Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Islaya | image = Islaya_islayensis.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Notocacteae | genus = '''Islaya''' | authority = Backeberg (1934) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). Lodé maintains Islaya as a distinct genus from Eriosyce. }} == Etymology == The genus is named after the province of Islay in the Arequipa region of southern Peru, where the type species was discovered. == Des..."

2026-04-07T15:39:31Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Islaya | image = Islaya_islayensis.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Notocacteae | genus = '''Islaya''' | authority = Backeberg (1934) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). Lodé maintains Islaya as a distinct genus from Eriosyce. }} == Etymology == The genus is named after the province of Islay in the Arequipa region of southern Peru, where the type species was discovered. == Des..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Islaya
| image = Islaya_islayensis.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Notocacteae]]
| genus = '''Islaya'''
| authority = Backeberg (1934)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). Lodé maintains Islaya as a distinct genus from Eriosyce.
}}

== Etymology ==
The genus is named after the province of Islay in the Arequipa region of southern Peru, where the type species was discovered.

== Description ==
'''Islaya''' consists of globose to shortly cylindrical cacti, often covered with dense, sturdy spines.
* '''Stems''': Typically solitary, grey-green to dark green, often with a flattened apex covered in wool.
* '''Flowers''': Diurnal and relatively small, appearing at the apex. They are funnel-shaped and almost always bright yellow. The floral tube is short and woolly.
* '''Fruits''': Very characteristic – they are elongated, balloon-like, hollow, and reddish when ripe. They are indehiscent and designed to be easily detached and blown by the wind (anemochory) or moved by water.
* '''Seeds''': Relatively large, black, and matt with a wrinkled testa.

== Habitat ==
The genus is highly specialized for the hyper-arid coastal deserts. They grow on rocky slopes and sandy hills where rainfall is almost zero; they survive by absorbing moisture from the heavy coastal fogs known as "camanchaca." Altitudinal range: 0–1500 m.

== Distribution ==
* '''Peru''': Southern coastal regions (Arequipa, Ica, Moquegua, Tacna).
* '''Chile''': Extreme northern coast (Arica).

== Species and Subspecies ==
Following Lodé (2015), the genus includes 11 species and 2 subspecies:

* [[Islaya brevicylindrica]]
* [[Islaya copiapoides]]
* [[Islaya divaricatiflora]]
* [[Islaya flavida]]
* [[Islaya hualtacoensis]]
* [[Islaya islayensis]]
** [[Islaya islayensis subsp. grandis]]
* [[Islaya krainziana]]
* [[Islaya maritima]]
* [[Islaya minuscula]]
* [[Islaya omasensis]]
* [[Islaya paucispina]]
** [[Islaya paucispina subsp. fiedleriana]]

== Taxonomy ==
The classification of ''Islaya'' is highly debated. Molecular studies show a close relationship with the Chilean ''Eriosyce'', leading many taxonomists to merge them. However, Joël Lodé maintains ''Islaya'' as a distinct genus based on its unique fruit morphology (the wind-dispersed "balloon" fruit) and its isolated distribution in the Peruvian coastal desert.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Notocacteae]]

Islaya - Revision history