Stenocereus gummosus

Stenocereus gummosus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Stenocereus
Species:	S. gummosus
Binomial name
Stenocereus gummosus (Engelm.) A.C. Gibson & K.E. Horak 1978
Synonyms
Cereus pfersdorffii Hildm. ex K.Schum. 1897 Lemaireocereus cumengei Britton & Rose 1909 Lemaireocereus gummosus Britton & Rose 1909 Rathbunia gummosa f. cristata P.V.Heath 1992 Rathbunia gummosa f. tortuosa P.V.Heath 1992 Stenocereus gummosus f. cristatus (P.V.Heath) P.V.Heath 1996 Stenocereus gummosus f. tortuosus (P.V.Heath) P.V.Heath 1996

Stenocereus gummosus is a flowering plant in the family Cactaceae that is found in Baja California, Mexico at elevations of 9 to 134 meters[2]

Description

Stenocereus gummosus is a shrub-like plant with sparsely branched trunks reaching a height of up to 3 meters, longer trunks bend due to their weight. Stems are green-gray with 8-9 ribs. Areoles are large with 3-6 central spines and 8-12 radial spines.

The flowers of Stenocereus gummosus are white to pink or purple, up to 20 cm long with a diameter of up to 8 cm, its fruits are in the form of small oranges of light red color. The main flowering period is summer, but flowering can also occur at other times of the year after rainfall. Fruits are subglobose and red or purple pericarp, with red flesh. The brown seeds reach a length of 2.5 mm.[3]

• 
  Flower buds
• 
  Areoles and spines
• 
  tip of stem

Distribution

Stenocereus gummosus is widespread in the Baja California peninsula but absent at higher elevations and in the arid Northeast in coastal and scrublands in valleys and slopes. Other deposits can be found on offshore islands and in the coastal area of the Sonoran Desert in 0 and 850 meters.[4] Plants are found growing along with Bursera microphylla, Neltuma articulata, Larrea divaricata, Fouquieria diguetii, Lophocereus marginatus, Myrtillocactus cochal, Olneya tesota,Stenocereus thurberi, and Pachycereus pringlei.[5] Seeds are dispersed by birds and lizards such as Melanerpes uropygialis, Dipsosaurus dorsalis and Ctenosaura hemilopha.[5]

• 
  Plant growing in habitat in Rancho Punta San Cristobal, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur
• 
  Plant growing in Pichilingue, Baja California Sur
• 
  Plant growing in Viscaino, Baja California Sur

Taxonomy

The first description as Cereus gummosus was in 1889 by Townshend Stith Brandegee.[6] Arthur Charles Gibson and Karl E. Horak placed the species in the genus Stenocereus in 1979.[7] Other nomenclature synonyms include Lemaireocereus gummosus (Engelm. ex Brandegee) Britton & Rose (1909), Machaerocereus gummosus (Engelm. ex Brandegee) Britton & Rose (1920), and Rathbunia gummosa (Engelm. ex Brandegee) P.V.Heath (1992).

References

1. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
2. "Tropicos | Name – Stenocereus gummosus". tropicos.org. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
3. "Find Trees & Learn". University of Arizona Campus Arboretum. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
4. Mus, Arizona-Sonora Desert (2000). A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. Univ of California Press. p. 199. ISBN 0-520-21980-5.
5. Alvarado-Sizzo, Hernán; Casas, Alejandro (2022). "Stenocereus (A. Berger) Riccob. Cactaceae". Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 1–45. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-77089-5_52-1. ISBN 978-3-319-77089-5. ISSN 2523-7489.
6. Sciences, California Academy of (1889). "Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
7. Garden., Missouri Botanical; Botany., Henry Shaw School of (1978). "Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden". Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Retrieved 2023-08-26.

External links

• Media related to Stenocereus gummosus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Stenocereus gummosus at Wikispecies