Harrisia fragrans
Harrisia fragrans | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Harrisia |
Species: | H. fragrans
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Binomial name | |
Harrisia fragrans | |
Synonyms | |
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Harrisia fragrans is a rare species of cactus known by the common name fragrant prickly apple. It is endemic to Florida, where it is known only from St. Lucie County. The plant's habitat has been almost completely consumed by development, leading to its rarity. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Description
This is an erect or spreading cactus with narrow, long stems which can well exceed one meter in length, at times approaching five meters.[2][3] It is covered in long, yellow or yellow-tipped spines which may be up to 4 centimeters long.[3] It produces enormous tubular flowers up to 20 centimeters long which are sweet-scented and white to pinkish in color.[3] They bloom at night. The fruit is spherical and red or orange in color, measuring up to 6 centimeters wide. The fruits are a favorite food of local birds,[3] which likely help to disperse the seeds.[4] The cactus has been noted to live at least 19 years, and in general has low fecundity; older, larger plants are more likely to survive, and they have higher fecundity, as well.[4] Small plants may benefit from growing with nurse plants.[5]
Habitat
The plant's favored natural habitat is mostly coastal hammocks with some shade, as the cactus can become desiccated in full sun at elevations of 0-10 meters.[4][6] Coastal hammocks of this kind have become uncommon as they have been cleared for development and heavily fragmented.[4]
There are ten confirmed occurrences of the plant, nine of which occur around
Threats
Remaining populations of the cactus can now be found in
Taxonomy
The first description was made in 1920 by John Kunkel Small in Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose's work The Cactaceae.[7] Nomenclature synonyms are Cereus fragrans (Small) Little (1945), Cereus eriophorus var. fragrans (Small) L.D.Benson (1969) and Harrisia eriophora var. fragrans (Small) D.B.Ward (2004).
References
- ^ NatureServe. 1994. Harrisia fragrans, Fragrant Prickly-apple. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.140375/Harrisia_fragrans. Accessed 30 November 2021.
- ^ "Comprehensive Report Species - Harrisia fragrans". NatureServe. The Nature Conservancy. August 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Harrisia fragrans in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". Flora of North America. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p USFWS. Harrisia fragrans Five Year Review. June 24, 2010.
- ^ St. Louis, Missouri. Archived from the originalon 2010-12-15. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ Franck, Alan R. (2016). "MONOGRAPH OF HARRISIA" (PDF). Phytoneuron. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- .
External links
- Media related to Harrisia fragrans at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Harrisia fragrans at Wikispecies