Hylocereus
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| ( A. Berger ) Britton & Rose |
Hylocereus is a genus of plants fromthe cactus family (Cactaceae). The botanical name of the genus is derived from the Greek noun ύλη hyle for "forest" and means "forest cereus". The type species of the genus is Hylocereus triangularis .
The species of the genus Hylocereus have the largest flowers within the cactus family . Their fruits are often edible.
description
The species of the genus Hylocereus grow climbing, climbing or epiphytic . They are freely branched, shrubby plants that develop aerial roots and become very large with a stature height of 10 meters or more. Their green, often glaucous shoots are usually three-winged or triangular. The areoles wear short wool. Thorns are few short or nonexistent.
The very large, funnel-shaped flowers are white or rarely red. They usually open at night. The pericarpel and the flower tube are covered with wide, triangular, leaf-like scales. The areoles on the flower are bare.
The ovate to elongated, fleshy fruits are usually red and covered with wide scales. They open irregularly and have a permanent or sloping flower remnant. The elongated to kidney-shaped, small seeds are glossy black.
Distribution and systematics
The genus Hylocereus is distributed in southern Mexico , the Caribbean , Central America, and northern South America . The description as Cereus subg. Hylocereus , d. H. as a subgenus of Cereus , made in 1905 by Alwin Berger . Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose elevated them to the rank of an independent genre in 1909. The type species of the genus is Cactus triangularis .
The genus includes the following species:
- Hylocereus calcaratus (FACWeber) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus costaricensis (FACWeber) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus escuintlensis Kimnach
- Hylocereus guatemalensis (Eichlam ex Weing.) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus minutiflorus Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus monacanthus (Lem.) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus ocamponis (Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus purpusii (Weing.) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus stenopterus (FACWeber) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus triangularis (L.) Britton & Rose
- Hylocereus trigonus (Haw.) Saff.
- Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose
The genus includes the former genus Wilmattea with its only species Wilmattea minutiflora , which is still regarded by some authors as independent.
A synonym of the genus is Wilmattea Britton & Rose (1920).
use
The fruits of Hylocereus undatus and Hylocereus monacanthus are traded as pitahaya and dragon fruit , respectively .
proof
literature
- Edward F. Anderson : The Cactus Family . Timber Press: Portland (Oregon), 2001, p. 377. ISBN 0-88192-498-9
- Curt Backeberg : Die Cactaceae: Handbuch der Kakteenkunde . 2nd Edition, 1983, Volume II, pp. 803-817. ISBN 3-437-30381-3
- NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . Volume II, pp. 183-195, Washington 1920
Individual evidence
- ^ Alwin Berger: A Systematic Revision of the Genus Cereus . In: Missouri Botanical Garden Annual Report . 1905, p. 72.
- ^ Contributions from the United States National Herbarium . Volume 12, 1909, p. 428, (online) .
- ^ Edward F. Anderson : The great cactus lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 344-346 .
