Cintia

Cintia knizei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Tribe:	Notocacteae
Genus:	Cintia Kníže & Jan Říha
Species:	C. knizei
Binomial name
Cintia knizei Riha

Cintia knizei is a small alpine cactus native to the high Andes of Bolivia. The plant was discovered by Karel Kníže in 1969 at an elevation of 4,000 m (13,000 ft) near Otavi, in Potosí Department, Bolivia. However, it was not formally described until 1996 by Jan Říha. The genus is named after the town of Cinti in Chuquisaca Department.

A solitary plant, it is green, globose, and around 3-5 cm in diameter. The tuberous carrot-like roots grow up to 10 cm long. The areoles are sunken between the podaria, and are woolly, with no spines. The yellow flowers occur on the stem tip, and are 3-4 cm in diameter.

It has been proposed to place this cactus in the genus Copiapoa.

References

• Edward F. Anderson, The Cactus Family (Timber Press, 2001), pp. 150-151