Parodia
Parodia magnifica, Huntington Desert Garden
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Tribe:	Notocacteae
Genus:	Parodia Speg.
Type species
Parodia microsperma

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 1 m (3 ft) 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 10 °C (50 °F).^[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.^[4] The type species is Echinocactus microspermus. Anatomical and morphological work by David Richard Hunt et. al.^[5] and Reto Nyffeler^[6] 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.

• Subgenus Brasilicactus:
  The shoots are flat spherical to rarely short columnar. The shoot apex is often crooked. The remarkably soft shoot tissue contains no mucus. The protuberances are separated from each other and arranged in oblique rows or fused into ridges. The round areoles are close together. Central spines are not formed or are occasionally hooked. There are numerous radial spines. They are narrow, funnel-shaped, styles and stigmas are colored the same. The fruits have a thin pericarp and open at their base.

Species

Species of the genus Parodia according to Plants of the World Online As of January 2023^[update] separated into sections according to Reto Nyffeler:^[7]

Subgenus	Section	Image	Scientific name	Distribution
Parodia	Parodia		Parodia aureicentra Backeb.	Argentina (Salta)
			Parodia ayopayana Cárdenas	Bolivia.
			Parodia chrysacanthion (K.Schum.) Backeb.	Argentina (Jujuy)
			Parodia columnaris Cárdenas	Bolivia.
			Parodia comarapana Cárdenas	Bolivia.
			Parodia diersiana Jucker	Bolivia.
			Parodia commutans F.Ritter	Bolivia
			Parodia formosa F.Ritter	Bolivia
			Parodia gibbulosoides F.H.Brandt	Bolivia.
			Parodia hausteiniana Rausch	Bolivia
			Parodia hegeri Diers, Krahn & Beckert	Bolivia
			Parodia horrida F.H.Brandt	Argentina (Salta)
			Parodia larapuntensis Diers & Jucker	Bolivia (Chuquisaca)
			Parodia maassii (Heese) A.Berger	Bolivia to Argentina (Jujuy)
			Parodia mairanana Cárdenas	Bolivia (Santa Cruz).
			Parodia microsperma (F.A.C.Weber) Speg.	Bolivia to NW. Argentina
			Parodia nivosa Backeb.	Argentina (Salta)
			Parodia ocampoi Cárdenas	Bolivia
			Parodia otaviana Cárdenas	Bolivia.
			Parodia prestoensis F.H.Brandt	Bolivia.
			Parodia procera F.Ritter	Bolivia
			Parodia ritteri Buining	Bolivia.
			Parodia schwebsiana (Werderm.) Backeb.	Bolivia
			Parodia stuemeri (Werderm.) Backeb.	Argentina (Jujuy, Salta)
			Parodia subterranea F.Ritter	Bolivia
			Parodia taratensis Cárdenas	Bolivia
			Parodia tuberculata Cárdenas	Bolivia.
	Notocactus		Parodia allosiphon (Marchesi) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
			Parodia buiningii (Buxb.) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
			Parodia calvescens (N.Gerloff & A.D.Nilson) Anceschi & Magli	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina (Corrientes)
			Parodia claviceps (F.Ritter) F.H.Brandt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina (Misiones).
			Parodia carambeiensis (Buining & Brederoo) Hofacker	Brazil (Paraná)
			Parodia concinna (Monv.) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
			Parodia crassigibba (F.Ritter) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia curvispina (F.Ritter) D.R.Hunt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia erinaceus (Haw.) N.P.Taylor	Central Colombia, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to NE. & S. Central Argentina
			Parodia × erubescens (Osten) D.R.Hunt (P. mammulosa x P. concinna)	Uruguay
			Parodia fusca (F.Ritter) Hofacker & P.J.Braun	S. Brazil.
			Parodia gaucha M.Machado & Larocca	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
			Parodia herteri (Werderm.) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay.
			Parodia horstii (F.Ritter) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
			Parodia ibicuiensis (Prestlé) Anceschi & Magli	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul ).
			Parodia langsdorfii (Lehm.) D.R.Hunt	S. Brazil.
			Parodia linkii (Lehm.) R.Kiesling	S. Brazil to NE. Argentina
			Parodia mammulosa (Lem.) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina
			Parodia mueller-melchersii (Frič ex Backeb.) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
			Parodia muricata (Link & Otto ex Pfeiff.) Hofacker	S. Brazil.
			Parodia neoarechavaletae (Havlíček) D.R.Hunt	Uruguay.
			Parodia neobuenekeri (F.Ritter) Anceschi & Magli	Brazil.
			Parodia neohorstii N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia nothorauschii D.R.Hunt	Uruguay
			Parodia ottonis (Lehm.) N.P.Taylor	S. Brazil to NE. Argentina.
			Parodia oxycostata (Buining & Brederoo) Hofacker	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
			Parodia roseolutea (Vliet) Hofacker, A.S.Oliveira & R.Pontes	Uruguay.
			Parodia scopa (Spreng.) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
			Parodia stockingeri (Prestlé) Hofacker & P.J.Braun	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
			Parodia tenuicylindrica (F.Ritter) D.R.Hunt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia werdermanniana (Herter) N.P.Taylor	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Uruguay
Eriocactus (Buxb.) F.H.Brandt			Parodia leninghausii (F.Haage) F.H.Brandt ex Eggli & Hofacker	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia magnifica (F.Ritter) F.H.Brandt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia nigrispina (K.Schum.) F.H.Brandt	Paraguay
			Parodia schumanniana (Nicolai) F.H.Brandt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to Argentina (Misiones)
			Parodia warasii (F.Ritter) F.H.Brandt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
Brasilicactus (Buxb.) F.H.Brandt			Parodia alacriportana Backeb. & Voll	Brazil
			Parodia haselbergii (Haage ex Rümpler) F.H.Brandt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
			Parodia rechensis (Buining) F.H.Brandt	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)

Synonyms