| Brasiliopuntia | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Opuntioideae |
| Tribe: | Opuntieae |
| Genus: | Brasiliopuntia (K.Schum.) A.Berger |
| Species: | B. brasiliensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis (Willd.) A.Berger | |
| Synonyms | |
Cactus brasiliensisWilld. | |
Brasiliopuntia is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae. [2] It contains only one species, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis.
Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis shows thin, upright, tree-like, slightly shrunken cladodes on a central cylindrical trunk reaches a height of 20 meters (or more); the tallest member of the Opuntia subfamily. The intermediate segments are cylindrical and 20 to 100 centimeters long. The leaves are bright green. The light to dark green end segments are rhomboid to ovoid, of unequal shape, narrow at the base and produce leaf-like shoots or flax sprouts. The fleshy, light green leaves are small and soon fall off. The areoles have white hairs and later develop glochids.Its white areoles bear one or two small brown upright spines. The 1 to 3 spines, which may also be missing, are thin, reddish and up to 15 millimeters long. Its light brown flowers appear only on adult plants. The yellow flowers appear near the tip or terminally on the thin-fleshed segments or from the pericarpel of old flowers, open during the day and are up to 6 centimeters long. There are hair-like staminodes between the perianth and the stamens. [3]
The spherical to pear-shaped to elongated, fleshy fruits are yellow, orange-red, red or purple, have a diameter of 3 to 4 centimeters and bear striking tufts of dark brown glochids. They contain 1 to 5, very large (6.5 to 10 millimeters), thick, disc-like, laterally compressed, woolly seeds. [4]
It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, Peru and northern Argentina, and has become naturalized in Florida among other places. [5]
Karl Moritz Schumann described the genus in 1898 as a subgenus of Opuntia. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose already considered the possibility of an independent genre in 1919. Alwin Berger finally elevated the species to the status of an independent genus in 1926. Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis was placed in the genus Opuntia when the very broad genus Cactus was dismembered. The distinctive features of the species were recognized by Karl Schumann in 1898 when he created a subgenus Brasiliopuntia within the genus Opuntia. In 1926 Alwin Berger completed the separation from Opuntia by raising Brasiliopuntia to a full genus. The first description as Cactus brasiliensis was in 1814 by Carl Ludwig Willdenow. A number of species have been described in the past, but are now considered only to be variants of B. brasiliensis. [5]
Synonyms:
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, and the Latin word cereus, meaning candle. The genus is native to the mostly tropical Americas from Texas and the southern tip of Florida to the northern part of South America, including islands of the Caribbean.
Neoraimondia is a genus of medium to large cacti from Peru. The genus is named after the Italian-born Peruvian explorer, naturalist, and scientist, Antonio Raimondi.
Weberocereus is genus of cacti. It produces a green and white flower and is found mainly in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
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. Molecular phylogenetic data suggest that it consists of three species, including two formerly comprising the genus Pseudoacanthocereus. With this circumscription, the species have different growth habits, but share similarities in their flowers, which are white and open at night.
Escontria is a genus of cactus. The only species is Escontria chiotilla, the chiotilla or jiotilla.
Grusonia is a genus of opuntioid cacti, originating from the North American Deserts in Southwest United States and northern Mexico, including Baja California. Authors differ on precise boundaries of the genus, which has been included in Cylindropuntia. Corynopuntia, also known as club chollas, is now a synonym, with the genus originally being described by Knuth in 1935. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that it should be included in Grusonia, a view accepted by Plants of the World Online as of June 2021.
Pereskiopsis is a genus of cactus in the subfamily Opuntioideae. Unlike typical cacti, it has persistent fleshy leaves. The genus name refers to its resemblance to the genus Pereskia. Most species are found in Mexico south through Guatemala to Honduras, with one species in Bolivia. The incorrect spelling Peireskiopsis has also been used.
Quiabentia is a genus of cacti, closely related to Pereskiopsis.
Soehrensia spachiana, commonly known as the golden torch, (white) torch cactus or golden column, is a species of cactus native to South America. Previously known as Trichocereus spachianus for many years, it is commonly cultivated as a pot or rockery plant worldwide. It has a columnar habit, with a lime-green cylindrical body with 1–2 cm long golden spines.
Opuntioideae is a subfamily of the cactus family, Cactaceae. It contains 15 genera divided into five tribes. The subfamily encompasses roughly 220–250 species, and is geographically distributed throughout the New World from Canada, to Argentina. Members of this subfamily have diverse habits, including small geophytes, hemispherical cushions, shrubs, trees, and columnar cacti consisting of indeterminate branches or determinate terete or spherical segments.
Aporocactus martianus is a species of cactus found in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Arthrocereus melanurus is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and rocky areas. It is threatened largely by habitat loss.
Opuntia monacantha, commonly known as drooping prickly pear, cochineal prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae native to South America.
Strophocactus brasiliensis, synonym 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 deserts. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Lophocereus marginatus is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is sometimes called Mexican fencepost cactus.
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa.
Opuntia pailana is a species of the genus Opuntia in the family Cactaceae. The name pailana comes from the sierra de la Paila in the state of Coahuila Mexico where it was discovered.
Stenocactus multicostatus, the brain cactus, is a member of the cactus family native to the deserts of Mexico, and is popular in the gardening community. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Maihuenia patagonica, commonly known locally as chupasangre or siempre verde, is a succulent cactus shrub native to Chile and Argentina. Maihueniapatagonica is remarkably tolerant to moisture and cold temperatures.
Neoraimondia arequipensis, synonym Neoraimondia macrostibas, is a tree-like cactus native to western Peru. It was first described in 1835 as Cereus arequipensis.
