Harrisia (plant)

For the fly genus, see Harrisia (fly).

Harrisia
Harrisia gracilis and Harrisia martinii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Cereeae
Subtribe: Trichocereinae
Genus: Harrisia
Britton[1]
Type species
Harrisia gracilis
Species

See text.

Synonyms[1]
  • Eriocereus Riccob.
  • Erythrocereus Houghton
  • Roseocereus (Backeb.) Backeb.

Harrisia (applecactus[2] and moonlight cactus[3][4]) is a genus of night blooming cacti.

Description

They are tree-shaped, sometimes climbing or shrub-like cacti with cylindrical shoots. They reach heights of up to 7 m. The shoots are ribbed (four to twelve ribs) and do not form aerial roots. The flowers open at night, are white and up to 12 cm in diameter. After successful pollination, rounded fruits are formed, which are red to orange in color. The fruits have scales with areoles in the axils. The black seeds are 2 to 3 × 1.5 mm in size.[5]

Distribution

Plants are native to Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and the U.S. state of Florida. The genus is named after William Harris, an important botanist of Jamaica. There are about 20 species.[6]

Harrisia cactus is an exotic invasive in Queensland,[3][7] Africa, and the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Taxonomy

The genus was established by Nathaniel Lord Britton in 1909.[1]

Species

As of September 2023, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species separated into two subgenera:[8][1]

Subgenus Image Scientific name Distribution
Eriocereus (A. Berger) A.R. Franck Harrisia tetracantha (Labour.) D.R.Hunt Bolivia.
Harrisia regelii (Weing.) Borg Argentina (Santa Fé, Entre Ríos) to Uruguay.
Harrisia martinii (Labour.) Britton E. Paraguay to NE. Argentina.
Harrisia bonplandii (J.Parm. ex Pfeiff.) Britton & Rose Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia
Harrisia pomanensis (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Britton & Rose Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay
Harrisia tortuosa (J.Forbes) Britton & Rose Bolivia to Uruguay.
Harrisia Harrisia aboriginum Small ex Britton & Rose Florida, on the Gulf Coast of the counties of Lee, Sarasota County, and Charlotte
Harrisia adscendens (Gürke) Britton & Rose Brazil
Harrisia brookii Britton Bahamas.
Harrisia caymanensis A.R.Franck Cayman Islands, Swan Islands.
Harrisia divaricata (Lam.) Backeb. Hispaniola.
Harrisia earlei Britton & Rose Cuba
Harrisia eriophora (Pfeiff.) Britton Cuba.
Harrisia fernowii Britton Cuba.
Harrisia fragrans Small ex Britton & Rose St. Lucie County, Florida
Harrisia gracilis (Mill.) Britton Jamaica
Harrisia portoricensis Britton Puerto Rico
Harrisia taetra Areces Cuba.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Harrisia Britton". Plants of the World Online. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  2. ^ NRCS. "Harrisia". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Harrisia cactus" (PDF). Biosecurity Queensland. The State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Harrisia Cactus". HerbiGuide. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  5. ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 337–341. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
  6. ^ Flora of North America
  7. ^ Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Biosecurity Queensland (1 January 2016). "Prohibited invasive plants: Harrisia cactus". Business Queensland. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. ^ Franck, Alan R. (2016). "MONOGRAPH OF HARRISIA" (PDF). Phytoneuron. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  • Media related to Harrisia at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Harrisia at Wikispecies