Consolea corallicola
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Consolea corallicola |
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| Small |
Consolea corallicola is a species of plant in the genus Consolea from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words corallum for 'coral' and cola for 'behausen' and refers to the occurrence of rocks made from corals. An English-language common name is "Semaphore Cactus".
description
Consolea corallicola grows tree-shaped and reaches heights of up to 2 meters and more. A straight, upright trunk with an elliptical or egg-shaped cross-section is formed, which is densely reinforced with bristles. The roots are fibrous. The green, (almost) elliptical, relatively thin and slightly curved shoot sections are patterned like a network and 20 to 30 centimeters long. There are five to nine needle-like, salmon-colored thorns that turn gray or even darker with age. They are 7 to 12 inches long. One of them is significantly longer than the others.
The flowers are bright red. The obovate to club-shaped, yellow fruits have a length of 2.5 to 5 centimeters and are covered with spread thorns.
Distribution, systematics and endangerment
Consolea corallicola is distributed on limestone in the United States in the state of Florida on two islands of the Florida Keys .
The first description was in 1930 by John Kunkel Small (1869-1938). A synonym is Opuntia corallicola (Small) Werderm. (1931).
In the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN is it as " Critically Endangered (CR) out," that is threatened with extinction. Due to the small distribution area on only two islands and the small number of individual individuals, the species is threatened with extinction. The population development on one island (Swan Key) is regarded as stable, that on the other island (Little Torch Key) as declining.
proof
literature
- Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 132 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Birkhäuser 2004, ISBN 3-540-00489-0 , p. 53.
- ↑ Addisonia . Volume 15, 1930, pp. 25-26 , plate 493 .
- ↑ Consolea corallicola in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Negrón-Ortiz, V., Griffith, P. & Maschinski, J., 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
Web links
- Consolea corallicola in the Flora of North America
- Consolea corallicola inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Negrón-Ortiz, V., Griffith, P. & Maschinski, J., 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2014.