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''Vatricania'' is a
Can be grown in the USA, in Zone USDA: 9b-11.
It can survive a minimum average temperature of 55°F (12°C) and can tolerate positions in full sun.
monotypic genus
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 "unispec ...
of flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s belonging to the family 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 just contains one species, ''Vatricania guentheri'' Greenm. ex Gleason It has the common name of ''Red Tail Cactus''.
Its native range is 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 ...
. It is found in dry forest vegetation or covering hillsides, at altitudes of metres above sea level.
Description
Anevergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
, perennial columnar cactus.Willy Cullmann, Erich Gotz, Erich Götz, Gerhard Groner and Gerhard Gröner It can grow up to tall. Branching occurs from the base, with pale green stems up to in diameter.
It has about 27 ribs.
The flowers are initially borne in a cephalium
Cephalium is a frequently brightly coloured structure of wool and bristle at the growing tip of certain cacti. It is most commonly found on cacti of the genus ''Melocactus'' and can take a number of colours, forms and shapes.
The cephalium will on ...
(reddish brown wool,) running down from the crown (top of the plant) on one side, of the branches, later in a superficial dome cephalium. It blooms during the early summer and develops yellowish whitish flowers that get up to 8 cm long and in diameter.
The flowers are yellowish white areoles or funnel shaped flowers, with 25 spines, long. It has edible fruit.
Taxonomy
The genus name of ''Vatricania'' is in honour of Louis Félix Vatrican (1904–2007), an agricultural engineer fromMonaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, director of the national Jardin Exotique. The Latin specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
of ''guentheri'' refers to Ernesto Günther of Valparaíso
Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
, Chile, who financed the expedition in Bolivia during which Carl Troll discovered the species. Kupper had originally spelled the epithet Güntheri.
The genus was first described and published in Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) vol.22 on page 154 in 1950.
Then the species was published in Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) Vol.23 on page 149 in 1951.
It was originally named in 1931 as ''Cephalocereus guentheri'' Kupper, being named after Ernesto Günther. Then in 1950 the famous German cactologist Curt
Backeberg created the monotypic genus of ''Vatricania'' to accommodate this unique species, it was lumped into ''Espostoa'' in 1959.
''Vatricania'' was once thought to be a synonym of ''Espostoa
''Espostoa'' is a genus of columnar cacti, comprising 16 species known from the Andes of southern Ecuador and Peru. It usually lives at an altitude of between 800m and 2500m. Its fruit is edible, sweet, and juicy. The genus is named after Nicola ...
'' , (or still is in some sources,) including by the United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
and the Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...
in 2005, and they also do not list any known species. Or it might have a hybrid origin as there are differences from ''Espostoa''. Also current molecular evidence suggests that ''Espostoa'' is not the correct placement for this species.
The name is accepted by the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
in the UK.
It is placed in ''Trichocereinae'' Tribe.Reto Nyffeler & Urs Eggli (2010): A farewell to dated ideas and concepts: molecular phylogenetics and a revised suprageneric classification of the family Cactaceae. Schumannia 6: 109-149
Cultivation
Can be grown in the USA, in Zone USDA: 9b-11.
It can survive a minimum average temperature of 55°F (12°C) and can tolerate positions in full sun.
References
External links
* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q21447951, from2=Q109341558 Cactoideae Plants described in 1950 Flora of Bolivia Monotypic Cactaceae genera Cactoideae genera