Maihuenia is a genus of cactus (family Cactaceae) and the sole genus of the subfamily Maihuenioideae, which is the smallest subfamily of the Cactaceae. The genus comprises two cushion-forming, mucilaginous species. They are found at high elevation habitats of Andean Argentina and Chile.

Maihuenia
Maihuenia patagonica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Maihuenioideae
P.Fearn
Genus: Maihuenia
(Phil. ex F.A.C.Weber) K.Schum.
Species

Its name is the Latinized version of maihuén, a local Chilean name for these cacti.[1][2]

Species

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Image Scientific name Distribution
  Maihuenia patagonica Southern Chile
  Maihuenia poeppigii Chile and Argentina

References

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  1. ^ Willy Cullmann; Erich Götz (Dozent Dr.); Gerhard Gröner (1987). The encyclopedia of cacti. Timber Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-88192-100-7. maihuen = Chilean folk name
  2. ^ Paul Fournier (1935). Les cactées et les plantes grasses (in French). Paul Lechevalier. p. cxxx. De maihuen, nom indigène de la plante.