richly branched and often partially buried in the ground. The egg-shaped, sometimes tapered to the tip, barely humped, often slightly purple tinged shoot sections are up to 2.5 centimeters long. The small, closely spaced areoles are sunk and are present almost over the entire shoot section. Thorns are usually absent. Sometimes there are one or two bristle-like, suddenly bent back thorns 7 to 12 millimeters long.

The yellow flowers have a length of up to 4.5 centimeters and a diameter of 3.5 centimeters. The fleshy fruits are dry inside.

blossom

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

Maihueniopsis minuta is common in the Argentine provinces of Jujuy and Salta at altitudes of 1500 to 2500 meters.

It was first described as Tephrocactus minutus in 1936 by Curt Backeberg . Roberto Kiesling placed the species in the genus Maihueniopsis in 1999 . A nomenclature synonym is Opuntia minuta (Backeb.) Castell. (1950).

In the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN is the species as " Endangered (EN) ," d. H. listed as endangered. The species has a range of about 4200 km² and occurs in this only in two disjoint populations. At one location, the number of plants is declining due to illegal gathering and the survival of the species is threatened, as adult plants can hardly be found. The development of the population is seen as decreasing.

proof

literature

Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 364 .

Individual evidence

↑ Backeberg, Knuth: Cactus ABC . 1936, p. 110 and p. 410.
↑ Darwiniana . Volume 25, 1984, p. 204.
↑ Maihueniopsis minuta in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Demaio, P., Lowry, M., Kiesling, R., Perea, M. & Trevisson, M., 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Maihueniopsis minuta - album with pictures, videos and audio files

[1] Backeberg, Knuth: Cactus ABC . 1936, p. 110 and p. 410.

[2] Darwiniana . Volume 25, 1984, p. 204.

[3] Maihueniopsis minuta in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Demaio, P., Lowry, M., Kiesling, R., Perea, M. & Trevisson, M., 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2015.