Genus boundaries and former names
POWO accepts Maihueniopsis as a separate genus ranging from Bolivia to southern South America. Its members have also appeared in the literature under Opuntia, Tephrocactus and Puna. Changes among these names involve different species and require checking the identity of the material studied. [2-WWW]
Maihueniopsis hickenii was called M. darwinii var. hickenii in the 2014 experiment. M. clavarioides appears in Stuppy's paper as Puna clavarioides. In turn, Tephrocactus bonnieae, formerly discussed in Puna and Maihueniopsis, now has a separate profile in Tephrocactus. [2-WWW] [Masini et al. 2014] [Stuppy 2001]
Cushions as microenvironments
In M. camachoi, vegetation within cushions was compared with vegetation on neighbouring open surfaces. The cushions moderated daily extremes of soil temperature, and some associated species occurred with them beyond the elevation range observed in exposed terrain. The effect depended on the partner and site position. [Díaz et al. 2024]
In M. hickenii, a seed experiment showed a low proportion of germinated seeds despite some of the remaining seeds retaining viability. In M. domeykoensis, bacteria were cultured from inside seeds and their genomes sequenced. These are findings from three different biological systems, developed in the species profiles. [Masini et al. 2014] [Oses Pedraza et al. 2023] [Bartholomäus et al. 2024]
Seeds, microorganisms and molecular records
The seed covering of opuntioids includes tissue derived from the ovule's funiculus. Its structure may be useful in systematics. Stuppy compared the hairy, fibrous covering of M. clavarioides with the different, air-filled covering of T. bonnieae. Retaining a genus name therefore does not imply identical structure in all coverings studied. [Stuppy 2001]
In the public transcriptome of M. conoidea, a viral sequence from a group related to Bevemovirus was found. The paper concerns genome organisation and viral relationships. Diagnosing a disease and its symptoms requires separate plant observations, which transcriptomic analysis does not replace. [Baek et al. 2025]