''Austrocactus coxii'' is a plant

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 ...

in the genus ''

Austrocactus ''Austrocactus'' is a genus of cacti with ten species endemic of southern South America, in Argentina and Chile. They have solitary or branched bodies, the ribs are usually divided into tubercules (except ''Austrocactus spiniflorus''). The tall ...

'' from the cactus 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 ...

), indigenous to southern

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 southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It grows as short columnar stems up to 5 cm diameter, reaching 60 cm in height, with 6-10 tuberculate ribs. Central spines are hard, straight or slightly hooked, light brown to whitish and up to 4 cm long. Thin spines are interwoven and range from 6 to 10 in number; each is up to 1 cm long. Its diurnal red flowers are up to 3.5 cm in diameter.

Synonyms

* ''Austrocactus intertextus'' * ''Echinocactus coxii'' * ''Echinocactus intertextus'' * ''Malacocarpus coxii'' * ''Malacocarpus intertextus''

References

GBIF entry

CactiGuide entry

{{Taxonbar, from=Q289251 Cactoideae Cacti of South America Flora of Argentina Flora of Chile