''Denmoza'' is a

monotypic 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 "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

. Its only species, ''Denmoza rhodacantha'', is native to northwest Argentina.

Description

''Denmoza rhodocantha'' starts out as a globular cactus and stays that way for quite some time before growing into a column with a diameter of . The 30 or more ribs are high and wide, with a width of at the base. The first areoles are confluent and bear brownish-red spines, later grey. The 8 to 10 radial spines are slightly bent. The areoles from which the flowers sprout also produce a series of long brown bristles as well as long spines up to . The tubular flowers are scarlet. The fruits are spherical and contain shiny black-brown seeds with a diameter of about . File:Denmoza rhodacantha 2.jpg, Spines File:Denmoza rhodacantha - University of California Botanical Garden - DSC08839.JPG, Plant grown in University of California Botanical Garden File:Man77Denmoza rhodacantha08.jpg, Plant growing in habitat in

Uspallata Uspallata is a village and administrative district in Argentina, in a scenic location on the road that crosses the Andes between Mendoza and Santiago in Chile. It is located west of Mendoza and was once served by the now disused Transandine ...

, Argentina

Taxonomy

The first plants were probably discovered in 1821 by John Gilles near the city of Mendoza. They were given the name ''Cactus coccinea'', but this has never been validly described. The species was first described as ''Echinocactus rhodacanthus'' in 1834 by

Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck Joseph Franz Maria Anton Hubert Ignatz Fürst und Altgraf zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck (4 September 1773 at Castle Dyck near Neuss – 21 March 1861 in Nice) was a German aristocrat, amateur botanist and owner of Castle Dyck. Early life ...

Nathaniel Lord Britton Nathaniel Lord Britton (1859 – 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York (state), New York. Early life Britton was born on the 15 of January 1859 at New Dorp, Staten Island ...

and

Joseph Nelson Rose Joseph Nelson Rose (January 11, 1862 – May 4, 1928) was an American botanist. He was born in Union County, Indiana. His father died serving during the Civil War when Joseph Rose was a young boy. He later graduated from high school in Liberty, ...

transferred the species to their newly established genus ''Denmoza'' in 1922.

Distribution

''Denmoza rhodacantha'' is found in northwestern and western

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on the eastern slopes and foothills of the Andes in the provinces from Mendoza to Salta at altitudes of 800 to 2800 meters. File:Denmoza rhodacantha BlKakteen Tafel 16.jpg, Plate of ''Denmoza rhodocantha'' in Blühende Kakteen - Iconographia Cactacearum Tafel 16 (1904) File:The Cactaceae Vol III, plate VIII filtered.jpg, ''Denmoza rhodocantha'' from The Cactaceae (1919-1923) by Britton et Rose, Vol. III. (1922) File:× Cleistoza, Huntington.jpg, × ''Cleistoza'', a hybrid between ''

Cleistocactus strausii ''Cleistocactus strausii'', the silver torch or wooly torch, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Cactaceae. It is native to mountainous regions of Department Tarija, Bolivia, at . Description ''Cleistocactus strausii'' grows as a shru ...

'' and ''Denmoza rhodacantha'',

Huntington Desert Garden The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, ...

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q8176532, from2=Q136899, from3=Q12095268 Cereeae Endemic flora of Argentina Cereeae genera