Acanthocereus

Acanthocereus is a genus of cacti. Its species take the form of shrubs with arching or climbing stems up to several meters in height. The generic name is derived from the Greek word άκανθα (acantha), meaning spine,[2] and the Latin word cereus, meaning candle.[3]

Acanthocereus
A. tetragonus flower (right), A. subinermis flower and fruit (left)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Core eudicots
Order:
Caryophyllales
Family:
Cactaceae
Subfamily:
Cactoideae
Tribe:
Pachycereeae
Genus:
Acanthocereus

Type species
Acanthocereus baxaniensis
Species

Acanthocereus baxaniensis
Acanthocereus colombianus
Acanthocereus horridus
Acanthocereus occidentalis
Acanthocereus subinermis
Acanthocereus tetragonus

The six species occur in the tropical Americas from the southern tip of Florida to Colombia, including islands of the Caribbean.

Description

The plants form bushes which later usually overhanging or spreading and are rarely tree-shaped. Stems have 3 to 5 ribs, typically thin, with stout spines. The large, white, funnel-shaped flowers are night-opening, 12–25 cm (4.7–9.8 in) long and 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) in diameter and open at night. The little scaly pericarpel and the long, stiff, upright flower tube are covered with a few thorns that soon decay and little wool.

The fruits are spherical to ovoid or pear-shaped red or green, bare or thorny, tear-open or non-tear-open and contain broadly oval, shiny black seeds of up to 4.8 millimeter


Distribution
Barbed-wire Cactus stem

Acanthocereus tetragonus, commonly known as Barbed-wire Cactus, Chaco, Nun-tsusuy, or Órgano, is the most widespread of the genus and the largest, reaching 2–7 m (6.6–23.0 ft) tall.

Systematics

The name was first used by George Engelmann in 1863, although he did not describe its characters, leaving it to Alwin Berger in 1905 to define it as a subsection of Cereus. In 1909, Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose elevated Acanthocereus to a genus.[4]

Barbed-wire Cactus habit

Synonyms

The genera

Species
ImageScientific nameDistribution
Acanthocereus baxaniensis (Karwinsky ex Pfeiff.) BorgCuba
Acanthocereus colombianus Britton & RoseColombia
Acanthocereus horridus Britton & Rosesoutheastern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador
Acanthocereus occidentalis Britton & Rosesouthern Sonora to Guerrero, Mexico
Acanthocereus subinermis Britton & RoseOaxaca, Mexico
Acanthocereus tetragonus (L.) Hummelinck – Barbed-wire CactusLower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, northern South America[4]

References
  1. "Acanthocereus (Engelm. ex A. Berger) Britton & Rose". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-12-04. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  2. Eggli, U.; Newton, L.E. (2004). Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 1. ISBN 978-3-540-00489-9. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  3. Couplan, François; James Duke (1998). Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-87983-821-8.
  4. Anderson, Edward F. (2001). The Cactus Family. Timber Press. pp. 106–108. ISBN 978-0-88192-498-5.
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