{{Short description|Species of plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Mila caespitosa.jpg |status = VU |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref =<ref name="IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011 p. ">{{cite journal | title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | journal=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | date=2011-05-07 | url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/151713/121504764 | access-date=2023-09-24 | page=}}</ref> |display_parents = 3 |genus = Mila |parent_authority = [[Nathaniel Lord Britton|Britton]] & [[Joseph Nelson Rose|Rose]]<ref name=POWO_297545-2>{{Cite POWO|title=''Mila'' Britton & Rose|id=297545-2|access-date=2023-10-15|mode=cs1}}</ref> |species = caespitosa |authority = [[Nathaniel Lord Britton|Britton]] & [[Joseph Nelson Rose|Rose]]<ref name=POWO_161345-2/> |subdivision_ranks = Subspecies |subdivision = [[#Subspecies|See text]]. |synonyms = Of the species:<ref name=POWO_161345-2>{{Cite POWO|title=''Mila caespitosa'' Britton & Rose|id=161345-2|access-date=2023-10-15|mode=cs1}}</ref> *''Echinopsis maytana'' <small>Molinari</small> Of ''M. caespitosa'' subsp. ''caespitosa'':<ref name=POWO_77224545-1>{{Cite POWO|title=''Mila caespitosa subsp. caespitosa'' |id=77224545-1|access-date=2023-10-15|mode=cs1}}</ref> {{Species list |Mila breviseta|Rauh & Backeb. |Mila caespitosa subsp. densiseta|(Rauh & Backeb.) Ostolaza |Mila caespitosa subsp. fortalezensis|(Rauh & Backeb.) Ostolaza |Mila caespitosa subsp. nealeana|(Backeb.) Donald |Mila cereoides|Rauh & Backeb. |Mila colorea|F.Ritter |Mila densiseta|Rauh & Backeb. |Mila fortalezensis|Rauh & Backeb. |Mila kubeana|Werderm. & Backeb. |Mila kubei|Backeb. |Mila lurinensis|Rauh & Backeb. |Mila nealeana|Backeb. |Mila sublanata|Rauh & Backeb. }} Of ''M. caespitosa'' subsp. ''pugionifera'':<ref name=POWO_77071403-1>{{Cite POWO|title=''Mila caespitosa subsp. pugionifera'' (Rauh & Backeb.) D.R.Hunt|id=77071403-1|access-date=2023-10-15|mode=cs1}}</ref> {{Species list |Mila albisaetacens|Rauh & Backeb. |Mila pugionifera|Rauh & Backeb. }} }}
'''''Mila caespitosa''''' is a [[species]] of [[cactus|cacti]] ([[Family (taxonomy)|family]] Cactaceae) and the only species of the [[genus]] '''''Mila'''''.<ref name=POWO_297545-2/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vandenbroeck |first=F. J. |date=1982 |title=Mila caespitosa (Br. et R.) [Desert cactus, ecology, taxonomy, Peru] |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Mila+caespitosa+%28Br.+et+R.%29+%5BDesert+cactus%2C+ecology%2C+taxonomy%2C+Peru%5D&author=Vandenbroeck%2C+F.J.&publication_year=1982 |journal=Succulenta |issn=0039-4467}}</ref> Its generic name is an [[anagram]] of [[Lima]], [[Peru]], the city near which the plant is found.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agJaAAAAYAAJ |title=Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication |date=1922 |publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington |volume=III |pages=211–212 |language=en}}</ref> The genus was first thought to comprise 13 species, until recent studies suggest they form one very variable species.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}
==Description== The genus includes cacti that remain small, grow like a cereus, and sometimes sprout. The cacti with cylindrical, prostrate stems, about 30 cm long by 4 cm in diameter, they grow forming colonies. It has numerous low ribs covered with spines. The flowers are diurnal yellow. The fruits are small, globular, naked, green or reddish and juicy. The thorns are strong, stiff to soft and sometimes turn into hair bristles. The short-tubed flowers appear at the top, are funnel-shaped and usually yellow to whitish. The fruits are small, juicy and thornless berries.<ref name="Anderson Eggli 2005 p. 434–435">{{cite book | last=Anderson | first=Edward F. | last2=Eggli | first2=Urs | title=Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon | publisher=Ulmer | publication-place=Stuttgart (Hohenheim) | date=2005 | isbn=3-8001-4573-1 | language=de | pages= 434–435}}</ref> <gallery> File:Mila caespitosa 2.jpg|Flowers File:Mila caespitosa (8410143132).jpg|Plants File:Mila lurinensis 2.jpg|Spine File:Mila caespitosa fruits.jpg|Fruits </gallery>
==Taxonomy== The first description of the genus ''Mila'' with the single species ''Mila caespitosa'' was published in 1922 by [[Nathaniel Lord Britton]] and [[Joseph Nelson Rose]].<ref name="Britton Eaton Rose Wood 1919 p. ">{{cite book | last=Britton | first=Nathaniel Lord | last2=Eaton | first2=Mary E. | last3=Rose | first3=J. N. | last4=Wood | first4=Helen Adelaide | title=The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family | publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington | publication-place=Washington | year=1919 | doi=10.5962/bhl.title.46288 | page=}}</ref> The genus name is an [[anagram]] of Lima, the capital of Peru. The specific epithet ''caespitosa'' comes from Latin, means tufted and refers to the growth habit of the species.
The history of the genus is characterized by a large number of first descriptions of supposedly independent species. The reason for this lies in the great variability of the species. In Walther Haage's work, 11 species and several subspecies are listed. David Hunt has 4 species. In recent literature, the genus is considered monotypic with only one species, ''Mila caespitosa''. This classification is supported by molecular biological studies.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}
===Subspecies=== {{As of|2023|October}}, [[Plants of the World Online]] accepted two subspecies:<ref name=POWO_161345-2/> *''Mila caespitosa'' subsp. ''caespitosa'' *''Mila caespitosa'' subsp. ''pugionifera'' <small>(Rauh & Backeb.) D.R.Hunt</small>
==Distribution== The species ranges across the western Andes in Peru at an altitude of 1000 to 2500 m.
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Mila caespitosa|''Mila caespitosa''}} *{{Wikispecies-inline|Mila caespitosa|''Mila caespitosa''}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q136936|from2=Q8180071}}
[[Category:Cereeae]] [[Category:Cacti of South America]] [[Category:Endemic flora of Peru]] [[Category:Vulnerable flora of South America]]