''Soehrensia formosa'', is a species of ''

Soehrensia ''Soehrensia'' is a genus of Cactus, cacti native plant, native to South America. It is Native species, native to northern Argentina, Bolivia, northern Chile, Paraguay and Peru, and has been introduced elsewhere, including Mexico, southern Africa ...

'', formerly included in the genus ''

Echinopsis ''Echinopsis'' is a genus of Cactus, cacti native plant, native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. , there are about 20 accepted species, ranging from large and treelike types to small ...

'', found in South America. In north-western Argentina, Bolivia and northern Chile. First published in Cactac.: Handb. Kakteenk. 3: 1678 in 1959.

Description

''Soehrensia formosa'' grows solitary at first, later occasionally branching out from the base and then forming groups. The spherical to cylindrical, light green to blue-green shoots reach heights of growth of up to with a diameter of , making it the only cactus in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

with the "barrel cactus" habit. There are 27 to 50 rounded ribs that are clearly notched and tuberous. The dark areoles located on them are up to apart. Needle-like, yellowish to reddish-brown thorns emerge from them. The two to nine central spines are long. The nine to 15 radial spines are spread out, straight or slightly curved and have a length of up to . The broad, funnel-shaped, red to orange-red to yellow flowers appear near the top of the shoot and are open during the day. They are long and have the same diameter. The broad, spherical, green fruit are up to long and in diameter.

Subspecies

It has five accepted

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: * ''Soehrensia formosa'' subsp. ''formosa'' * ''Soehrensia formosa'' subsp. ''kieslingii'' * ''Soehrensia formosa'' subsp. ''korethroides'' * ''Soehrensia formosa'' subsp. ''randallii'' * ''Soehrensia formosa'' subsp. ''rosarioana''

Distribution

''Soehrensia formosa'' is widespread in the Bolivian department of Tarija, in the Argentine provinces of Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza as well as in the adjacent northeast of Chile in the high altitudes of the Andes of up to over altitude.

Taxonomy

The first description as ''Echinocactus formosus'' by Ludwig Georg Karl Pfeiffe was published in 1837. The specific epithet formosa is derived from the Latin word formosus for 'stately' and refers to the appearance of the plants. Boris O. Schlumpberger placed the species in the genus ''

'' in 2012. Further nomenclature synonyms are ''Echinopsis formosa'' (Pfeiff.) Jacobi ex Salm-Dyck (1850), ''Acanthocalycium formosum'' (Pfeiff.) Backeb. (1936), ''Lobivia formosa'' (Pfeiff.) Dodds (1937) and ''Trichocereus formosus'' (Pfeiff.) F.Ritter (1980). It was once thought to be a species of ''

''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar Flora of Bolivia Flora of Northwest Argentina Flora of northern Chile

formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...