Structure and distribution
Anceschi and Magli described populations studied in 2013 in El Rodeo, Catamarca province, as A&M 866. Plants had pale green, narrow, tongue-shaped segments, upright in young growth. The surface was distinctly tuberculate and flowers carmine red. Spines could be bent towards the segment surface or project outwards. This is a field account of the specified population. [14-WWW]
POWO accepts the species as Airampoa erectoclada and gives northwestern Argentina as its natural range. The names Tunilla erectoclada, Opuntia erectoclada, A. ianthinantha and A. picardoi are linked to the same profile. Retaining historical names allows material whose titles lack the current combination to be found. [2-WWW]
Why picardoi leads to this profile
In 2007, Guiggi adopted the combination Airampoa picardoi for plants originally described as Opuntia picardoi. The article concerned publication validity and typification, rather than a new biological experiment demonstrating species distinctness. The author corrected an earlier attempt to validate Tunilla picardoi after changes in rules on using illustrations as name types. [Guiggi 2007, p. 89–90]
A nomenclatural type links a name to a specific specimen or permitted illustration. Changes in type rules can alter assessment of a name's validity while the plant itself remains the same. Current POWO includes A. picardoi in A. erectoclada. Both names therefore lead to one profile, and the difference between Guiggi's 2007 position and the current treatment is retained in the text. [Guiggi 2007] [2-WWW]
Synonyms and names in the literature
Airampoa ianthinantha · Airampoa picardoi · Opuntia erectoclada · Opuntia ianthinantha · Opuntia multiareolata · Opuntia obliqua · Opuntia picardoi · Platyopuntia ianthinantha · Tephrocactus erectocladus · Tunilla erectoclada · Tunilla ianthinantha · Tunilla picardoi [2-WWW]