Echinopsis candicans

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Echinopsis candicans
Echinopsis candicans in bloom.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Echinopsis
Species:
E. candicans
Binomial name
Echinopsis candicans

Echinopsis candicans is a species of cactus from northern and western Argentina (Monte Desert). It has large fragrant white flowers that open at night. [1]

Contents

Description

Echinopsis candicans has a shrubby growth habit, with individual stems up to 60 cm (24 in) tall. The plant as a whole can be as much as 3 m (10 ft) across. The stems are light green, with a diameter of up to 14 cm (5.5 in) and have 9–11 low ribs. The large white areoles are spaced at 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) and produce brownish yellow spines, the central spines being up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long, the radial spines only up to 4 cm (1.6 in). [1]

The fragrant white flowers open at night. They are large, up to 19 cm (7.5 in) across and 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in) long. [1]

Taxonomy

The species was first described in print by Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck in 1834 in his work Hortus Dyckensis, where he attributed the name Cereus candicans to Gillies. [2] In 1920, Britton and Rose placed the species in Trichocereus . [1] In a 1987 publication, David Hunt transferred the species to the genus Echinopsis, attributing this placement to Frédéric Weber. [3] The broad circumscription of Echinopsis remains controversial; the genus is accepted not to be monophyletic. [4]

Related Research Articles

Night-blooming cereus Common name for several species of cactus

Night-blooming cereus is the common name referring to a large number of flowering ceroid cacti that bloom at night. The flowers are short lived, and some of these species, such as Selenicereus grandiflorus, bloom only once a year, for a single night. Other names for one or more cacti with this habit are princess of the night, Honolulu queen, Christ in the manger, dama de noche and queen of the night.

<i>Echinopsis</i> Genus of cacti

Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti. The name derives from echinos hedgehog or sea urchin, and opsis appearance, a reference to these plants' dense coverings of spines.

<i>Echinocereus</i> Genus of plants

Echinocereus is a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized, cylindrical cacti, comprising about 70 species native to the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny, rocky places. Usually the flowers are large and the fruit edible.

<i>Echinopsis peruviana</i> Species of plant

Echinopsis peruviana, the Peruvian torch cactus, is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the western slope of the Andes in Peru, between about 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft) above sea level.

Moonlight cactus Genus of cacti

Selenicereus, or moonlight cactus, is an epiphytic, lithophytic, and terrestrial cactus genus found in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The term night-blooming cereus is sometimes used, but this is also used for many night-blooming cacti, including Epiphyllum and Peniocereus. In 2017, the genus Hylocereus was brought into synonymy with Selenicereus.

Lava cactus Species of cactus

The lava cactus is a species of cactus, Brachycereus nesioticus, the sole species of the genus Brachycereus. The plant is a colonizer of lava fields – hence its common name – where it forms spiny clumps up to 60 cm (24 in) tall. Its solitary white or yellowish white flowers open in the daytime. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands.

<i>Echinopsis lageniformis</i> Species of plant

Echinopsis lageniformis, the Bolivian torch cactus, is a fast-growing columnar cactus from the high deserts of Bolivia. Among the indigenous populations of Bolivia, it is sometimes called achuma or wachuma, although these names are also applied to related species such as Echinopsis pachanoi which are also used for their psychedelic effects.

<i>Echinopsis spachiana</i> Species of cactus

Echinopsis 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.

<i>Echinocereus reichenbachii</i> Species of cactus

Echinocereus reichenbachii is a perennial plant and shrub in the cactus family. The species is native to the Chihuahuan Desert and parts of northern Mexico and the southern United States, where they grow at elevations up to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft). This cactus earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<i>Echinopsis macrogona</i> Species of cactus

Echinopsis macrogona, syn. Trichocereus macrogonus, is a species of cactus found in Bolivia.

<i>Agave salmiana</i>

Agave salmiana is a species of the family Asparagaceae, native to central and southern Mexico. It is also reportedly naturalized in South Africa, Italy and Spain, specially in the Canary Islands.

<i>Echinopsis pachanoi</i> A mescaline-containing cactus

Echinopsis pachanoi — known as San Pedro cactus — is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains at 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft) in altitude. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, and it is cultivated in other parts of the world. Uses for it include traditional medicine and traditional veterinary medicine, and it is widely grown as an ornamental cactus. It has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3,000 years. It is sometimes confused with its close relative Echinopsis peruviana.

<i>Selenicereus grandiflorus</i> Species of nocturnal cactus native to Central America and the Caribbean

Selenicereus grandiflorus is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as queen of the night, night-blooming cereus, large-flowered cactus, sweet-scented cactus or vanilla cactus. The true species is extremely rare in cultivation. Most of the plants under this name belong to other species or hybrids. It is often confused with the genus Epiphyllum.

<i>Mammillaria spinosissima</i> Species of cactus from Mexico

Mammillaria spinosissima, also known as the spiny pincushion cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, endemic to the central Mexican states of Guerrero and Morelos, where they grow at elevations of approximately 1,600 to 1,900 metres. The species was described in 1838 by James Forbes, gardener of the Duke of Bedford. Botanist David Hunt collected a specimen in 1971, when he located one near Sierra de Tepoztlan, Mexico.

<i>Echinopsis chiloensis</i> Species of plant

Echinopsis chiloensis is a species of cactus native to South America; genus members are known as hedgehog cacti, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus.

<i>Echinopsis mamillosa</i> Species of cactus

Echinopsis mamillosa is a species of cactus from Bolivia.

<i>Echinopsis terscheckii</i> Species of plant

Echinopsis terscheckii, commonly known as the cardon grande cactus or Argentine saguaro, is a large cactus native to South America and popular in cultivation.

<i>Echinopsis eyriesii</i> Species of cactus

Echinopsis eyriesii is a species of cacti of the genus Echinopsis.

<i>Echinopsis bridgesii</i> Species of cactus

Echinopsis bridgesii, is a species of Echinopsis found in Bolivia.

<i>Kimnachia</i> Genus of cacti

Kimnachia is a monotypic genus of cacti. Its only species is Kimnachia ramulosa, synonym Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa, which is native from southern Mexico to northern South America and also found in Jamaica.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Edward F. (2001), The Cactus Family, Pentland, Oregon: Timber Press, ISBN   978-0-88192-498-5 , pp. 260–261
  2. Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck, Joseph zu (1834), Hortus Dyckensis, Düsseldorf, OCLC   311220759 , p. 335.
  3. IPNI Plant Name Query Results for Echinopsis candicans, The International Plant Names Index , retrieved 2012-04-27
  4. Nyffeler, R. & Eggli, U. (2010), "A farewell to dated ideas and concepts: molecular phylogenetics and a revised suprageneric classification of the family Cactaceae", Schumannia, 6: 109–149, doi:10.5167/uzh-43285