Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Wigginsia | image = Wigginsia_sellowii.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Notocacteae | subtribe = Notocactinae | genus = '''Wigginsia''' | authority = D.M.Porter (1964) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Porter (1964), Machado et al. (2007), and Nyffeler & Eggli (2010). }} == Etymology == Named in honour of Dr. Ira Loren Wiggins (1899–1987), American botan..."

2026-04-22T07:54:12Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Wigginsia | image = Wigginsia_sellowii.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Notocacteae | subtribe = Notocactinae | genus = '''Wigginsia''' | authority = D.M.Porter (1964) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Porter (1964), Machado et al. (2007), and Nyffeler & Eggli (2010). }} == Etymology == Named in honour of Dr. Ira Loren Wiggins (1899–1987), American botan..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Wigginsia
| image = Wigginsia_sellowii.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Notocacteae]]
| subtribe = [[Notocactinae]]
| genus = '''Wigginsia'''
| authority = D.M.Porter (1964)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Porter (1964), Machado et al. (2007), and Nyffeler & Eggli (2010).
}}

== Etymology ==
Named in honour of Dr. Ira Loren Wiggins (1899–1987), American botanist specialized in the flora of Baja California.

== Description ==
'''Wigginsia''' is a genus of low-growing, globose cacti characterized by a distinctive pseudocephalium.

* '''Habit''': Usually solitary; sometimes forming small groups.
* '''Stems''': Globose to depressed; low-growing.
* '''Roots''': Fibrous to moderately thickened.
* '''Ribs''': Acute, well-defined, often deeply incised.
* '''Areoles''': Widely spaced; densely woolly near the apex, becoming naked with age.
* '''Spines''': Few; short, sturdy, subulate.
* '''Pseudocephalium''': Formed at the apex from densely woolly flowering areoles.
* '''Flowers''': Diurnal, often remaining open for extended periods; self-fertile.
* '''Flower shape''': Funnel-shaped to nearly rotate.
* '''Flower color''': Pale yellow.
* '''Reproductive traits''': Sensitive stamens; red stigma lobes.
* '''Floral structures''': Pericarpel and tube with woolly scales.
* '''Pollination''': Mainly by bees (multiple families including Andrenidae, Apidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae).
* '''Fruits''': Soft, elongated, somewhat flattened; pink to red; emerging from pseudocephalium; without persistent floral remnants.
* '''Seeds''': Large, bell-shaped, black; finely tuberculate; with a wrinkled brown aril.
* '''Seed dispersal''': Primarily myrmecochory (ants), also hydrochory (rainwater).

== Habitat ==
Typically found in open grassland ecosystems:

* pampa vegetation
* rocky outcrops and hills
* gravelly soils among stones
* among grasses and shrubs
* full sun or partial shade

Altitude range: from ~25 m up to 2600 m (notably in Bolivia).

== Distribution ==
South America:

* Argentina (Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, La Pampa)
* Bolivia (Chuquisaca)
* Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
* Colombia (Cundinamarca)
* Uruguay (widespread)

== Taxonomy ==
A historically complex genus with multiple reclassifications.

Key points:

* Originates from the invalid genus ''Malacocarpus'' (Salm-Dyck, 1849)
* Renamed as ''Wigginsia'' by Porter (1964)
* Frequently included in ''Notocactus'' or merged into ''Parodia'' (Hunt & Taylor, Anderson, Hunt et al.)
* Machado (2006, 2007) demonstrated polyphyly in ''Parodia'' sensu lato
* Supports segregation into several genera including ''Wigginsia''
* Molecular and morphological data support its recognition as a distinct lineage

A notable biogeographical anomaly is ''Wigginsia vorwerkiana'' in Colombia, far disjunct (~3000 km) from the main distribution.

The genus is accepted as valid in Lodé (2015).

== Species ==
According to Joël Lodé (2015):

* [[Wigginsia arechavaletae]]
* [[Wigginsia erinacea]]
* [[Wigginsia horstii]]
* [[Wigginsia langsdorfii]]
* [[Wigginsia sellowii]]
* [[Wigginsia tephracantha]]
* [[Wigginsia turbinata]]
* [[Wigginsia turbinata subsp. calvescens]]
* [[Wigginsia vorwerkiana]]

== Notes ==
* Characterized by the formation of a pseudocephalium, unusual within Notocactinae.
* Strong ecological adaptation to grassland (pampa) environments.
* Seed dispersal heavily reliant on ants.
* Taxonomically controversial due to historical inclusion in ''Parodia''.
* Displays significant geographic disjunction within the genus.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Notocacteae]]
[[Category:Notocactinae]]
[[Category:Wigginsia]]

Wigginsia - Revision history