Stetsonia coryne
| Stetsonia coryne | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Tribe: | Cereeae |
| Subtribe: | Rebutiinae |
| Genus: | Stetsonia Britton & Rose |
| Species: | S. coryne
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| Binomial name | |
| Stetsonia coryne | |
Stetsonia coryne, the toothpick cactus, is the sole species in the cactus genus Stetsonia. Stetsonia coryne is native to arid regions of South America, where it grows to a height of 15 to 25 ft (4.6 to 7.6 m) tall. It contains mescaline and other alkaloids.[2]
Description
[edit]The plant is large, with tree-like growth, and can reach a height of 5 to 8 m up to 12 m. The trunk is thick and short, measuring about 40 cm in diameter, with numerous erect or somewhat bent branches. The blue-green shoots turn greenish-gray with age, are usually not jointed, and have a diameter of 9 to 10 cm. There are eight to nine blunt-edged, somewhat notched ribs that are 1 to 1.5 cm high. The spines are straight and stiff. The central spine grows 2–8 cm long and is thickened at the base, while the seven to nine spreading marginal spines grow to 3 cm long. Spines are black or yellowish-brown, although they eventually turn white with a dark tip.
The plant flowers from October to April with white, funnel-shaped flowers that grow up to 15 cm in diameter. They open at night and often remain open until the next day. The pericarp is covered with numerous roof-tile-like structures. The long corolla tube has scattered scales.
The plant fruits from January to May. The fruit is a fleshy berry 4 cm in diameter, ovoid, and scaled. Edible fruits are green to reddish and have a drooping floral remnant. The broadly oval, shiny blackish-brown seeds are 1.7 mm long and 1 mm wide. They are humped with a fine wrinkled pattern.[3][4]
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Large plant growing in Oasis Park in La Lajita, Pájara, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands -
Branch -
Flower -
Spines
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Taxonomy
[edit]The first description, as Cereus coryne, was made in 1850 by Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck.[5] Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in their newly established monotypic genus Stetsonia in 1920. The genus was named to honor Francis Lynde Stetson, a New York attorney and plant lover.[6]
Distribution
[edit]Stetsonia coryne is distributed in high-altitude arid regions, such as the deserts and dry forest (Gran Chaco) of northwestern Argentina, as well as in Bolivia, Paraguay, and the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
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Large plant growing in habitat in Serezuela, Argentina
Conservation
[edit]In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is listed as "Least Concern (LC)".[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Oakley, L.; Pin, A. (2017). "Stetsonia coryne". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T152044A121576661. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T152044A121576661.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ AGURELL, S., BRUHN, J. G., LUNDSTROM, J., and SVENSSON, U., 1971, Cactaceae alkaloids. X. Alkaloids of Trichocereus species and some other cactii, Lloydia 34: 183-187.
- ^ Eggli, Urs; Newton, Leonard E. (2004-03-11). Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 55. ISBN 3-540-00489-0.
- ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Ulmer. p. 607. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
- ^ Salm-Reifferscheidt, Joseph; Georgi, Carl (1850). Cacteae in horto Dyckensi cultae anno 1849, secundum tribus et genera digestae : additis adnotationibus botanicis characteribusque specierum in enumeratione diagnostica cactearum Doct. Pfeifferi non descriptarum /. Bonnae: Apud Henry & Cohen, typis C. Georgii. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.120333.
- ^ Everett (1 July 1982). Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Taylor & Francis. p. 3235. ISBN 978-0-8240-7240-7. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Stetsonia coryne at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Stetsonia coryne at Wikispecies
