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Taxonomy

Physical Description

Family Cactaceae:

Fleshy perennials, shrubs, trees or vines, terrestrial or epiphytic. Stems jointed, terete, globose, flattened, or fluted, mostly leafless and variously spiny. Leaves alternate, flat or subulate to terete, vestigial, or entirely absent; spines, glochids (easily detached, small, bristlelike spines), and flowers always arising from cushionlike, axillary areoles (modified short shoots) . Flowers solitary, sessile, rarely clustered and stalked (in Pereskia), bisexual, rarely unisexual, actinomorphic or occasionally zygomorphic. Receptacle tube (hypanthium or perianth tube) absent or short to elongate, naked or invested with leaflike bracts, scales, areoles, and hairs, bristles, or spines; perianth segments usually numerous, in a sepaloid to petaloid series. Stamens numerous, variously inserted in throat and tube; anthers 2-loculed, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary (pericarpel) inferior, rarely superior, 1-loculed, with 3 to many parietal (rarely basal) placentas; ovules usually numerous; style 1; stigmas 2 to numerous, papillate, rarely 2-fid. Fruit juicy or dry, naked, scaly, hairy, bristly, or spiny, indehiscent or dehiscent, when juicy then pulp derived from often deliquescent funicles (except in Pereskia) . Seeds usually numerous, often arillate or strophiolate; embryo curved or rarely straight; endosperm present or absent; cotyledons reduced or vestigial, rarely leaflike.

About 110 genera and more than 1000 species: temperate and tropical America; Rhipsalis baccifera (J. S. Mueller) Stearn native in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Comoros, Mascarenes, and Sri Lanka; some species of other genera now extensively naturalized in the Old World through human agency; more than 60 genera and 600 species cultivated as ornamentals or hedges in China, of which four genera and seven species more or less naturalized.^[1]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Haageocereus:

There are approximately 186 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: H. acranthus deflexispinus · H. acranthus zonatus · H. decumbens tenuis · H. pacalaensis repens · H. pseudomelanostele chryseus · H. acanthocladus · H. achaetus · H. acranthus (Haageocereus) · H. acranthus acranthus · H. acranthus f. clavispinus · H. acranthus f. repandus · H. acranthus f. rubriflorior · H. acranthus subsp. backebergii · H. acranthus subsp. deflexispinus · H. acranthus subsp. olowinskianus · H. acranthus subsp. zonatus · H. acranthus var. fortalezensis · H. acranthus var. metachrous · H. acranthus var. olowinskianus · H. akersii · H. albisetatus · H. albispinus (Haageocereus) · H. albispinus var. roseospinus · H. albus · H. ambiguus · H. ambiguus var. reductus · H. aureispinus · H. aureispinus var. fuscispinus · H. aureispinus var. rigidispinus · H. auricolor · H. australis (Quisco De La Costa De Arica) · H. australis f. nanus · H. australis nanus · H. australis subtilispinus · H. cephalomacrostibas · H. chalaensis (Haageocereus) · H. chilensis · H. chosicensis · H. chosicensis f. rubrospinus · H. chosicensis var. albispinus · H. chosicensis var. rubrospinus · H. chrysacanthus · H. chryseus (Haageocereus) · H. churinensis · H. clavatus · H. clavispinus · H. climaxanthus · H. comosus · H. convergens · H. crassiareolatus · H. crassiareolatus Rauh & Backeb. var. smaragdisepalus Rauh & Backeb. · H. crassiareolatus var. smaragdisepalus · H. cuzcoensis · H. cuzcoensis var. tenuarboreus · H. decumbens (Haageocereus) · H. decumbens f. spinosior · H. decumbens subsp. tenuis · H. decumbens var. brevispinus · H. decumbens var. spinosior (Haageocereus) · H. deflexispinus · H. dichromus · H. dichromus Rauh & Backeb. var. pallidior Rauh & Backeb. · H. dichromus var. pallidior · H. divaricatispinus · H. elegans · H. fascicularis (Quisco De La Precordillera De Arica) · H. fasciculatus · H. faustianus · H. fulvus · H. fulvus var. yautanensis · H. hamatacanthus · H. horrens · H. horrens var. sphaerocarpus · H. humifusus · H. icensis (Haageocereus) · H. icosagonoides (Haageocereus) · H. icosagonoides f. heteracanthus · H. icosagonoides heteracanthus · H. johnsonii · H. lachayensis · H. lanugispinus (Haageocereus) · H. lanugispinus 'Densiaculeatus' (Haageocereus) · H. laredensis · H. laredensis var. longispinus · H. limensis · H. limensis var. brevispinus · H. limensis var. deflexispinus · H. limensis var. zonatus · H. litoralis · H. longiareolatus · H. longicomus · H. mamillatus · H. mamillatus var. brevior · H. matucanensis · H. melanostele · H. multangularis · H. multangularis f. cristatus · H. multangularis var. aureus · H. multicolorispinus · H. ocona-camanensis

Bibliography

• .Li Zhenyu. 1999. Cactaceae. In: Ku Tsuechih, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 52(1): 272-285.

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Notes

Identifiers:

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16027297
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:981609-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 3280314

Footnotes:

1. Zhen-yu Li & Nigel P. Taylor "Cactaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 209. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.