''Selenicereus spinulosus'' is a
cactus
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 ...
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 ...
native to eastern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and, possibly, the lower
Rio Grande Valley
The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Common names include vine-like moonlight cactus
and spiny moon cereus. Its specific name, ''spinulosus'', means "with small spines" in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
History
This was the third species of ''Selenicereus'' to be discovered. It was originally collected by Thomas Coulter in 1827, in Mexico, but no locality is known. Pyramus de Candolle received the plant in Paris and described it without knowing its flowers. He later sent cuttings to Berlin where it flowered the first time in 1842.
Range and habitat
This species is found in eastern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
from
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
to
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
.
Other sources claim that this species can be found in the states of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.
Plants were collected from the lower
Rio Grande Valley
The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, but this population may have been
extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
as it has not been seen outside of cultivation in some time.
The specimen is commonly found growing on top of sun-exposed limestone outcrops as well as climbing on other plants in the sierra madre oriental hillsides and submontane
matorral
300px, Springtime in Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway
Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomillares'', for shrubland, thicket or bushes. It is used in naming and describin ...
(scrub).
Systematics
''Selenicereus spinulosus'' is a very variable species, especially in flower size, which vary from 7–15 cm long. It is most closely related to ''
Selenicereus atropilosus
''Selenicereus'', sometimes known as moonlight cactus, is a genus of epiphytic, lithophytic, and terrestrial cacti, found in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The term night-blooming cereus is also sometimes use ...
'' and ''
Selenicereus vagans''.
Description
Stems scandent, clambering or sprawling, branching, producing aerial roots, stiff, to 1-2(-5) m long, 2–3 cm thick; ribs 4-6 or more, later
terete
Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is us ...
, acute; areoles 1,5–2 mm on Ø, reddish brown at first, later greyish brown, internodes 1,5-2,5 cm; spines 6-8, 1 mm long,
acicular, white or yellowish, later blackish, radial spines 5-6 central spines 1-2, basally 0,25 mm in Ø above the swollen bases, apically attenuate-conical, circular in cross section, the bulbous bases 0,5 mm in Ø, hairlike spines none; epidermis light green, somewhat shining. Flowers produced from
areole
In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cacti out of which grow clusters of spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cacti, and identify them as a family distinct from other succulent plants. Gordon Rowley - W ...
s near tip, 8–14 cm long, 7-8,5 cm in Ø, nocturnal but stays open for 2 2–3 days (John Ellis, UK),
tepals
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 ...
rotate; pericarpel covered with spines, but no hairs, bracteoles small, triangular, reddish; receptacle ca 5 cm long, green, with clusters of 7-12 spines, 4–5 mm long, brownish, but no hairs; outer tepals 5,5–6 cm, narrowly oblong, acute, brownish; inner
tepals
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 ...
7,5 cm, 11 mm wide, narrowly oblong, acute, white, sometimes with pink base or pinkish throughout; stamens white, much shorter than inner tepals; style yellow, stigma lobes 9-11. Fruit globular, yellow, covered densely with yellowish spines.
Cultivation
Plants ca 1 m long are capable of flowering. Give half-shade or full sun, and grow in a compost containing plenty of peat. During the growing period this plant needs ample water and regular doses of fertilizer. Fast growing and free flowering. Can be kept at 5 °C (41 °F) during winter, if kept dry. It is the easiest species to bring to flower in cultivation.
Hybrids
*'Pimiento' (Raised by Sherman E. Beahm in 1955) (''S. spinulosus'' × ''
Disocactus
''Disocactus'' is a genus of epiphytic cacti in the tribe Hylocereeae found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It should not be confused with ''Discocactus'', which is a different genus.
Species of ''Disocactus'' gro ...
'' 'Tulip') Wide open flower of Capsicum red darkening towards the edges. Medium.
*'Sacred Ox' (Dr. Robert Poindexter 1943) (''S. spinulosus'' × 'Scarlet Giant') Tepals white with pink and yellow outer tepals.
*'Twinkle' (Dr. Robert Poindexter) (''S. spinulosus'' × 'Scarlet Giant') Open wide bloom of salmon orange. Very similar to 'Gloria'.
*'Tululosa' (Beamh 1947) (''S. spinulosus'' × ''Disocactus'' 'Tulip'). Straw-orange edged in lavender. Nocturnal.
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q144910
spinulosus
Cacti of Mexico
Cacti of the United States
Flora of Chiapas
Flora of Hidalgo (state)
Flora of Oaxaca
Flora of San Luis Potosí
Flora of Tamaulipas
Flora of the Rio Grande valleys
Flora of Veracruz
Night-blooming plants
Plants described in 1909