''Gymnocalycium anisitsii'' is a globular

cactus 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, ...

belonging to the family

Cactaceae 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, ...

. The specific epithet honors the Hungarian pharmacist Dániel Anisits J. (1856-1911).

Description

''Gymnocalycium anisitsii'' can be solitary or slowly clustering with light green, often reddish or purple-tinged, spherical to short columnar shoots. It reaches a diameter of 8–15 cm and a height of about 10 cm. Sometimes a central spine is present, but it is usually absent. The eight to eleven ribs have pointed humps. Sometimes a central spine is present, but usually it is absent. The 5-7 spines are yellowish to brownish, slender, twisted and 1–6 cm long. The flowers are white to pink, funnel-shaped, up to 4 inches long. The red fruits are long and cylindrical, up to 2.5 cm long with a diameter of 1 cm. File:Gymnocalycium anisitsii 2018-05-04 0423.jpg, Flower File:Gymnocalycium anisitsii - pink flower.jpg, An example of ''Gymnocalycium anisitsii'' in bloom.

Subspecies

Accepted subspecies:

Distribution

''Gymnocalycium anisitsii'' is widespread in southern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. This species prefers open areas with the protection of low bushes.

Taxonomy

The first description as ''Echinocactus anisitsii'' was made in 1900 by Karl Moritz Schumann. The specific epithet anisitsii honors the Hungarian pharmacist Dániel J. Anisits (1856–1911), who supplied Karl Moritz Schumann with cacti.

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, ...

placed the species in the genus ''Gymnocalycium'' in 1922. File:Gymnocalycium anisitsii BlKakteenT83.jpg, ''Gymnocalycium anisitsii'' subsp. ''anisitsii''. Illustration from Blühende Kakteen - Iconographia Cactacearum (1904)

References

External links

* *
Biolib

*Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Birkhäuser 2004 * N. L. Britton, J. N. Rose: The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family. Band III, The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1922 {{Taxonbar, from=Q1029613 anisitsii Cacti of South America Flora of Bolivia Flora of Paraguay Flora of Brazil Least concern biota of South America