Cleistocactus pungens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Cleistocactus
Species:
C. pungens
Binomial name
Cleistocactus pungens
F.Ritter
Synonyms
  • Cleistocactus brevispinus F.Ritter 1981
  • Loxanthocereus brevispinus Rauh & Backeb. 1958

Cleistocactus pungens is a species of columnar cactus in the genus Cleistocactus, endemic to Peru.

Description

Cleistocactus pungens grows as a shrub with spreading shoots and reaches heights of 1 to 1.5 meters with diameters of 3 to 4 centimeters. There are about 13 wavy ribs. The areoles on it, which are initially brown and later gray, are close together. The straight, needle-like, stiff, protruding thorns are initially dark reddish brown and later gray. The usually 2 to 5 central spines are 2 to 5 centimeters long, the 8 to 12 marginal spines are 2 to 12 millimeters long.

The horizontally protruding, purple-colored flowers are slightly curved downwards above the pericarpel. They are up to 7.5 centimeters long and have a diameter of 5 millimeters. The spherical, red fruits reach a diameter of up to 2 centimeters.[1]

Distribution

Cleistocactus pungens is widespread in the Peruvian regions of Ayacucho and Apurímac at altitudes of 1500 to 2000 meters.

Taxonomy

The first description was made in 1964 by Friedrich Ritter.[2] The specific epithet pungens comes from Latin, means 'stinging' and refers to the thorns of the species.

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 123. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
  2. ↑ Ritter, F. (1964). "Diagnosen von neuen Kakteen". Taxon. Wiley. 13 (3): 114–118. doi:10.2307/1216628. ISSN 0040-0262. JSTOR 1216628.
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