Corryocactus

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Corryocactus
Corryocactus apiciflorus

Corryocactus apiciflorus

Systematics
Nuclear eudicotyledons
Order : Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family : Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily : Cactoideae
Tribe : Notocacteae
Genre : Corryocactus
Scientific name
Corryocactus
Britton & Rose
Fruit of Corryocactus brevistylus

Corryocactus is a genus of plants fromthe cactus family (Cactaceae). Their botanical name was given to her in honor of Thomas Avery Corry (1862-1942), who as engineer of the Peruvian railway undertaking helped perurail to discover the plants: The first three known species of the genus grew close to the then newly laid railway track .

description

Corryocacti are stem succulent shrubs that branch out strongly from the bases . Their roots are fibrous or sometimes beet-shaped . The mostly 2 to 5 cm thick shoots stand upright in small-stature species, in long- shoot species they lie down with upright ends, climb accompanying vegetation or first stand upright and then hang over. One species forms upright columns up to 5 m high with 10 to 15 cm thick rungs. The usually four to six, sometimes up to about ten ribs are swollen to the areoles and humped around the areoles. The areoles are very thorny . Usually the longer central spines are 3 to 5 cm, sometimes up to 15 cm (occasionally up to 25 cm) long.

The flowers appearing individually from the areoles open during the day. They have short tubes and open wide up to a diameter of 2 to 10 cm. The color of the bracts ranges in the genus and sometimes in some species from yellow to orange to red. After fertilization , thorny, usually spherical fruits with a diameter of 3 to 10 cm are formed, which contain dark brown to black seeds in a juicy pulp .

Systematics and distribution

The genus is native to Peru , Bolivia and northern Chile . The plants of most species grow at altitudes between 2000 and 3000 m above sea level, some also grow in lowlands or reach up to 4000 m above sea level.

The first description by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose was published in 1920. The type species of the genus is Cereus brevistylus . A distinction is made between the following types:

Synonyms for the genus are Corryocereus Frič & Kreuz. and Erdisia Britton & Rose .

literature

  • NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae . Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . tape II . The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1920, p. 66 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae . Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . tape II . The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1920, p. 66 ( online ).
  2. ^ Edward F. Anderson : The great cactus lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 144-147 .

Web links

Commons : Corryocactus  - collection of images, videos and audio files