Melocactus andinus
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Melocactus andinus |
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| R.Gruber ex NPTaylor |
Melocactus andinus is a species of the genus Melocactus in the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet andinus means' from the location in the South American Andes.
description
Melocactus andinus grows with depressed spherical to elongated pyramidal, dark green to yellowish green to yellowish bodies that reach heights of growth of 8 to 25 centimeters and diameter of 10.5 to 30 centimeters. There are 10 to 19 sharp-edged ribs . The dark brown thorns turn gray or reddish brown. The 1 to 6 more or less straight central spines are protruding and 8 to 16 millimeters long. The 7 to 20 radial spines are similar to the central spines. The white cephalium with dark rust-colored bristles and wool is up to 15 centimeters high and reaches a diameter of 4.5 to 9 centimeters.
The light pink flowers protrude from the cephalium. They are 2.3 to 3 inches long and 9 to 11 millimeters in diameter. The fruits, which are red in the area of the tip , become lighter towards their base. They are 1.5 to 2.2 inches long.
Distribution, systematics and endangerment
Melocactus andinus is widespread in Colombia and western Venezuela and grows on the slopes of the Andes at altitudes of 1500 to 2200 meters. It was first described in 1991 by Nigel Paul Taylor . The following subspecies are distinguished:
- Melocactus andinus subsp. andinus
- Melocactus andinus subsp. hernandezii (Fern.Alonso & Xhonneux) NPTaylor
In the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN is the species as " Endangered (EN) ," d. H. listed as endangered.
proof
literature
- Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 422 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Birkhäuser 2004, ISBN 3-540-00489-0 , p. 10.
- ^ Nigel P. Taylor: The Genus Melocactus (Cactaceae) in Central and South America . In: Bradleya . Volume 9, 1991, pp. 63-65.
- ↑ Melocactus andinus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: Nassar, J. & Taylor, NP, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
further reading
- Jafet M. Nassar, Nelson Ramírez, Margarita Lampo, José Antonio González, Roberto Casado, Francisco Nava: Reproductive Biology and Mating System Estimates of Two Andean Melocacti, Melocactus schatzlii and M. andinus (Cactaceae) . In: Annals of Botany . Volume 99, 2007, pp. 29-38, doi : 10.1093 / aob / mcl229 .
