(Photograph = Copiapoa solaris)
Introduction
There are about two dozen Copiapoa species–all from northern Chile and many from the Atacama Desert where rainfall may be be less than an inch per year. Some of the species glean water from coastal fogs that reach far inland and survive with the limited precipitation. The genus is named after the Chilean city of Copiapó.
The Details
Copiapoa plants are spherical or short-columnar. They generally have black, nail-like spines and a thick waxy cuticle on their stems. The plants can be single small spheres or impressive clumps with 100 or more stems. They have yellow flowers and wool at the tips of the stems. Perhaps the wool helps the plants collect moisture from fog, or perhaps the wool protects the tender growing tips.
Originally, many Copiapoa species were placed in the genus Echinocactus. Britton and Rose understood that the genus was different from Echinocactus (Anderson, 2001) and erected a new genus, Copiapoa.
Additional Reading: Evolution and Diversity of Copiapoa
