''Strophocactus brasiliensis'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Pseudoacanthocereus brasiliensis'', is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and hot

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

s. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Description

''Strophocactus brasiliensis'' grows as a shrub, initially upright and later sprawling. It branches freely. The thin stems are up to across and have 2–7 ribs bearing small areoles with many needle-like spines. The white funnel-shaped flowers are long and across. They open at night. The fruits are yellow when ripe.

Taxonomy

''Strophocactus brasiliensis'' was first described, as ''Acanthocereus brasiliensis'', by Britton and Rose in 1920. It was transferred to the genus ''Pseudoacanthocereus'' as ''Pseudoacanthocereus brasiliensis'' by

Friedrich Ritter Friedrich Ritter (9 May 1898 – 9 April 1989) was a German botanist who collected and described many species of cacti. '' Ritterocereus'' is named in his honour. References 1898 births 1989 deaths {{botanist-stub ...

in 1979, a placement still accepted by some sources . A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the Hylocereeae by Korotkova et al. published in 2017 showed that ''Pseudoacanthocereus brasiliensis'' formed a clade with ''

Strophocactus wittii ''Strophocactus wittii'', synonym ''Selenicereus wittii'', known as the Amazon moonflower, is a species of plant in the genus '' Strophocactus'' in the cactus family (Cactaceae), and is one of several species commonly called "moonflowers". It wa ...

'' and ''Pseudoacanthocereus sicariguensis'' (the only other species placed in ''Pseudoacanthocereus''): Accordingly, both species of ''Pseudoacanthocereus'' were transferred to ''

Strophocactus ''Strophocactus'' is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. Its status and circumscription remain somewhat uncertain, with the genus containing one to three species (not always the same ones). Molecular phylogenetic data suggest that it co ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Strophocactus brasiliensis'' is native to Northeast and Southeast Brazil. It is found in the eastern caatinga ecoregion, an area of thorn scrub and seasonally dry forests.

References

Echinocereeae Cacti of South America Endemic flora of Brazil Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1920 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Cactus-stub