Cistanthe is a plant genus which includes most plants known as pussypaws. These are small, succulent flowering plants which often bear brightly colored flowers, though they vary quite a bit between species in appearance. Some species have flowers that are tightly packed into fluffy-looking inflorescences, the trait that gives them their common name.

The genus has a disjunct distribution, with species in California and northeastern Mexico, on the Mexican Pacific Islands, and western and southern South America from Peru to northern and central Chile to northwestern and southern Argentina.

Many are adapted to arid environments, with some able to withstand climates that almost completely lack rainfall. Cistanthe was a genus created to segregate several species previously classified in Calandrinia. Several species from other closely related genera have been moved into Cistanthe as well.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepts the following species:

• Cistanthe aegialitis

• Cistanthe arenaria

• Cistanthe cabrerae

• Cistanthe cachinalensis

• Cistanthe celedoniana

• Cistanthe cephalophora

• Cistanthe chamissoi

• Cistanthe chrysantha

• Cistanthe coquimbensis

• Cistanthe crassifolia

• Cistanthe cymosa

• Cistanthe fenzlii

• Cistanthe floresiorum

• Cistanthe frigida

• Cistanthe grandiflora

• Cistanthe guadalupensis

• Cistanthe humilis

• Cistanthe josetomasallendeana

• Cistanthe lamprosperma

• Cistanthe laxiflora

• Cistanthe lingulata

• Cistanthe litoralis

• Cistanthe longiscapa

• Cistanthe maritima - seaside pussypaws

• Cistanthe mucronulata

• Cistanthe neonominata

• Cistanthe oblongifolia

• Cistanthe paniculata

• Cistanthe philhershkovitziana

• Cistanthe picta

• Cistanthe sitiens

• Cistanthe stricta

• Cistanthe subspeciosa

• Cistanthe subverticillata

• Cistanthe thyrsoidea

• Cistanthe tovarii

• Cistanthe trigona

• Cistanthe vicina

• Cistanthe weberbaueri

Formerly placed here

• Calyptridium parryi - Parry's pussypaws (as Cistanthe parryi)

• Calyptridium pulchellum - Mariposa pussypaws (as Cistanthe pulchella)

• Calyptridium pygmaeum - pygmy pussypaws (as Cistanthe pygmaea)

• Calyptridium quadripetalum - fourpetal pussypaws (as Cistanthe quadripetala)

• Thingia ambigua - desert pussypaws (as Cistanthe ambigua (S.Watson) Carolin ex Hershk.)

References

Further reading

• Hershkovitz, M. A. (1991). Phylogenetic assessment and revised circumscription of Cistanthe Spach (Portulacaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 78(4) 1009-21