Harrisia earlei

Harrisia earlei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Harrisia
Species:
H. earlei
Binomial name
Harrisia earlei
Britton & Rose

Harrisia earlei is a species of cactus endemic to Cuba.

Description

Harrisia earlei grows prostrate, shrubby to hanging. The dark green shoots have a diameter of 2 to 6 centimetres (0.8 to 2.4 inches) and are 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 feet) long. There are five to seven ribs, which are angular on young shoots and almost cylindrical on old shoots. The five to eight needle-like, ascending, initially black thorns later turn gray and are 4 to 5 centimetres (1.6 to 2.0 inches) long.

The flowers reach a length of up to 20 centimetres (8 inches). The yellow, depressed, spherical fruits are initially tuberous and later smooth. They have a diameter of 6 to 7 centimetres (2.4 to 2.8 inches).[1]

Distribution

Harrisia earlei is widespread in Cuba in the Pinar del Río province on steep limestone cliffs in deciduous bushes at elevations of 100–400 meters.[2]

Taxonomy

The first description was made in 1920 by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose.[3] The specific epithet earlei honors the American botanist Franklin Sumner Earle (1856–1929).

References

  1. ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 338. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
  2. ^ Franck, Alan R. (2016). "MONOGRAPH OF HARRISIA" (PDF). Phytoneuron. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  3. ^ Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Eaton, Mary E.; Rose, J. N.; Wood, Helen Adelaide (1919). The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46288.