Pilosocereus excelsus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pilosocereus excelsus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Genus: | Pilosocereus |
| Species: | P. excelsus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pilosocereus excelsus Hoxey & Gdaniec[1] | |
Pilosocereus excelsus is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, endemic to the east of the Dominican Republic.[1] It was first described in 2021,[2] when it was separated from Pilosocereus polygonus.[3]
Plants of Pilosocereus excelsus have a tree-like habit, reaching at least 10 m (33 ft) in height when mature, with a woody trunk up to 2 m (7 ft). Fewer than 10 principal branches emerge from the primary stem. With age, these become woody; large specimens develop more than 100 secondary branches. The blue-green stems are 8–12 cm (3–5 in) across and have about 8 ribs. The areoles are about 5 mm (0.2 in) across and about 12 mm (0.5 in) apart. Areoles on young branches have tufts of white hairs 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long that are lost with age. Non-flowering areoles have 15–20 spines, each about 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long, occasionally up to 20 mm (0.8 in) long. Flowering areoles have shorter spines, usually less than 10 mm (0.4 in) long.[3]
The flowers appear at night and have a smell described as "musty". Excluding the style, they are about 65 mm (2.6 in) long and about 45 mm (1.8 in) across. The white style is 65 mm (2.6 in) long. The outer perianth segments are rounded and fleshy, about 10 mm (0.4 in) long and wide. There are about 16 white inner perianth segments that are about 15 mm (0.6 in) long and 8 mm (0.3 in) wide. The fruit is spherical, about 40 mm (1.6 in) across, with red pulp and shiny black seeds.[3]