Melocactus ernestii

Melocactus ernestii
	Melocactus ernestii
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Cactoideae
Tribe :	Cereeae
Genre :	Melocactus
Type :	Melocactus ernestii
Scientific name
	Melocactus ernestii
	Vaupel

Melocactus ernestii in the habitat

Melocactus ernestii is a species of the genus Melocactus in the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet honors the German botanist and explorer Ernst HG Uhle (1854–1915).

description

Melocactus ernestii grows with light yellowish green to dark green, almost spherical to short cylindrical bodies that reach heights of 9 to 45 centimeters and diameter of 7 to 35 centimeters. There are 9 to 13 more or less rounded ribs with a slightly sharp edge. The thorns are banded red and yellow or reddish or brownish in color. The 3 to 8 central spines, the lowest of which are curved or straight, are 3.2 to 9 inches long. The 7 to 13 straight or outwardly curved radial spines reach lengths of 4 to 15 centimeters. The cephalium , formed from more or less pink-red bristles , which is rarely covered at the tip with white wool, is up to 18 centimeters high and reaches a diameter of 8 centimeters.

The light to dark pink magenta colored flowers are 1.95 to 2.9 centimeters long and 9 to 18 millimeters in diameter. The deep pink to red fruits at the tip are 1.4 to 4.5 centimeters long.

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

Melocactus ernestii is widespread in northeastern Brazil . It was first described in 1920 by Friedrich Karl Johann Vaupel (1876–1927). The following subspecies are distinguished:

Melocactus ernestii subsp. ernestii
Melocactus ernestii subsp. longicarpus (Buining & Brederoo) NPTaylor

In the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN , the species is listed as " Least Concern (LC) ". H. listed as not endangered.

proof

literature

Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 426 .

Individual evidence

↑ Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Birkhäuser 2004, ISBN 3-540-00489-0 , p. 78.
↑ Monthly for cactus science . Volume 30, number 1, pp. 8-9, Berlin 1920.
↑ Melocactus ernestii in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: Braun, P., Machado, M., Taylor, NP & Zappi, D., 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Melocactus ernestii - album with pictures, videos and audio files

[1] Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Birkhäuser 2004, ISBN 3-540-00489-0 , p. 78.

[2] Monthly for cactus science . Volume 30, number 1, pp. 8-9, Berlin 1920.

[3] Melocactus ernestii in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: Braun, P., Machado, M., Taylor, NP & Zappi, D., 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2014.