''Matucana'' is a genus of

cacti 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 Gree ...

(

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

), containing approximately 20

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

of mostly globular plants. The genus is only known from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, mostly along the

Marañón River , name_etymology = , image = Maranon.jpg , image_size = 270 , image_caption = Valley of the Marañón between Chachapoyas (Leimebamba) and Celendín , map = Maranonrivermap.png , map_size ...

. The first species was discovered near the town of Matucana and described as ''

Echinocactus haynii ''Echinocactus'' is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 B ...

'' by

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorde ...

in 1849. ''Matucana'' was erected by Britton & Rose in 1922. The genus ''Eomatucana'' F.Ritter has been brought into

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with this genus. Some species are endangered due to collection for the specialist market.

Description

Low, globose or shortly cylindrical bodies, either solitary or clustering. The flowers are subapical, usually more or less

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spiral ...

, diurnal, in various colours, but mainly red, yellow or pink. However, a few species, notably ''M. oreodoxa'', have

actinomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spiral ...

flowers and were placed in a separate genus - ''Eomatucana'' - by F. Ritter. They are reported to flower easily at a young age.

Cultivation

All members of the genus cannot tolerate too much moisture and must be watered only during their growing season and when the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

is dry. They must also be kept warm through the winter or risk losing their roots. Members of ''Matucana'' grow quickly and may be grown from seed.

Species

As of 2021 species include:

References

* Bregman, Rob: ''The Genus Matucana. Biology and systematics of fascinating Peruvian cacti''. A.A.Balkema 1996. * Ritter, Friedrich: ''Kakteen in Südamerika'', Band 4, s. 1486-87. Friedrich Ritter Selbstverlag 1981. {{Taxonbar, from=Q311767 Trichocereeae Cacti of South America Endemic flora of Peru Cactoideae genera