May 2013

A more in depth look at individual cactus species, a new one is added each month -managed by Hob
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DaveW
Posts: 7376
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm
Location: Nottingham, England/UK

May 2013

Post by DaveW »

Very late start for me this year, therefore very little in flower at the moment so will have to be one from last year. An epiphyte for a change:-

Disocactus (Nopalxochia) phyllanthoides
nopalxochia2.jpg
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snowdogmama
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Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 2:40 am

Re: May 2013

Post by snowdogmama »

This plant is commonly known as German Empress. In the past it was called Pond Lily.
DaveW
Posts: 7376
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm
Location: Nottingham, England/UK

Re: May 2013

Post by DaveW »

You are correct, but "German Empress" or "Deutsche Kaiserin" as it's correct original name is, is claimed to be a hybrid and said to be rather larger in all features. But the name has often been misapplied to phyllanthoides as well .

"N. phyllanthoides (DC.) Britt. & Rose. 1813. Mexico. Fls. 9-10 cm. long, 5 cm wide, campanulate (inner petals incurving), rosy pink. Plants of this species are sometimes called "Deutsche Kaiserin", a name correctly associated only with ×Heliochia ‘Deutsche Kaiserin', a hybrid of ×Heliochia ‘Hybrida' and N. phyllanthoides."

The above hybrid would probably account for the plants with deeper pink coloured flowers from hybridising the red flowered plant, often wrongly known as Epiphyllum ackermanii, and the pinkish flowered phyllanthoides.

Most of the so called Epiphyllum ackermannii's in cultivation are actually hybrids and not the true Disocactus akermannii.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disocactus_%C3%97hybridus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disocactus_ackermannii" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The plant illustrated from authentic collected material in the New Cactus Lexicon as phyllanthoides has pale pink flowers similar to my plant, but these plants have become so mixed and hybridised in cultivation the only way you can be sure you have the species is to acquire material from a known collected source. The same applies with plants like Schlumbergera truncata which are virtually all now just cultivated hybrids.
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