Yungasocereus inquisivensis

Taxobox
name = "Yungasocereus inquisivensis"
regnum = Plantae
subregnum = Tracheobionta
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Caryophyllales
familia = Cactaceae
subfamilia = Cactoideae
tribus = Trichocereeae
genus = "Yungasocereus"
genus_authority = F.Ritter
species = "Y. inquisivensis"
synonyms = "Samaipaticereus inquisivensis" Cárdenas "Yungasocereus microcarpus" F.Ritter ex Krainz
binomial = "Yungasocereus inquisivensis"
binomial_authority = (Card) F.Ritter

"Yungasocereus inquisivensis" is a species of cactus native to Bolivia, the sole member of its genus.

It is a columnar cactus, appearing either as a tree or shrub, ranging up to 4-5 meters in height. The 6-7 cm diameter stems are dark green, with 6-10 ribs. The 1.5-3 cm spines are in groups of 4-12, with no differentiation into central and radial types, and range from a brownish to grayish color. The flowers are white, appearing in groups of 5-8 near the stem tips.

This cactus is known only from Yungas and Inquisivi provinces of La Paz Department, where it is found at elevations of around 2000m.

Cárdenas described the species in 1957 from Inquisivi, placing it in "Samaipaticereus". Ritter later found the same species in Yungas, and in 1980 gave it its own genus "Yungasocereus". After a period in "Haageocereus", this was again separated into "Yungasocereus".

References

* Edward F. Anderson, "The Cactus Family" (Timber Press, 2001), p. 681