Hatiora salicornioides
Hatiora salicornioides | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Hatiora |
Species: | H. salicornioides
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Binomial name | |
Hatiora salicornioides (Haw.) Britton & Rose
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Synonyms[2] | |
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Hatiora salicornioides, the bottle cactus, dancing-bones, drunkard's-dream,[3] or spice cactus,[4] is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family. A member of the tribe Rhipsalideae, it often grows as an epiphyte, natively in eastern Brazil and ornamentally elsewhere.
Description
Hatiora salicornioides grows to about 1 m (3 ft) tall with an erect to pendent growth habit. Its stems are composed of segments 1.5–5 cm (0.6–2.0 in) long. Each segment is shaped like a club or bottle, with the narrower end at the base. The stems branch from the end of a segment, with up to six branches forming a whorl. The yellow to orange flowers are borne at the ends of younger stem segments, and are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) long and about the same across when open. Translucent white berries follow the flowers.[5]
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Growth habit in cultivation
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Branching
Taxonomy
The species was first described by Adrian H. Haworth in 1819, as Rhipsalis salicornioides. Haworth had actually spelt the epithet "salicornoides"; subsequent authors have corrected the spelling, treating the original as an orthographic error.[6] The International Plant Names Index later deemed the specific epithet incorrectable to "salicornioides" as is it derived from a noun and a suffix rather than two Greek or Latin words.[7] The epithet means "similar to Salicornia". The species was placed under the genus Hatiora in 1915, after previously belonging to the “lost” (and ultimately, abandoned) genus of Hariota.[2] Molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed its placement in the correct genus, and also in the tribe Rhipsalideae, showing a close relation to H. cylindrica (which has been considered synonymous with H. salicornioides, as a cultivar/form or variety). H. salicornioides is highly variable, as many succulent plants can be, and may possibly include other distinct species.[8][9]
Distribution and habitat
Hatiora salicornioides is found slightly inland of the oceanic coastal regions of Brazil, in states that are the nearest to the
Every available space is used to its maximum potential in these productive rainforests, with the plant-laden trees giving an almost “dripping” appearance. Their branches and trunks serve as a home for epiphytic species, often being completely covered with various tropical cacti, ferns, orchids, bromeliads, aroids, mosses, Peperomia, and more.[1][2] In addition to thriving in moist forest, these diminutive cacti are also found growing on trees in the more open savanna habitats, rocky outcrops, humid canyons, as well as montane regions, at elevations of 200–1,750 m (660–5,740 ft). It is seldom, if ever, found rooted into the ground, and nearly always found growing epiphytically or as a lithophyte.[1] Over many years, a mature plants’ roots will end up growing in many directions; this includes horizontally, vertically, as well as down, touching the ground and soil. A large plant, with roots extending down from the treetops, will gain additional nutrition from the soil, while remaining firmly anchored in place.[citation needed]
Cultivation
Hatiora salicornioides is grown as an ornamental plant. It requires some humidity, and is not frost-tolerant. Light shade and a minimum average temperature of 12 °C (54 °F) are recommended. Given these conditions, it has been successfully cultivated outside in Phoenix, Arizona. In climates with lower winter temperatures, it is cultivated in greenhouses or as a house plant. It is propagated by stem cuttings.[4][10]
In the UK Hatiora salicornioides has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[11]
See also
- Schlumbergera
- Succulent
References
- ^
- ^ a b c "Hatiora salicornioides (Haw.) Britton & Rose", Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2019-07-12
- ^ "Hatiora salicornioides". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
- ^ a b Faucon, Philippe, "Drunkard's Dream, Spice Cactus", Desert Tropicals, retrieved 2019-07-12
- ISBN 978-0-88192-498-5, p. 377
- S2CID 89883634
- ^ "Rhipsalis salicornoides | International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
- PMID 21236350
- PMID 21900612
- ISBN 978-1-84081-253-4, p. 82
- ^ "Hatiorna salicornioides". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 19 July 2020.