A genus of small, ornamental cacti native to South America, characterized by having naked or smooth flower buds without spines.
From Greek gymnos (naked) + kalyx (calyx or cup). The genus name literally means 'naked calyx,' describing the distinctive smooth flower buds.
This cactus proves that 'naked' is everywhere in taxonomy—even centuries of plant classification used the Greek concept to describe anything from flowers to buds to entire plant structures!
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