''Yungasocereus inquisivensis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 Greek ...

native to

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 ...

, the sole member of its

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 ...

, ''Yungasocereus''. It is a columnar cactus, appearing either as a tree or shrub, ranging up to 4–5 meters in height. The 6–7 cm diameter stems are dark green, with 6-10 ribs. The 1.5–3 cm spines are in groups of 4-12, with no differentiation into central and radial types, and range from a brownish to grayish color. The flowers are white, appearing in groups of 5-8 near the stem tips. This cactus is known only from

Yungas The Yungas (Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends into ...

and

Inquisivi Inquisivi is the capital of the Inquisivi Province in the La Paz Department, Bolivia. It was officially named on November 2, 1844. Residents of Inquisivi are called Inquisivenos. On November 2, 1884, General Narciso Campero officially announ ...

provinces of La Paz Department, where it is found at elevations of around 2000m. Cárdenas described the species in 1957 from Inquisivi, placing it in '' Samaipaticereus''. Ritter later found the same species in Yungas, and in 1980 gave it its own genus ''Yungasocereus''. After a period in '' Haageocereus'', this was again separated into ''Yungasocereus''.

References

* Edward F. Anderson, ''The Cactus Family'' (Timber Press, 2001), p. 681

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4023240 Cactoideae genera Cacti of South America Endemic flora of Bolivia Trichocereeae Monotypic Cactaceae genera