Aylostera

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Aylostera pseudodeminuta.JPG | image_caption = ''Aylostera deminuta'' | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Aylostera | authority = [[Carlo Luigi Spegazzini|Speg.]] | type_species =''[[Aylostera deminuta ]]'' | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Powo">{{cite POWO |id=295167-2 |title=''Aylostera'' |access-date=15 December 2024}}</ref> | synonyms = {{Genus list | Digitorebutia | Frič & Kreuz. ex Buining | Mediolobivia | Backeb. }} }}

'''''Aylostera''''' is a genus of [[cactus]], native to central Bolivia and north western Argentina.<ref name="Powo"/> ''Aylostera'' was formerly sunk into a broadly [[Circumscription (taxonomy)|circumscribed]] genus ''[[Rebutia]]'', but [[Molecular phylogenetics|molecular phylogenetic]] studies from 2007 onwards showed that when defined in this way, ''Rebutia'' was not [[Monophyly|monophyletic]], leading to the resurrection of ''Aylostera''. A 2023 classification of the tribe [[Cereeae]] placed it as the only genus in the subtribe '''Aylosterinae'''. It was formerly placed in the subtribe [[Rebutiinae]].

==Description== ''Aylostera'' species are small cacti with globular stems. The stems may or may not have ribs; this feature can vary even within a species. Their flowers are of various colours. A key feature that distinguishes ''Aylostera'' from ''Rebutia'' is that the [[Hypanthium|pericarpels]] and [[Receptacle (botany)|receptacles]] (which together form a structure that is often referred to as the 'flower tube') are hairy, rather than [[Glabrousness#In botany|glabrous]].<ref name=Ritz16/>

==Taxonomy== The genus ''Aylostera'' was erected by [[Carlo Luigi Spegazzini]] in 1923.<ref name="Powo"/> A historical summary of the treatment of ''Aylostera'' and related genera published in 2011 showed how in succession it was recognized, sunk into ''Rebutia'', and then resurrected to include a large part of ''Rebutia''.<ref name=MostBandPapi11>{{Citation |last=Mosti |first=Stefano |last2=Bandara |first2=Nadeesha Lewke |last3=Papini |first3=Alessio |year=2011 |title=Further insights and new combinations in ''Aylostera'' (Cactaceae) based on molecular and morphological data |journal=Pakistan Journal of Botany |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=2769–2785 |url=http://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/abstracts/43(6)/21.html |access-date=2013-03-19 |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> A phylogenetic study in 2016 using both molecular and morphological characters confirmed that ''Aylostera'' was monophyletic and distantly related to the clade that contains the type species of ''Rebutia'', thus justifying recognizing it as a separate genus.<ref name=Ritz16>{{cite journal |last1=Ritz |first1=C.M. |last2=Fickenscher |first2=K. |last3=Föller |first3=J. |last4=Herrmann |first4=K. |last5=Mecklenburg |first5=R. |last6=Wahl |first6=R. |title=Molecular phylogenetic relationships of the Andean genus ''Aylostera'' Speg. (Cactaceae, Trichocereeae), a new classification and a morphological identification key |journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution |date=2016 |volume=302 |issue=7 |pages=763–780 |doi=10.1007/s00606-016-1296-4 |bibcode=2016PSyEv.302..763R |s2cid=16873446 }}</ref> The separate status of ''Aylostera'' is accepted by [[Plants of the World Online]], {{As of|lc=yes|2024|December}}.<ref name="Powo"/>

In a 2023 classification of the tribe [[Cereeae]], it was placed as the only genus in the subtribe Uebelmanniinae, having formerly been placed in the subtribe [[Rebutiinae]].<ref name=RomeTaylZappTelh23>{{Cite journal |last1=Romeiro-Brito |first1=Monique |last2=Taylor |first2=Nigel P. |last3=Zappi |first3=Daniela C. |last4=Telhe |first4=Milena C. |last5=Franco |first5=Fernando F. |last6=Moraes |first6=Evandro M. |date=2023 |title=Unravelling phylogenetic relationships of the tribe Cereeae using target enrichment sequencing |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=132 |issue=5 |pages=989–1006 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcad153 |name-list-style=amp |pmc=10808018 }}</ref>

