''Disocactus phyllanthoides'', the nopalxochitl or German empress, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the cactus

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

. It is commonly grown as an ornamental

houseplant A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

. It is one of the three major species involved in creating the widely grown

epiphyllum hybrid Epiphyllum hybrids, epiphyllums, epicacti, or just epis, also known as orchid cacti, which are widely grown for their flowers, are artificial hybrids of species within the group of cacti placed in the tribe Hylocereeae. In spite of the common nam ...

s or "epis". The others are ''

Disocactus speciosus ''Disocactus speciosus'', the sun cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae. It is native to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, and has been introduced to the Canary Islands. As its synonym ''Heliocereus speciosus'' it has gain ...

'' and '' Disocactus crenatus''.

Description

Stems to 1 m long or more, branching, primary stems to 40 cm long, 6 mm thick, woody and terete at base, flattened at apex; secondary stems flat, lanceolate, acute, margins coarsely crenated or scalloped, obtusely toothed, with terete, stalk-like base, 15–30 cm long, 2,5–5 cm wide; areoles nude except for young growth; epidermis green or reddish, nearly smooth. Flowers campanulate, funnel-shaped, diurnal and scentless, 8–10 cm long, 7–9 cm wide, produced on year-old branches; pericarpel ovate with a few spreading bracteoles; entire receptacle 2.5–5 cm long, 7–10 mm thick;

bracteoles In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

more numerous than on the pericarpel, reflexed, green to blackish purple, naked in their

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s; outer

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s lanceolate, opening irregularly before flowering, then spreading widely, rose-pink; inner tepals lanceolate-obtuse, more or less erect, pink, paler inside; stamens declinate, as long as the tepals, white; style as long as tepals, white, stigma lobes 5–7. Fruit ellipsoid, 3–4 cm with low ribs, green at first, later red. Seeds dark brown.

Taxonomy

A distinct species related to ''

Disocactus ackermannii ''Disocactus ackermannii'' is an epiphytic cactus from tropical forests in the states of Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico. In cultivation, it has been confused with ''Disocactus'' × ''jenkinsonii'', a hybrid between '' D. phyllanthoides'' and '' D. ...

'', ''D. phyllanthoides'' has previously been placed in ''Nopalxochia'', but the generic status for that taxon does not have much support. This species, like others of the former ''Nopalxochia'', shows affinity to ''

Weberocereus ''Weberocereus'' is genus of cacti. It produces a green and white flower and is found mainly in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Description The species of the genus ''Weberocereus'' grows climbing or hanging, epiphytic or lithophytic. Their shoots, whi ...

'' making the systematics of this group even more complex.

Etymology

''Phyllanthoides'' (lat.) = similar to

phyllanthus ''Phyllanthus'' is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book.'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University P ...

. This species was among the first flat-stemmed species to be described, and the name recalls that it is similar to the first described flat-stemmed cactus ''Cactus phyllanthus'' today - ''

Epiphyllum phyllanthus ''Epiphyllum phyllanthus'', commonly known as the climbing cactus, is a species of epiphytic cacti. It has no leaves, instead having stems that photosynthesise. It is thought to be pollinated by hawkmoths, as the flowers only open at night and pr ...

''. Some authors state that this plant first flowered in the garden of

Château de Malmaison The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileri ...

, belonging to the late Empress

Joséphine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Count ...

. This could explain popular names such as German Empress, Deutsche Kaiserin, Giant Empress, Drottningkaktus (Swedish for Queen's Cactus). This story could be a myth.

Distribution and habitat

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Mexico and known from

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

in the states of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

and

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It is an epiphyte that sometimes grows on rocks.

Cultivation

''Disocactus phyllanthoides'' is very easily cultivated. The soil should contain plenty of leaf-mould and the plant be given regular water and doses of fertilizer in summer. Best kept relatively cool and dry in winter, . Plants held under proper conditions can produce flowers at least three times a year, but the main flowering period is spring. Under its synonym ''Nopalxochia phyllanthoides'' this plant has won the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

History

This plant has probably been in cultivation since prehistoric times, by the

Indigenous peoples of South America The Indigenous peoples of South America or South American Indigenous peoples, are the pre-Colombian peoples of South America and their descendants. These peoples contrast with South Americans of European ancestry and those of African descent. ...

and

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

. It was called ''Nopalxochitl'' by the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

s, which explains the former generic name ''Nopalxochia''. As with many of the early described cacti the history is somewhat unclear. Sims and Edwards state that it was discovered by the celebrated travellers Humboldt and Bonpland in April 1801, near the small village of

Turbaco Turbaco is a municipality in the Bolívar Department of Colombia. It is about 20 minutes from Cartagena de Indias and is one of Bolívar's most organized municipalities. Turbaco is known for its famous "Fiesta de Toros" (Bulls's feast) in De ...

, near

Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

. It was reported by Bonpland to have first flowered at

and at the Botanical Garden of Montpellier, France. However, this species was illustrated much earlier. Both

Hernández Hernández is a widespread Spanish surname that became common around the 15th century. Originally a patronymic, it means son of Hernán, Hernando or Fernando—the Spanish version of Germanic Ferdinand. Fernández is a very common variant of the n ...

(1651) and Plukenet (1691) illustrated the species.

Cultivars and hybrids

Some cultivar names are in use, but there is no evidence that these differ from the original species - 'Deutsche Kaiserin', 'Empress', 'German Empress'. However, 'Giant Empress' represents a somewhat larger clone with more uniform pink flowers. ''Disocactus phyllanthoides'' is frequently used in

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

s. Together with ''

'' and '' Epiphyllum crenatum'' it forms the great trio behind the huge group of orchid cacti known today. Other species have been used, but not to the same extent as these three.

Notes

References

*Anderson, E. F. 2001. ''The cactus family''. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, USA. {{Taxonbar, from=Q138294 phyllanthoides Cacti of Mexico House plants Garden plants of North America Plants described in 1813 Endemic flora of Mexico Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle