Cactus Explorers Journal - The Cactus Explorers Club

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The Cactus Explorer ISSN 2048-0482 Number 4 May 2012 rECEnt nEw dEsCrIptIons Graham Charles tells us more about Maihueniopsis glochidiata from Argentina which he described as a new species in Cactaceae Systematics Initiatives 25 (2011) Fig.1 The type locality of Maihueniopsis glochidiata. A gentle slope near to a deep gorge at 2755m. In the Cactus Explorer 3, I told the story of Cumulopuntia iturbicola and how the IOS molecular study had shown it to be a different species from those that were already described. The same study showed that a plant my friends and I had discovered in the Sierra Famatina, La Rioja, Argentina in 2000 was also new, an undescribed species of Maihueniopsis. December 1st 2000 started early for us. The sun was still below the horizon as we prepared for the day’s adventure. We had spent the night in the pleasant town of Chilecito, where a local man, Sebastian, had created a cactus garden. He offered to take us in his pick-up high into the mountains on a mine road to see cacti. For me, the main objective was Lobivia famatimensis which I had not seen during any of my previous visits to the country. We drove along Rte.40 which skirts the 8 mountains to the east. Somewhere near the town of Famatina, we took a dirt road towards the mountains. The traffic appeared to be controlled at a gate where Sebastian spoke to a man who then let us through. Eventually, the road started climbing steeply and at our third stop the altitude was 2500m. We were in a Fig.2 Early morning in Chilecito, the Sierra Famatina beckons us for adventure.
Number 4 May 2012 ISSN 2048-0482 The Cactus Explorer Fig.3 The valley where we found Lobivia famatimensis at 2500m. The steep slopes were very loose and the plants were only in places where rocks or the roots of the bushes made the soil stable. Fig.4 Lobivia famatimensis GC407.03 Fig.5 Pyrrhocactus andreaeanus GC407.06 9 steep-sided valley and exploration of one of the slopes revealed some pretty plants of Lobivia famatimensis (Figs.3 &4). This place was also a locality for Pyrrhocactus andreaeanus (Fig.5), the most northerly known form of P. strausianus which can have pink flowers although they often have yellow centres. The slopes proved to be home to eight cactus species including Denmoza rhodacantha and large plants of Echinopsis (Lobivia) formosa. The other really interesting plant was another Lobivia which, at the time, I did not know occurred in the Sierra Famatina. The plant reminded us of Echinopsis (Lobivia, Acanthocalycium) thionantha. It has a bluish body and buds with dark hair (Fig. 6). This location would extend the previously known distribution of Echinopsis thionantha further south and into a different mountain range. I was able to collect some seeds from which the resulting seedlings and their flowers were very similar to those of E. thionantha and, like with that species, variable in colour from yellow to orange (Fig.7).
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