Pterocereus
Genus of cacti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pterocereus is a monotypic genus of cactus containing the sole species Pterocereus gaumeri.[2]
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| Pterocereus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Tribe: | Echinocereeae |
| Genus: | Pterocereus T.MacDoug. & Miranda |
| Species: | P. gaumeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterocereus gaumeri (Britton & Rose) T.MacDoug. & Miranda | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description
Pterocereus gaumeri grows tree-shaped with long, slender shoots, has little or no branches and reaches heights of up to 8 meters. It forms a trunk up to 1.5 meters high. The three to four very sharp-edged ribs look wing-like. The areoles on it are far apart from each other. The approximately ten thorns are gray or reddish black and up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long.
The cylindrical to funnel-shaped, greenish white flowers exude a foul-smelling scent. They open at night and are 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long. Its pericarpel and floral tube are covered with fleshy, leaf-like scales that have recurved tips, as well as some wool and a few bristles. The spherical fruits are light red.[3]
Subspecies
There are two recognized subspecies:
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Pterocereus gaumeri subsp. foetidus (T.MacDoug. & Miranda) S.Arias & Terrazas | Mexico (Chiapas) | |
| Pterocereus gaumeri subsp. gaumeri | Mexico (Veracruz, Quintana Roo, Yucatan) | |
Distribution
Pterocereus gaumeri is distributed in the Mexican states of Yucatán, Chiapas and Veracruz.
Taxonomy
The first description was made in 1920 by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose.[4] The specific epithet gaumeri honors the American botanist and naturalist George Franklin Gaumer (1850–1929), who discovered the species. Nomenclature synonyms are Anisocereus gaumeri (Britton & Rose) Backeb. (1942) and Pachycereus gaumeri Britton & Rose (1920). Taxonomic synonyms are Cereus yucatanensis Standl. (1930), Pterocereus foetidus T. MacDoug. & Miranda (1954), Anisocereus foetidus (T.MacDoug. & Miranda) W.T.Marshall (1957), Pachycereus foetidus (T.MacDoug. & Miranda) P.V.Heath (1992).[5]
