Punotia

Punotia
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Genus:	Punotia; D.R.Hunt
Species:	P. lagopus
Binomial name
	Punotia lagopus; (K.Schum.) D.R.Hunt
Synonyms
	List Andinopuntia lagopus (K.Schum.) Guiggi 2011; Austrocylindropuntia lagopus (K.Schum.) I.Crook, J.Arnold & M.Lowry 2003; Opuntia lagopus K.Schum. 1903; Tephrocactus lagopus (K.Schum.) Backeb. 1936; Andinopuntia lagopus subsp. septentrionalis Guiggi 2016; Austrocylindropuntia lagopus subsp. malyanus (Rausch) Ostolaza 2014; Austrocylindropuntia malyana (Rausch) F.Ritter 1981; Opuntia lagopus var. aurea (Rauh & Backeb.) G.D.Rowley 1958; Opuntia lagopus subvar. brachycarpa (Rauh & Backeb.) G.D.Rowley 1958; Opuntia lagopus var. leucolagopus (Rauh & Backeb.) G.D.Rowley 1958; Opuntia lagopus var. pachyclada (Rauh & Backeb.) G.D.Rowley 1958; Tephrocactus lagopus var. aureus Rauh & Backeb. 1956 publ. 1957; Tephrocactus lagopus subvar. brachycarpus Rauh & Backeb. (1956 publ. 1957; Tephrocactus lagopus var. leucolagopus Rauh & Backeb. 1956 publ. 1957; Tephrocactus lagopus var. pachycladus Rauh & Backeb. 1956 publ. 1957; Tephrocactus malyanus Rausch 1971; ;

Punotia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cactaceae. The only species is Punotia lagopus.^[2]

Description

Punotia lagopus grows in dense, large cushions up to over 1 meter in diameter and 60 centimeters high. Its short, cylindrical, bumpy, and densely hairy shoots can reach up to 25 centimeters or more, sometimes shorter and spherical. Fine hairs up to 2 centimeters long emerge from the areoles in a single row. Sparse, white, slightly sloping glochids are 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. Leaf rudiments, up to 7 millimeters long, are hidden among the hairs. A single yellow spine is 2 to 2.5 centimeters long.

The golden yellow flowers are 2 to 3 centimeters long, with hairy pericarpels towards the tip. The egg-shaped, thin-walled fruits are light yellow-green before ripening to light pink.^[3]

Distribution

The species is found in the highlands of Peru in the region of Puno around Imata and Arequipa to the department of La Paz in Bolivia, growing in humid grasslands at altitudes of 4100 to 4700 meters.^[2]^[4]

Taxonomy

This species was first described as Opuntia lagopus by Karl Moritz Schumann in 1903, the species name "lagopus" means 'hare's foot,' referring to its densely hairy shoots. David Richard Hunt reclassified it as Punotia lagopus in 2011.^[5]

References

^ Assessment), Jose Roque (Global Cactus (2011-05-03). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
^ a b "Punotia D.R.Hunt | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
^ "Punotia lagopus". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
^ D. R. Hunt, C. M. Ritz: Tephrocactus. In: Cactaceae Systematics Initiatives. Band 25, 2011, S. 26.

External links

Media related to Punotia lagopus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Punotia lagopus at Wikispecies

[w579-1] Assessment), Jose Roque (Global Cactus (2011-05-03). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-06-17.

[POWO-2] "Punotia D.R.Hunt | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

[o980-3] Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.

[e076-4] "Punotia lagopus". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-06-17.

[5] D. R. Hunt, C. M. Ritz: Tephrocactus. In: Cactaceae Systematics Initiatives. Band 25, 2011, S. 26.