''Leuenbergeria '' is a

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 ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in 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, ...

, mostly native around the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Unlike most cacti, it has persistent

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

and develops bark on its stems early in its growth. The genus was created in 2012 by Joël Lodé. Before the creation of ''Leuenbergeria'' as a genus, the species within it were included in a broadly

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

genus, ''

Pereskia ''Pereskia'' is a small genus of about four species of cacti that do not look much like other types of cacti, having substantial leaves and non-succulent stems. The genus is named after Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, a 16th-century French bot ...

''. ''Leuenbergeria'' is the only genus in the subfamily Leuenbergerioideae.

Description

Species of ''Leuenbergeria'' grow as trees or shrubs, up to in the case of '' L. lychnidiflora''. They differ from most cacti in having leaves even when mature – as also do species of ''

'' and '' Rhodocactus'', with which ''Leuenbergeria'' species were once united in a single genus. ''Leuenbergeria'' differs from those other genera in that the stems of ''Leuenbergeria'' species form bark at an early stage in their growth and do not have

stoma In botany, a stoma (: stomata, from Greek language, Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth"), also called a stomate (: stomates), is a pore found in the Epidermis (botany), epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exc ...

ta, preventing them from acting as organs of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

. Like other cacti, they have

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

s bearing spines. In most species, the areoles also bear leaves. Their flowers are mostly pink, orange or red, although some species have yellow flowers.

Taxonomy

Joël Lodé created the genus ''Leuenbergeria'' in 2012. The name honours the Swiss botanist Beat Ernst Leuenberger. The genus ''

'' was previously broadly defined so that it included ''Leuenbergeria''.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies suggested that there were three clades within ''

'' when

in this way. ''Leuenbergeria'' was created for the "Northern clade". By 2016, all three clades were recognized as separate genera. A consensus

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

from a 2005 study is shown below with the more recent generic assignments added. It shows that the three genera are basal to the rest of the cacti. ''Leuenbergeria'' has been placed as the only genus in the subfamily Leuenbergerioideae. Within the genus, a 2005 molecular phylogenetic study suggested the species were related as shown in the following cladogram. The position of the

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

appears to have some phylogenetic significance. The sister species ''L. aureiflora'' and ''L. guamacho'' are the only two with yellow flowers.

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted eight species:

Distribution

''Leuenbergeria'' has a discontinuous distribution. Most species are native to southwest Mexico and around the

, in both the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and northern South America. ''L. aureiflora'' is the exception, being found in eastern

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q25915225 Cacti Cactaceae genera