Echinopsis atacamensis

Echinopsis atacamensis
	Echinopsis atacamensis; Blossoming shoot tip
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Cactoideae
Tribe :	Trichocereeae
Genre :	Echinopsis
Type :	Echinopsis atacamensis
Scientific name
	Echinopsis atacamensis
	( Phil. ) H.Friedrich & GDRowley

Dense population in Chile

Echinopsis atacamensis is a species of the genus Echinopsis in the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet atacamensis refers to the occurrence of the species in higher mountain areas in the Chilean region of Atacama . Spanish common names are "Cardón", "Cardón Grande", "Cavul" and "Pasakana".

description

Echinopsis atacamensis grows tree-like, occasionally branches like candelabras 1.5 to 3 meters above the ground surface and reaches heights of up to 10 meters (rarely up to 15 meters). The cylindrical shoots have a diameter of 25 to 40 centimeters (rarely up to 60 centimeters). There are 20 to 30 (rarely up to 40) ribs . The circular areoles on it have a diameter of up to 2 centimeters and become larger with age. In younger plants, the yellowish to honey-colored thorns are strongly needle-like to subphrate and up to 10 centimeters (rarely up to 15 centimeters) long. The two to four (rarely up to eight) central spines cannot always be clearly distinguished from the radial spines. The ten to 15 or more radial spines are irregularly spread. In older plants, the thorns become increasingly thin until they are finally bristle-like or hair-like. There are then up to 50 (rarely up to 100), up to 25 centimeters long spines, which cannot be differentiated into central and radial spines.

The broad, funnel-shaped, white and occasionally tinged pink flowers appear laterally in the upper third of the shoots. They are open day and night. The flowers are 10 to 14 inches long. The spherical, dark green fruits are densely covered with hair . They are edible and are up to 5 centimeters in diameter.

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

Echinopsis atacamensis is distributed in the northeast of Chile , in the southwest of Bolivia and in the north of Argentina at altitudes from 1700 to 3900 meters.

The first description as Cereus atacamensis by Rudolph Amandus Philippi was published in 1860. Heimo Friedrich and Gordon Douglas Rowley placed the species in 1974 in the genus Echinopsis . A nomenclature synonym is Helianthocereus atacamensis (Phil.) Backeb. (1959).

Subspecies

The following subspecies are distinguished:

Echinopsis atacamensis subsp. atacamensis
Echinopsis atacamensis subsp. pasacana (FACWeber) G.Navarro

Echinopsis atacamensis subsp. atacamensis
The subspecies is distributed in the northeast of Chile as well as in the Bolivian department Potosí at altitudes of 2500 to 3800 meters. The shoots are usually not branched and up to 6 meters high. The thorns are very dense, so that the epidermis is often barely visible.

Echinopsis atacamensis subsp. pasacana
The first description as Pilocereus pasacanus by Frédéric Albert Constantin Weber was published in 1886. Gonzalo Navarro introduced the species in 1996 as a subspecies to Echinopsis atacamensis . It is common in the Argentine provinces of Salta , Jujuy , Catamarca and Tucumán and possibly in the southwest of Bolivia in the plains and slopes of the prepuna at altitudes of 2500 to 3000 meters (rarely up to 3500 meters). The subspecies usually grows like candelabras and is up to 10 meters (rarely up to 15 meters) high. The side shoots are usually shorter than the main shoot and the thorns are somewhat more open than those of Echinopsis atacamensis subsp. atacamensis .

Further nomenclature synonyms are Echinopsis pasacana (FACWeber) H. Friedrich & GDRowley (1974) and Trichocereus atacamensis var. Pasacana (FACWeber) F. Ritter (1980). Echinopsis formosissima Labor are included in the subspecies as a synonym . (1855), Trichocereus cephalopasacana Frič (1929, nom. Inval. ICBN -Article 32.1c), Trichocereus cephalopasacana [?] Albicephalus Frič (1929, nom. Inval. ICBN -Article 11.432.1c, 43.1), Echinopsis cephalopasacana Frič ( 1929, nom , nom. invalid ICBN -Article 32.1c), Leucostele rivierei Backeb. (1953), Trichocereus rivierei (Backeb.) Krainz (1967), Echinopsis rivierei (Backeb.) H.Friedrich & GDRowley (1974) and Trichocereus erernophilus F.Ritter (1980).

In the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN is the species as " Near Threatened (NT)", d. H. listed as low risk.

use

The wood of Echinopsis atacamensis was formerly known as construction material and for furniture and paneling used. Sometimes it was also used as fuel. Today souvenirs are made from it. The fruits are sold locally as fruit and used dried.

proof

literature

Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 218 .

Individual evidence

↑ Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-05597-3 , p. 17.
↑ Rudolph Amandus Philippi: Florula Atacamensis seu Enumeratio Plantarum in Itinere per Desertum Atacamense Observatarum . 1860, p. 23 ( online ).
^ Gordon Douglas Rowley: Reunion of the genus Echinopsis . In: IOS Bulletin. Journal of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study . Volume 3, Number 3, 1974, p. 94.
↑ Theodor Rümpler : Carl Friedrich Förster's Handbuch der Cacteenkunde in its entirety: Or, the most successful, cultural information based on the latest experiences. Processed according to the current state of science and increased by the genera and newly introduced species established since 1846 . Wöller, 1886, p. 678-679 ( online ).
↑ Gonzalo Navarro: Catálago ecológico preliminar de las cactáceas de Bolivia . In: Lazaroa . Volume 17, 1996, p. 54 ( online ).
↑ Echinopsis atacamensis in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Posted by: Ortega-Baes, P., Perea, M., Lowry, M., Kiesling, R., Walter, HE, Faundez, L. & Guerrero, P., 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Echinopsis atacamensis - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-05597-3 , p. 17.

[2] Rudolph Amandus Philippi: Florula Atacamensis seu Enumeratio Plantarum in Itinere per Desertum Atacamense Observatarum . 1860, p. 23 ( online ).

[3] Gordon Douglas Rowley: Reunion of the genus Echinopsis . In: IOS Bulletin. Journal of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study . Volume 3, Number 3, 1974, p. 94.

[4] Theodor Rümpler : Carl Friedrich Förster's Handbuch der Cacteenkunde in its entirety: Or, the most successful, cultural information based on the latest experiences. Processed according to the current state of science and increased by the genera and newly introduced species established since 1846 . Wöller, 1886, p. 678-679 ( online ).

[5] Gonzalo Navarro: Catálago ecológico preliminar de las cactáceas de Bolivia . In: Lazaroa . Volume 17, 1996, p. 54 ( online ).

[6] Echinopsis atacamensis in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Posted by: Ortega-Baes, P., Perea, M., Lowry, M., Kiesling, R., Walter, HE, Faundez, L. & Guerrero, P., 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2014.