Neolloydia is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of cacti

Cactus

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...

. The genus is uniquely found in the dry scrub areas of southern Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 ( Big Bend) and the Chihuahua Desert of Northeast Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

Taxonomy

The genus was first erected by Britton

Nathaniel Lord Britton

Nathaniel Lord Britton was an American botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York...

 & Rose

Joseph Nelson Rose

Joseph Nelson Rose was an American botanist. He was born in Union County, Indiana. His father died serving during the Civil War when Joseph Rose was a young boy. He later graduated from high school in Liberty, Indiana....

 in 1922 in order to classify three uncomfortable species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 formerly placed in the genus Mammillaria

Mammillaria

The genus Mammillaria is one of the largest in the cactus family , with currently 171 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillarias are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest USA, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Honduras.The first was described by...

(N. conoidea, N. ceratites, and N. grandiflora). A fourth species was added in 1923 (N. texensis). But it was not until 1948 that a fifth and final species was added by Backeberg (N. matehualensis).

Since then, Neolloydia has been a dumping ground for species from such diverse genera as Mammillaria

Mammillaria

The genus Mammillaria is one of the largest in the cactus family , with currently 171 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillarias are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest USA, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Honduras.The first was described by...

, Coryphantha

Coryphantha

Coryphantha or Beehive cactus is a genus of small to middle-sized, globous to short-columnar cacti. The genus is found from Mexico to southern New Mexico and Texas in the United States...

, Escobaria

Escobaria

Escobaria or foxtail cactus is a genus of low-growing cacti that range from the southernmost parts of central and western Canada through northern Mexico, with one species in Cuba...

, Echinomastus

Echinomastus

Echinomastus is a genus of cacti. They are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico.There are up to 9 species, including:*Echinomastus erectocentrus*Echinomastus intertextus*Echinomastus johnsonii...

, Cumarinia, and Thelocactus

Thelocactus

Thelocactus is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae. Members of the genus are native to the arid lands of Central and Northern Mexico.-Description:...

.

It was not until Glass and Foster

Michael Foster

Michael Foster may refer to:* Michael Foster , British physiologist and Member of Parliament * Michael Jabez Foster , British politician, former MP for Hastings and Rye...

 (1977) showed that there are very few botanical differences between Turbinicarpus

Turbinicarpus

Turbinicarpus is a genus of very small to medium-sized cacti, which inhabit the north-eastern regions of Mexico, in particular the states of San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.-Ecology:...

and Gymnocactus that the definition of the Neolloydia genus began to take shape. Their work was followed up by John and Říha

Jan Ríha

Jan Říha was a Czech football player. He played for Czechoslovakia, for which he played 25 matches and scored 9 goals.He was a participant in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.- References :...

 (1981) and finally by Anderson in 1986. It now seems that Anderson's work on the Neolloydia complex is the generally accepted view.

Synonymy

The following are considered synonyms of Neolloydia:

• Napina Fric
  Alberto Vojtech Fric
  Alberto Vojtěch Frič was a famous Czech botanist, ethnographer, writer and explorer. He undertook 8 voyages to America, discovered, described and catalogued many species of cactus....
  
  (nom. inval.)
• Pseudosolisia Y.Itô (nom. inval.)