''Brasiliopuntia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the cactus

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cactaceae 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 Greek ...

. It contains only one species, ''Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis''. It is found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, eastern

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and northern

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 ...

, and has become naturalized in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

among other places.

Description

''Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis'' shows thin, slightly shrunken cladodes on a central cylindrical trunk. The leaves are bright green. Its white

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cacti out of which grow clusters of spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cacti, and identify them as a family distinct from other succulent plants. Gordon Rowley - W ...

s bear one or two small brown upright spines. Its light brown

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 appear only on adult plants. This tree-cactus can grow as high as fortynine feet ( fifteen meters); the tallest member of the Opuntia subfamily. Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis Prague 2014 1

Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis Prague 2014 1

Systematics

''Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis'' was placed in the genus ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...

'' when the very broad genus ''Cactus'' was dismembered. The distinctive features of the species were recognized by Karl Schumann in 1898 when he created a subgenus ''Brasiliopuntia'' within the genus ''Opuntia''. In 1926 Alwin Berger completed the separation from ''Opuntia'' by raising ''Brasiliopuntia'' to a full genus. A number of species have been described in the past, but are now considered only to be variants of ''B. brasiliensis''., pp. 132–133

Species list

* ''Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis'' (Willdenow) A. Berger Synonyms: * ''Cactus brasiliensis'' Willdenow * ''Opuntia brasiliensis'' (Willdenow) Haworth * ''Opuntia bahiensis'' Britton & Rose * ''Brasilopuntia bahiensis'' (Britton & Rose) A. Berger * ''Opuntia schulzii'' A. Castellanos & Lelong * ''Brasilopuntia neoargentina'' Backeberg * ''Brasilopuntia schulzii'' (A. Castellanos & Lelong) Backeberg * ''Brasilopuntia subcarpa'' Rizzini & A. Mattos

References

Bibliography

* Innes C, Wall B (1995). ''Cacti Succulents and Bromaliads''. Cassell & The Royal Horticultural Society.

External links

*
photos on www.cactiguide.com
Cacti of South America Flora of Brazil Flora of Argentina Flora of Bolivia Flora of Peru Monotypic Cactaceae genera Opuntioideae genera Opuntioideae Taxa named by Alwin Berger {{Cactus-stub