Yavia
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''Yavia cryptocarpa'' is a
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
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, ...
(
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Cactaceae) and the only species of the newly discovered
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 ...
''Yavia''. The genus is named after
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 ...
's department Yavi, Jujuy Province, where the plant is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to sparsely vegetated rocky slopes. The plant is also sometimes put in the tribe
Notocacteae Notocacteae is a tribe of cactus, cacti belonging to the subfamily Cactoideae. It is one of the oldest cactus lineages endemic to South America. Description Notocacteae are mostly single, rarely tree-like or shrub-like plants. Their mostly spheri ...
. The specific epithet ''cryptocarpa'' refers to the plant being a cryptocarp. This means that the fruits are formed inside the plant's body, thus being only visible when the plant shrinks in the drought period.


Description

The species, with very tuberous roots, has a subglobular stem, has a cylindrical to inverted cone-shaped, compressed at the apex and wider at the top than at the bottom, green plant body that reaches heights of between 0.5 and and a diameter of (rarely ). Its general appearance is quite flattened and the upper part protrudes slightly from the ground. It measures from in height by about in width. The areoles are arranged on the tubers and have between 8 and 15 pectinated spines about long. From them arise 8 to 15 pink-colored thorns, which become glassy-white with age. The flowers are pale pink although they can be white or pale purple. They measure long by about wide. The flower cup, which is up to long and wide, is bare. Perianth is cone-shaped. The outer, olive petals are spatulate, long and wide. The inner, lanceolate, long and wide petals are white to pink with a whitish edge. Flowering is diurnal and occurs at the end of spring. The fruits are about 2 or wide and remain protected in the central depression of the plant for several months, being expelled at the end of spring of the following year, when the flower buds develop at the beginning of the rainy season. The inverted cone-shaped, bare, small fruits are embedded in the apex depression and surrounded by the woolly felt of the young areoles. They contain few, dark brown and more or less oval seeds. File:Yavia cryptocarpa 03.jpg, Flowers File:Yavia fruits.jpg, Fruits


Distribution

''Yavia cryptocarpa'' is widespread in the north of the
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
province of Jujuy in the border area with
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 ...
at altitudes of around 3700 meters.


Taxonomy

The first specimens were discovered by Roberto Kiesling in February 1986. However, the specimens collected at that time were lost. It was not until 2000 that new specimens could be collected and cultivated. The first description, written together with Jörg Piltz, appeared in March 2001 in Cacti and Other Succulents, the magazine of the German Cactus Society. A nomenclature synonym is ''Blossfeldia cryptocarpa'' (R.Kiesling & Piltz) Halda (2003).


References


External links

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Cacti Guide.com: photos
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q8185015, from2=Q147339 Cactoideae Cactoideae genera Cacti of South America Endemic flora of Argentina Monotypic Cactaceae genera Endemic flora of Bolivia