Copiapoa

Copiapoa is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, from the dry coastal deserts, particularly the Atacama Desert, of northern Chile. It comprises 32 morphologically defined species and 5 heterotypic subspecies.[1]

These species vary in form from spherical to slightly columnar and in color from a brownish to blue-green body. They have warty ribs and spiny areoles, and they usually produce tubular yellow flowers which grow from woolly crowns in summer.[2]

Pilocopiapoa F.Ritter has been brought into synonymy with this genus. Some authorities also include here the genus Blossfeldia.