Arthrocereus spinosissimus | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Arthrocereus |
Species: | A. spinosissimus
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Binomial name | |
Arthrocereus spinosissimus (Buining & Brederoo) F. Ritter 1979
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Synonyms | |
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Arthrocereus spinosissimus is a species of cactus in the subfamily Cactoideae from Brazil. [1] [2]
Arthrocereus spinosissimus grows upright with basally branching shoots. The up to one meter long, green to bright green shoots reach a diameter of 5 to 6 cm (2.0 to 2.4 in). The 16 (or more) ribs are 4 to 5 mm (0.16 to 0.20 in) high. Numerous, thin, yellowish thorns emerge from the closely spaced areoles. There are 6 to 8 central spines that are usually 2 to 2.8 cm (0.79 to 1.10 in), occasionally up to 4.5 cm (1.8 in) in length, and about 20 radial spines of 0.7 to 0.8 cm (0.28 to 0.31 in) in length. The white flowers are between 6 and 7 cm (2.4 and 2.8 in) long, the fruits between 2.5 and 3 cm (0.98 and 1.18 in). [3]
Arthrocereus spinosissimus is restricted to the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso at altitudes of 800 to 900 meters. [1]
The first description as Eriocereus spinosissimus by Albert Frederik Hendrik Buining and Arnold J. Brederoo was published in 1977 from Buining's estate. [4] The specific epithet spinosissimus is derived from the superlative of the Latin adjective spinosus for 'thorny'. Friedrich Ritter placed the species in the genus Arthrocereus in 1979. [5]