''Kimnachia'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus of cacti. Its only species is ''Kimnachia ramulosa'', synonym ''Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa'', which is native from southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to northern South America and also found in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Description

''Kimnachia ramulosa'' is a shrubby plant, branching freely from the base. The stems are rounded basally, with branches that become flattened towards their tips. The branches are long and up to wide. They are reddish at first, later becoming green. The flowers are pinkish or greenish cream in colour, long and across. They are usually borne singly and hang downwards. The small whitish fruits are up to long. Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa kz2

Taxonomy

The species was first described by

Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck Joseph Franz Maria Anton Hubert Ignatz Fürst und Altgraf zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck (4 September 1773 at Castle Dyck near Neuss – 21 March 1861 in Nice) was a German amateur botanist and owner of Castle Dyck. Dyck was a member of an impor ...

in 1834, as ''Cereus ramulosus''. It was transferred to the genus '' Pseudorhipsalis'' in 1991. In 1993, Kimnach sank ''Pseudorhipsalis'' into ''Disocactus'' as section ''Pseudorhipsalis'', so ''Ps. ramulosa'' became ''Disocactus ramulosus''. A molecular phylogenetic study of ''Disocactus'' in 2016 did not recover ''Pseudorhipsalis'' as either embedded within or sister to ''Disocactus'', and hence restored the genus. A molecular phylogenetic study of the tribe

Hylocereeae The Hylocereeae are a tribe of cacti. Most are found in the tropical forests of Central and northern South America, and are climbers or epiphytes, unlike most cacti. The tribe includes between six and eight genera in different circumscriptions ...

was published in 2017. The results suggested that the genus ''Pseudorhipsalis'' was only monophyletic if ''Ps. ramulosa'' was removed. Accordingly the authors of the study proposed a new genus, ''Kimnachia'', with ''Kimnachia ramulosa'' as the sole species. The genus name honours Myron William Kimnach.

References

External links

* * {{taxonbar, from1=Q96463504, from2=Q105820101, from3=Q303048, from4=Q14943334 Hylocereeae Cactoideae genera Monotypic Cactaceae genera