Maihuenia patagonica

[peterb]

Incredible specimen of Maihuenia in habitat! From Facebook, not my photo.

peterb

[CoronaCactus]

I've seen that photo, freakin incredible!
Can't help but wonder how many stems there are?

[Tony]

What's it growin in, pure scoria?

[Juraj]

Incredible specimen. Yes. Maihuenia is cactus and at the same time is not catus.
It need very much watering. It use not metabolism typical for succulents (CAM),
but use exclusively metabolism typical of wetlands area C3 plants such as wheat.
During photosynthesis thus applies only Calvin cycle.

[gemhunter178]

It looks almost like a fluffy mat....not that it is....

[peterb]

I had a brave little Maihuenia that loved it in Santa Fe and actually tried to survive here in Phoenix for a few years, but finally expired. They are relatively easy to grow in a more alpine climate.

peterb

[Juraj]

They are relatively easy to grow in a more alpine climate.

Peter I think you're right.

[majcka]

Incredible specimen. Yes. Maihuenia is cactus and at the same time is not catus.
It need very much watering. It use not metabolism typical for succulents (CAM),
but use exclusively metabolism typical of wetlands area C3 plants such as wheat.
During photosynthesis thus applies only Calvin cycle.

You lost me. Is and isn't cactus? Is that about not useing CAM but otherwise is a cactus?

I beter go to read some more cacti stuf.

[Juraj]

Of course it is a cactus, but "a little" different than others.

Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
Kingdom: Plantae () - Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae () - Cavalier-Smith, 1981
Phylum: Tracheophyta () - Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Vascular Plants
Subphylum: Euphyllophytina ()
Infraphylum: Radiatopses () - Kenrick & Crane, 1997
Class: Magnoliopsida () - Brongniart, 1843 - Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae () - Takhtajan, 1967
Superorder: Caryophyllanae () - Takhtajan, 1967
Order: Caryophyllales () - Perleb, 1826
Suborder: Portulacineae ()
Family: Cactaceae () - Durande, 1782 ex A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons. - cactus
Subfamily: Pereskioideae ()
Genus: Maihuenia () - Philippi ex K.M. Schumann, 1898
Specific epithet: patagonica - (Philippi) Britton & Rose
Botanical name: - Maihuenia patagonica (Philippi) Britton & Rose

[Peterthecactusguy]

not all cacti use CAM
however thanks for the information Juraj.
It's interesting. I wish I could grow those here, but I don't think I get enough rain to keep it happy.

[daiv]

That is a fantastic plant - Thanks for posting!