Matucana
Genus of cacti
title: "Matucana" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["matucana", "cacti-of-south-america", "endemic-flora-of-peru", "cereeae-genera"] description: "Genus of cacti" topic_path: "general/matucana" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matucana" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of cacti ::
::callout[type=note] the genus ::
|image = Matucana_paucicostata_02.jpg |image_caption = Matucana paucicostata |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Matucana |authority = Britton & Rose |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = See text |type_species = Matucana haynii |synonyms=
- Anhaloniopsis
- Eomatucana
- Submatucana
- Oroya |synonyms_ref =
Matucana is a genus of cacti (family Cactaceae), containing approximately 20 species of mostly globular plants. The genus is known only from Peru, mostly along the Marañón River.
Some species are endangered due to collection for the specialist market.
Description
Plants within this genus may be identified by the distinctive structure of their fruits, which are marked by vertical splits that release their seeds upon maturity. The overall body shape, spination, offset production, and preferred habitat exhibit considerable variability, mirroring the diverse nature of the flowers within the genus. Species of Matucana have low, globose or shortly cylindrical bodies, either solitary or clustering. The flowers are subapical, usually more or less zygomorphic, diurnal, of various colours, but usually red, yellow or pink. However, a few species, notably M. oreodoxa, have actinomorphic flowers and were placed in a separate genus - Eomatucana - by F. Ritter. They are reported to flower at a young age.
Taxonomy
The first species was discovered near the town of Matucana and described as Echinocactus haynii by Christoph Friedrich Otto in 1849. The genus Matucana was erected by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose in 1922 to differentiate it from the diverse Echinocactus genus.
Species
, the following species were accepted:
::data[format=table]
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:Matucana fruticosa 01.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana aurantiaca (Vaupel) Buxb. |
| [[File:Matucana aureiflora (4508580768).jpg | 120px]] | Matucana aureiflora F.Ritter |
| [[File:Oroya borchersii, flores 1.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana borchersii (Boed.) G.J.Charles |
| Matucana charlesiorum Hoxey | Peru | |
| Matucana chrysacantha Hoxey & G.J.Charles | Peru | |
| [[File:Matucana formosa.JPG | 120px]] | Matucana formosa F.Ritter |
| Matucana gigantea G.J.Charles | Peru | |
| [[File:Matucana haynei (8956638749).jpg | 120px]] | Matucana haynii (Otto ex Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose |
| Matucana hoxeyi (G.J.Charles) G.J.Charles | Peru. | |
| [[File:Matucana huagalensis 2019-06-09 01.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana huagalensis (Donald & A.B.Lau) Bregmann, Meerst., Melis & Pullen |
| [[File:Matucana intertexta 2.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana intertexta F.Ritter |
| Matucana klopfensteinii Cieza & Pino | Peru (Cajamarca). | |
| [[File:Matucana krahnii (5011339998).jpg | 120px]] | Matucana krahnii (Donald) Bregmann |
| [[File:Matucana madisoniorum 31.JPG | 120px]] | Matucana madisoniorum (Hutchison) G.D.Rowley |
| [[File:Matucana oreodoxa 2.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana oreodoxa (F.Ritter) Slaba |
| Matucana ostolazae (Pino & L.E.Alomía) Pino & L.E.Alomía | Peru (Junín) | |
| [[File:Matucana paucicostata 02.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana paucicostata F.Ritter |
| [[File:Oroya (4877090482).jpg | 120px]] | Matucana peruviana (K.Schum.) G.J.Charles |
| Matucana pughii G.J.Charles | Peru. | |
| [[File:Matucana pujupatii 1.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana pujupatii (Donald & A.B.Lau) Bregmann |
| Matucana rebutiiflora G.J.Charles | Peru. | |
| [[File:Matucana ritteri (cropped).jpg | 120px]] | Matucana ritteri Buining |
| Matucana roseiflora (G.J.Charles) G.J.Charles & Hoxey | Peru. | |
| [[File:Matucana tuberculata 2.jpg | 120px]] | Matucana tuberculata (Donald) Bregman, Meerst., Melis & A.B.Pullen |
| [[File:Matucana weberbaueri.JPG | 120px]] | Matucana weberbaueri (Vaupel) Backeb. |
| :: |
Cultivation
All members of the genus cannot tolerate too much moisture so that it is recommended that they be watered only during their growing season and when the substrate is dry. They risk losing their roots if they are not kept warm through the winter. Members of Matucana grow quickly and may be grown from seed.
References
- Bregman, Rob: The Genus Matucana. Biology and systematics of fascinating Peruvian cacti. A.A.Balkema 1996.
- Ritter, Friedrich: Kakteen in Südamerika, Band 4, s. 1486–87. Friedrich Ritter Selbstverlag 1981.
References
- "BioLib - Matucana".
- Divulgazione, Divisione. (15 January 2013). "Matucana".
- Anderson, Miles. (2008). "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Growing Cacti & Succulents". Lorenz Books.
- (August 2014). "Plant of the Month: ''Matucana madisoniorum''".
- Charles, Graham. (2013-08-31). "Matucana rebutiiflora, a new cactus species from Ancash, Peru". Bradleya.
- "''Matucana'' Britton & Rose".
- Korotkova, Nadja. (2021-08-31). "Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org – a dynamic online species-level taxonomic backbone for the family". Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Freie Universitaet Berlin.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::