Parodia Explained

Parodia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cactaceae, native to the eastern slopes of the Andes in northwestern Argentina and southwestern Bolivia and in the lowland pampas regions of northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and Uruguay.^[1] This genus has about 65 species, many of which have been transferred from Eriocactus, Notocactus and Wigginsia. They range from small globose plants to 10NaN0 tall columnar cacti. All are deeply ribbed and spiny, with single flowers at or near the crown. Some species produce offsets at the base. They are popular in cultivation, but must be grown indoors where temperatures fall below 10C.^[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The first description was published in 1923 by the Italian-Argentinian botanist Carlos Luis Spegazzini.^[3] The genus is named after Domingo Parodi, one of the early investigators of the flora of Paraguay. The type species is Echinocactus microspermus. Anatomical and morphological work by David Richard Hunt et. al.^[4] and Reto Nyffeler^[5] led to the incorporation of the genera Brasilicactus, Brasiliparodia, Eriocactus, Notocactus and Wigginsia into the genus Parodia. These studies also suggested the inclusion of the genera Blossfeldia and Frailea.

According to Reto Nyffeler, the genus Parodia can be divided into three subgenera:

Subgenus Parodia:
- Group Parodia: (Parodia s. str.)
  The shoots are flat spherical, globular or columnar and rarely sprout. A tuber is rarely present. The shoot tissue usually contains no mucilage, the epidermis is usually tender. The areoles are always on the protuberances. The central and radial spines differ significantly from each other. The central spine is sometimes hooked. The flowers are funnel-shaped, styles and stigmas are always the same color. The soft fruits later dry up and open at their base.
- Group Notocactus: (Notocactus s.str. + Wigginsia)
  The shoots are flat spherical, globular or columnar and occasionally sprout. A tuber is sometimes present. The shoot tissue usually contains mucus, the epidermis is often hard. The areoles are located in the depressions between the bumps. The central and radial spines differ. The flowers are broadly funnel-shaped to bell-shaped, styles and stigmas are usually differently colored. The fruits, which are often elongated when ripe, open differently.
Subgenus Eriocactus:
The shoots are often long columnar in old age and occasionally sprout. The shoot apex is often crooked. The instinctual tissue contains no mucus. The humps are fused into straight ribs. The areoles are located between the protuberances. They are not sunken or only vaguely sunken and are often heavily woolly. The thorns are more or less bristle-like. The light to dark yellow flowers are broadly bell-shaped, styles and stigmas are the same color. The fruits have a hard pericarp and open at the base.

Species

Species of the genus Parodia according to Plants of the World Online separated into sections according to Reto Nyffeler:^[6]

Subgenus	Section	Scientific name	Distribution
Parodia	Parodia	Parodia aureicentra	Argentina (Salta)
		Parodia ayopayana	Bolivia.
		Parodia chrysacanthion	Argentina (Jujuy)
		Parodia columnaris	Bolivia.
		Parodia comarapana	Bolivia.
		Parodia diersiana	Bolivia.
		Parodia commutans	Bolivia
		Parodia formosa	Bolivia
		Parodia gibbulosoides	Bolivia.
		Parodia hausteiniana	Bolivia
		Parodia hegeri	Bolivia
		Parodia horrida	Argentina (Salta)
		Parodia larapuntensis	Bolivia (Chuquisaca)
		Parodia maassii	Bolivia to Argentina (Jujuy)
		Parodia mairanana	Bolivia (Santa Cruz).
		Parodia microsperma	Bolivia to NW. Argentina
		Parodia nivosa	Argentina (Salta)
		Parodia ocampoi	Bolivia
		Parodia otaviana	Bolivia.
		Parodia prestoensis	Bolivia.
		Parodia procera	Bolivia
		Parodia ritteri	Bolivia.
		Parodia schwebsiana	Bolivia
		Parodia stuemeri	Argentina (Jujuy, Salta)
		Parodia subterranea	Bolivia
		Parodia taratensis	Bolivia
		Parodia tuberculata	Bolivia.
	Notocactus	Parodia allosiphon	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
		Parodia buiningii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
		Parodia calvescens	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina (Corrientes)
		Parodia claviceps	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina (Misiones).
		Parodia carambeiensis	Brazil (Paraná)
		Parodia concinna	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
		Parodia crassigibba	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia curvispina	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia erinaceus	Central Colombia, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to NE. & S. Central Argentina
		Parodia × erubescens (P. mammulosa x P. concinna)	Uruguay
		Parodia fusca	S. Brazil.
		Parodia gaucha	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
		Parodia herteri	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay.
		Parodia horstii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
		Parodia ibicuiensis	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
		Parodia langsdorfii	S. Brazil.
		Parodia linkii	S. Brazil to NE. Argentina
		Parodia mammulosa	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina
		Parodia mueller-melchersii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
		Parodia muricata	S. Brazil.
		Parodia neoarechavaletae	Uruguay.
		Parodia neobuenekeri	Brazil.
		Parodia neohorstii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia nothorauschii	Uruguay
		Parodia ottonis	S. Brazil to NE. Argentina.
		Parodia oxycostata	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
		Parodia roseolutea	Uruguay.
		Parodia scopa	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
		Parodia stockingeri	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
		Parodia tenuicylindrica	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia werdermanniana	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
Eriocactus		Parodia leninghausii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia magnifica	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia nigrispina	Paraguay
		Parodia schumanniana	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina (Misiones)
		Parodia warasii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
Brasilicactus		Parodia alacriportana	Brazil
		Parodia haselbergii	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
		Parodia rechensis	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)

Synonyms

Acanthocephala Backeb.
Brasilicactus Backeb.
Brasiliparodia F.Ritter
Brasilocactus Fric (nom. inval.)
Chrysocactus Y.Itô (nom. inval.)
Dactylanthocactus Y.Itô
Eriocactus Backeb.
Eriocephala Backeb.
Friesia Fric (nom. inval.)

Hickenia Britton & Rose
Jauhisoparodia Blackhat
Malacocarpus Salm-Dyck
Microspermia Fric
Neohickenia Fric
Notocactus (K.Schum.) Fric
Sericocactus Y.Itô
Wigginsia D.M.Porter

References

Bibliography

Book: Anderson, Edward F. . 2001 . The Cactus Family . Pentland, Oregon . Timber Press . 978-0-88192-498-5 .
Book: Innes, Clive. 1995. Cacti . Innes . Clive . Wall . Bill . Cacti, Succulents and Bromeliads . London . Cassell for the Royal Horticultural Society . 978-0-304-32076-9 . amp . 11–70 .

Notes and References

Anceschi . Giovanna . Magli . Alberto . A synopsis of the genusParodiaSpegazzini s.l. (Cactaceae) . Bradleya . British Cactus and Succulent Society . 36 . 36 . 2018 . 0265-086X . 10.25223/brad.n36.2018.a9 . 70–161. 92389189 .
Book: RHS A–Z encyclopedia of garden plants. 2008. Dorling Kindersley. United Kingdom. 978-1405332965. 1136.
Carlos Luis Spegazzini: Breves notas cactológicas. In: Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. Band 96, 1923, S. 70.
D. R. Hunt et al.: Cactaceae. In: S. M. Walters et al. (Hrsg.): The European Garden Flora. Band 3, S. 202–301, Cambridge 1989
Reto Nyffeler: Notocactus versus Parodia – the search for a generic classification of the subtribe Notocactinae. In: Cactus Consensus Initiatives. Nr. 7, S. 6–8, 1999
Web site: Parodia Speg. - Plants of the World Online . Plants of the World Online . 2020-11-18 . 2022-12-26.