''Blossfeldia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

(family Cactaceae) containing only one species, ''Blossfeldia liliputiana'', native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

in northwestern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, Tucumán, Catamarca and Mendoza Provinces) and southern Bolivia ( Santa Cruz and Potosí Departments). It grows at 1,200–3,500 m altitude in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, typically growing in rock crevices, and often close to

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

s. It is of note as the smallest cactus species in the world, with a mature size of around 10–12 mm diameter. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are white or rarely pink, 6–15 mm long and 5–7 mm diameter. The genus ''Blossfeldia'' has been divided into many separate species; however most morphological evidence supports that the genus is monotypic, and contains only ''Blossfeldia liliputiana''. The species is named after the fictional country of Lilliput, where all of the inhabitants are minute.

Taxonomy

The genus and species were first described in 1937 by Erich Werdermann after being discovered in northern Argentina by Harry Blossfeld and Oreste Marsoner. The genus name honours Blossfeld. ''Blossfeldia liliputiana'' has several features making it unique among cacti, including a very small number of stomata, the absence of a thickened cuticle, and hairy seeds with an aril. It is placed in the subfamily

Cactoideae The Cactoideae are the largest subfamily of the cactus family, Cactaceae. Around 80% of cactus species belong to this subfamily. , the internal classification of the family Cactaceae remained uncertain and subject to change. A classification in ...

, and traditionally in the tribe Notocacteae. However, molecular phylogenetic studies have repeatedly shown that it is sister to the remaining members of the subfamily, and well removed from other genera placed in the Notocacteae: Recognizing the position of ''Blossfeldia'', Nyffeler and Eggli, in their 2010 classification of Cactaceae, placed it in a separate tribe, Blossfeldieae, within Cactoideae. Earlier, ''Blossfeldia'' was considered as a distinct genus within the tribe Notocacteae; it had even been placed in an entirely separate subfamily, Blossfeldioideae.

References

Bibliography

* Buxbaum F., "Gattung Blossfeldia", in Krainz H., ''Die Kakteen'', 1.11.1964 * Fechser H., "''Blossfeldia liliputana'' - The Tiniest Cactus", ''Cact. Succ. J. (US)'', 32 : 123-125, 1960 * John V., "''Strombocactus'', ''Blossfeldia'' a ''Aztekium''", ''Kaktusy'', 23 : 38-41, 1987 * Kilian G., "Beitrag zur Blossfeldia-Kultur", ''Kakt. und and. Succ.'', 13 : 82-83, 1962 * Köhler U., "Beobachtungen an Blossfeldien", ''Kakt. und and. Succ.'', 17 : 11-14, 1966; * "''Blossfeldia'' heute", ''Kakt. und and. Sukk.'', 32 : 132133, 1981 * Říha J., "''Blossfeldia liliputana'' Werdermann, ''Kaktusy'', 22 : 105-107, 1986 * * *http://llifle.com/Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/5701/Blossfeldia_liliputana

External links

Mauseth cacti research: ''Blossfeldia liliputana''Cacti Guide: ''Blossfeldia liliputana''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q635852, from2=Q137117, from3=Q13521850 Cactoideae Monotypic Cactaceae genera Cacti of South America