Copiapoa

Copiapoa
	Copiapoa humilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Tribe:	Notocacteae
Genus:	Copiapoa; Britton & Rose
Type species
	Copiapoa marginata ;

Copiapoa is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, from the dry coastal deserts, particularly the Atacama Desert, of northern Chile.

Description

It comprises 32 morphologically defined species and 5 heterotypic subspecies.^[1] The species in the genus Copiapoa forms dense cushions of hundreds of large individual plants or produce only solitary plants. The shoots are spherical or elongated-cylindrical. The spines, which are usually present, are variably shaped. On the apex, the species are usually densely woolly-haired. The ribs are clearly developed. These species vary in form from spherical to slightly columnar and in color from a brownish to blue-green body. They have warty ribs and spiny areoles, and they usually produce tubular yellow flowers which grow from woolly crowns on the apex in summer. They are bell- to funnel-shaped and open during the day. The short, circular pericarp is glabrous. The flower tube is short and broad. The small, smooth fruits contain large, shiny black seeds.^[2]

Taxonomy

Pilocopiapoa F.Ritter has been brought into synonymy with this genus. Some authorities also include here the genus Blossfeldia.

Species

Species of the genus Copiapoa according to Plants of the World Online As of January 2023^[update]^[3] separated according to sections.^[4]^[5]

Subgenus	Scientific name	Distribution
Pilocopiapoa (F.Ritter) Doweld—Ritter	Copiapoa solaris (F.Ritter) F.Ritter	Chile (Antofagasta to NW. Atacama)
Pilocopiapoa (F.Ritter) Doweld—Ritter	Copiapoa australis (Hoxey) Helmut Walter & Larridon	Chile (Atacama)
Unplaced	Copiapoa laui Diers	Chile (Antofagasta to NW. Atacama)
Mammillopoa Helmut Walter & Larridon	Copiapoa humilis (Phil.) Hutchison	Chile (Antofagasta).
Copiapoa sect. Cinerei	Copiapoa ahremephiana N.P.Taylor & G.J.Charles	Chile (W. & SW. Antofagasta).
	Copiapoa gigantea Backeb.	Chile (Antofagasta to N. Atacama)
	Copiapoa cinerea (Phil.) Britton & Rose	Chile (Antofagasta to Atacama)
Copiapoa sect. Copiapoa	Copiapoa angustiflora Helmut Walter, G.J.Charles & Mächler	Chile (SW. Antofagasta)
	Copiapoa aphanes Mächler & Helmut Walter	Chile (SW. Antofagasta)
	Copiapoa atacamensis Middled.	Chile (Antofagasta to NW. Atacama)
	Copiapoa calderana F.Ritter	Chile (Antofagasta to Atacama)
	Copiapoa cinerascens (Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose	Chile (SW. Antofagasta to NW. Atacama).
	Copiapoa decorticans N.P.Taylor & G.J.Charles	Chile (Antofagasta to Atacama)
	Copiapoa desertorum F.Ritter	Chile (Antofagasta to NW. Atacama)
	Copiapoa esmeraldana F.Ritter	Chile (SW. Antofagasta to NW. Atacama)
	Copiapoa grandiflora F.Ritter	Chile (SW. Antofagasta to NW. Atacama).
	Copiapoa hypogaea F.Ritter	Chile (SW. Antofagasta to NW. Atacama).
	Copiapoa leonensis I.Schaub & Keim	Chile (Atacama).
	Copiapoa longispina F.Ritter	Chile (Atacama)
	Copiapoa longistaminea F.Ritter	Chile.
	Copiapoa marginata (Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose	Chile (SW. Atacama to NW. Coquimbo)
	Copiapoa megarhiza Britton & Rose	Chile (Atacama).
	Copiapoa mollicula F.Ritter	Chile (Atacama to NW. Coquimbo).
	Copiapoa montana F.Ritter	Chile (SW. Antofagasta)
	Copiapoa rupestris F.Ritter	Chile (Antofagasta).
	Copiapoa serpentisulcata F.Ritter	Chile (SW. Antofaga to NW. Atacama).
	Copiapoa taltalensis (Werderm.) Looser	Chile (SW. Antofagasta).
Echinopoa Doweld	Copiapoa coquimbana (Karw. ex Rümpler) Britton & Rose	Chile (SW. Antofagasta to Coquimbo)
	Copiapoa corralensis I.Schaub & Keim	Chile (Atacama)
	Copiapoa echinoides (Lem. ex Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose	Chile (Atacama to NW. Coquimbo).
	Copiapoa fiedleriana (K.Schum.) Backeb.	Chile (SW. Antofagasta to NW. Coquimbo)
	Copiapoa fusca I.Schaub & Keim	Chile (Atacama).
	Copiapoa malletiana (Cels ex Salm-Dyck) Backeb.	Chile (Atacama)
	Copiapoa pendulina F.Ritter	Chile (Coquimbo)
	Copiapoa schulziana I.Schaub & Keim	Chile (Atacama).

References

^ Larridon, Isabel; Walter, Helmut E.; Guerrero, Pablo C.; Duarte, Milén; Cisternas, Mauricio A.; Hernández, Carol Peña; Bauters, Kenneth; Asselman, Pieter; Goetghebeur, Paul; Samain, Marie-Stéphanie (2015). "An integrative approach to understanding the evolution and diversity of Copiapoa(Cactaceae), a threatened endemic Chilean genus from the Atacama Desert". American Journal of Botany. 102 (9): 1506–1520. doi:10.3732/ajb.1500168. PMID 26373974.
^ Brickell, Christopher, ed. (2008). The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 302. ISBN 9781405332965.
^ "Copiapoa Britton & Rose - Plants of the World Online". Plants of the World Online. 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
^ Larridon, Isabel; Walter, Helmut E.; Guerrero, Pablo C.; Duarte, Milén; Cisternas, Mauricio A.; Hernández, Carol Peña; Bauters, Kenneth; Asselman, Pieter; Goetghebeur, Paul; Samain, Marie-Stéphanie (2015). "An integrative approach to understanding the evolution and diversity ofCopiapoa(Cactaceae), a threatened endemic Chilean genus from the Atacama Desert". American Journal of Botany. 102 (9). Wiley: 1506–1520. doi:10.3732/ajb.1500168. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 26373974.
^ Kattermann, F (2018). "Molecular Study of the Genus Copiapoa (Cactaceae) Part I". Cactus and Succulent Journal. 90 (94): 284–294. doi:10.2985/015.090.0408 (inactive 31 January 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)