The taxon identified by Van Vliet (1970), as Notocactus orthacanthus (Link & Otto) Van Vliet (basionym Echinocactus orthacanthus Link & Otto), is in our opinion an infra-populational form of Parodia mammulosa (Lemaire) N. P. Taylor. Since the publication of E. orthacanthus was in 1827, i.e. earlier than Echinocactus mammulosus Lemaire (1838), one of the most famous and dominant species of the genus Parodia Spegazzini, should change its name. This idea had already been advanced by Hofacker at the time of the publication of Parodia othacantha (Link & Otto) Hofacker (2003, 54 (9): 225). Hunt (2005, 20: 22-23) has however pointed out that in the absence of preserved material as holotype in the original protologue of E. orthacanthus, the accompanying illustration must serve as lectotype; and after having designated it (ibid.: 23), he emphasizes the precedence over the neo-typification made by Van Vliet. Now, the drawing in question (1827, 3: 427, tab. 18, indicated as "Melocactus orthacanthus"), shows a very difficult plant to identify, and since the origin is "Montevideo", it could therefore represent a Notocactus (K. Schumann) Fric, the attribution of Van Vliet appears speculative. In accordance with Hunt, we believe that E. orthacanthus should be considered an ill-typified name, and should be rejected. (Quoted from: Anceschi & Magli 2013b, 75)

Our understanding of the relationships within the complex of taxa next to Parodia mammulosa is published in “The position of Parodia turecekiana in the Parodia mammulosa complex” on The Cactus Explorer 13: 60-73 (2014).

Downlodable here: The Cactus Explorer 13 (2,5 MB)

Parodia mammulosa (Lamaire) N. P. Taylor represents one of the 62 accepted species in our synopsis of the genus Parodia Spegazzini s.l. (Cactaceae), published in Bradleya 36/2018, pages 70-161. For an update and more informations in our understanding of the taxon (see on pages 114-117, 154), the full text of the article is available here: A synopsis of the genus Parodia Spegazzini s.l. (Cactaceae). (PDF 4.5MB).

October 2018

Parodia mammulosa (Lamaire) N. P. Taylor is one of the five dominant species of the genus Parodia Spegazzini. We treated Darwin’s concept of dominant species within Parodia s.l. in our article “Dominant species in Parodia Spegazzini s.l. Cactaceae” published in CactusWorld Vol. 38(4) Special Issue: 3-26 (December 2020). The full text is available here.

January 2021

In our article “The position of Parodia turecekiana in the Parodia mammulosa complex” (Anceschi & Magli 2014, 13: 60–73), we conceive the complex of the dominant Parodia mammulosa (Lemaire) N. P. Taylor as consisting of two internal vicariants (i.e. submammulosa and turecekiana populations) and two close relatives, the future external vicariants in our synopsis of the genus Parodia Spegazzini s.l. (Anceschi & Magli 2018, 36: 70-161), (i.e. Parodia mueller-melchersii (Fric ex Backeb.) N. P. Taylor and Parodia maldonadensis (Herter) Hofacker. A third external vicariant (i.e. Parodia curvispina(F. Ritter) D. R. Hunt, has been added to the already mentioned synopsis of the genus, published in Bradleya (ibidem: 93). In the article, we presented for the first time within our system, the idea of the dominant species in the Darwinian evolutionary sense (Darwin, 1859), divided (when present) into its internal vicariants (geographical races, subspecies, demes or populations of a species), and related to its external vicariants (here still defined close relatives of the taxon), starting from the concept of vicariance expressed in Hennig's definition of species, that is “The species would therefore be defined as a complex of spatially distributed reproductive communities, or if we call this relationship in space ‘vicariance’ as a complex of vicarying communities of reproduction.” (1966: 47). Substantially, defining one or more taxa as internal vicariants is recognizing that at least potentially (Mayr 1942: 120) all these components might cross each other as part of the same biological unit. Being part of the same biological unit, the internal vicariants are not taxonomically distinct from the dominant, and are reported only through the use of the informal term "populations" (i.e. turecekiana populations for example). For close relatives of the taxon (the external vicariants), we mean: the taxa probably belonging to the same ancestral line with which, despite the morphological and territorial proximity, a potential genetic flow is not evident, or it is not assumed. In what way, apart from the alleged potential of crossing (or not), it would possible to distinguish between all the populations in question, an internal vicariant of a species from a close relative (or external vicariant) of the same species. In this and other cases highlighted in our penultimate booklet (Anceschi & Magli 2013a, 31-32), if molecular tests are missing or insufficient, to investigate such low levels of genetic relationships, comparative holomorphy between semaphoronts (Hennig 1966: 66-67) can be used as an accessory science to recognize genetic relationships that are to be presented in the taxonomic system. In the case of P. mammulosa, we are led to assess the populations submammulosa and turecekiana as internal vicariants of the system because the semaphoronts which are identifiers of the two groups are actually found even among populations of the type species. In the case of P. mueller-melchersii and P. maldonadensis, however, increased genetic autonomy is inferred by the fact that some semaphoronts which are identifiers of the taxa are not found in P. mammulosa (i.e. the winkleri and veeniana forms of P. mueller-melchersii, and the woolly crown of P. maldonadensis).

See the article for more information. Below is a summary of the implications for the genus Parodia.

Notocactus mammulosus ssp. turecekianus

(Quoted from Anceschi & Magli 2021, 77-78)