===Species=== The number of species accepted in ''Aylostera'' varies considerably. The 2016 study of the genus accepted only nine species, including a very broadly circumscribed ''[[Aylostera deminuta]]''.<ref name=Ritz16/> {{As of|2024|December}}, Plants of the World Online accepted 26 species:<ref name="Powo"/> {| class="wikitable " |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution |- |[[File:Rebutia albiflora1MW.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera albiflora]]'' {{small| (F.Ritter & Buining) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Rebutia albopectinata1b.MW.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera albopectinata]]'' {{small|(Rausch) Mosti & Papini}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Rebutia atrovirens ritteri.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera atrovirens]]'' {{small| (Backeb.) Mosti & Papini}} || Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Aylostera pseudodeminuta crop.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera deminuta]]'' {{small| (F.A.C.Weber) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia einsteinii 1.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera einsteinii]]'' {{small| (Frič) Mosti & Papini}} ||Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia fiebrigii 1.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera fiebrigii ]]'' {{small|(Gürke) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia flavistylus 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera flavistyla]]'' {{small|(F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini}}||Bolivia |- |[[File:Aylostera fusca1.png|120px]]||''[[Aylostera fusca]]'' {{small|(F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini}}||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Rebutia heliosa pm.JPG|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera heliosa]]'' {{small|(Rausch) Mosti & Papini}}||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Aylostera hoffmannii.png|120px]]||''[[Aylostera hoffmannii]]'' {{small|(Diers & Rausch) Mosti & Papini}}||Bolivia to Argentina (Salta) |- |[[File:Rebutia kupperiana 2.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera kupperiana]]'' {{small|(Boed.) Backeb.}}||Bolivia (Tarija) |- |[[File:Aylostera leucanthema.png|120px]]||''[[Aylostera leucanthema]]'' {{small|(Rausch) Mosti & Papini}}||Bolivia (Chuquisaca) |- | || ''[[Aylostera malochii]]'' {{small| (Slaba & Lad.Fisch.) Ritz}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Aylostera mamillosa.png|120px]]|| ''[[Aylostera mamillosa]]'' {{small|(Rausch) Mosti & Papini}} || Bolivia |- | ||''[[Aylostera mandingaensis]]'' {{small|R.Wahl & Jucker}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Rebutia muscula.JPG|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera muscula]]'' {{small|(F.Ritter & P.Thiele) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia (Tarija) |- |[[File:Rebutia narvaecensis pm 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera narvaecense]]'' {{small|Cárdenas}} ||Bolivia (Tarija) |- |[[File:Rebutia nigricans.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera nigricans]]'' {{small|(Wessner) Mosti & Papini}} ||Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia perplexa (8416437001).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera perplexa]]'' {{small|(Donald) Mosti & Papini}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Rebutia spegazziniana 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera pseudominuscula]]'' {{small|(Speg.) Speg.}} ||Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia pulvinosa 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera pulvinosa]]'' {{small|(F.Ritter & Buining) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia (Tarija) |- |[[File:Rebutia pygmaea1d.MW.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera pygmaea]]'' {{small|(R.E.Fr.) Mosti & Papini}} ||Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia spinosissima 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera spinosissima]]'' {{small|(Backeb.) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Rebutia steinmannii eucaliptana.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera steinmannii]]'' {{small|(Solms) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia to Argentina |- |[[File:Rebutia tarvitaensis 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Aylostera tarvitaensis]]'' {{small|(F.Ritter) Mosti & Papini}} ||Bolivia. |- |[[File:Aylostera_tuberosa.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Aylostera tuberosa]]'' {{small|(F.Ritter) Backeb.}} ||Bolivia. |- |}

==Distribution and habitat== ''Aylostera'' species are native to [[Bolivia]] and north-western [[Argentina]].<ref name="Powo"/> They are found on the [[cordillera]]s to the east of the [[Andes]], from [[17th parallel south|17° south]] to [[26th parallel south|26° south]], in montane dry forests, shrublands and [[Puna grassland#Dry puna (Central Andean dry puna)|dry puna grasslands]].<ref name=Ritz16/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Cereeae]] [[Category:Endemic flora of Bolivia]] [[Category:Flora of Northwest Argentina]] [[Category:Taxa described in 1923]] [[Category:Cereeae genera]]