Selenicereus
Selenicereus
I found this specimen growing on a tree branch in Matagalpa Department at about 500m elevation. I tentatively IDed it as S g. hondurensis. Years later a cutting grown plant flowered and the flower (3 inches wide) and the spines (1 cm reddish brown and sharp) do not match the description in The Cactus Family and I do not find any detailed fotos online or in the literature that match.
Any ideas...
[attachment=1]IMG_0001_1.jpg
Any ideas...
[attachment=1]IMG_0001_1.jpg
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Last edited by leland on Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Selenicereus
Don't think it is a Selenicereus as the stem is very stout and flower rather small for Selenicereus? Can't find much on Nicaraguan cacti on the Web.
You could always try emailing the picture to somebody at Kew and ask if they can identify it? Who knows it may be something new?
https://www.kew.org/science/our-science ... ricas-team
You could always try emailing the picture to somebody at Kew and ask if they can identify it? Who knows it may be something new?
https://www.kew.org/science/our-science ... ricas-team
Re: Selenicereus
Thank you, I may try that. Nic. cactus is under researched and under documented. I have found several things, like Epiphyllum rubrocoronatum that was listed for Panama and Colombia but seems to be common in Matagalpa Dept. I have 2 "hylocereus ?" plants, one of which has flowered and turned out to be Weberocereus glaber and the other is budding out now and is probably another Weberocereus.
I have some professional sources I will email. If you can PM me a contact in Kew I would appreciate it.
I have some professional sources I will email. If you can PM me a contact in Kew I would appreciate it.
Last edited by leland on Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Selenicereus
Tropicos has a key to the Cactaceae of the Flora of Nicaragua:
http://legacy.tropicos.org/Name/42000071?projectid=7
If you can't find it in that key, you could ask an expert at the MIssouri Botanical Garden. That key was put together by this chap:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org ... mes-c.aspx
http://legacy.tropicos.org/Name/42000071?projectid=7
If you can't find it in that key, you could ask an expert at the MIssouri Botanical Garden. That key was put together by this chap:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org ... mes-c.aspx
Re: Selenicereus
Thank you, I will add Mr Solomon's address to my list. We have never crossed paths when he is in country but I am in touch with his associates at the botanical garden in Leon. The Flora book and Tropicos .com are the backbone of botany in Nicaragua but my specialty is cactus and being local I can visit plants at different times of the year and grow out cuttings to maturity. This is especially important with night-blooming plants.
My country list is over 30 species. I am currently babysitting an unknown weberocereus that has a single flower bud after years of cultivation! I check it night and morning for flowering because if I miss it it may be another year before I can identify it.
My country list is over 30 species. I am currently babysitting an unknown weberocereus that has a single flower bud after years of cultivation! I check it night and morning for flowering because if I miss it it may be another year before I can identify it.
Re: Selenicereus
Don't know anybody at Kew these days Ieland. If you scroll down my early link there are contact links for people at Kew, just email the most appropriate one.
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Re: Selenicereus
The heading of my link says:-
"Americas team
We undertake research on, curate, and identify the herbarium specimens that Kew holds from the Americas, publishing new species, taxonomic monographs and revisions, and floristic treatments."
If you pick somebody appropriate on the list they will no doubt refer you to the specialist concerned. Never be afraid to email people or institutions since most are only too pleased to help and at worst they can only ignore your email.
"Americas team
We undertake research on, curate, and identify the herbarium specimens that Kew holds from the Americas, publishing new species, taxonomic monographs and revisions, and floristic treatments."
If you pick somebody appropriate on the list they will no doubt refer you to the specialist concerned. Never be afraid to email people or institutions since most are only too pleased to help and at worst they can only ignore your email.
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Re: Selenicereus
Thanks to everybody. I have referred it to one cactus botanist who cannot identify it in the literature and is referring me to a specialist. this may well be a new species. I am taking more pictures and hoping a fruit and seeds will mature. I will update when I get more info.
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Re: Selenicereus
Cool.
Re: Selenicereus
This has been named as a new species Deamia funis endemic to Nicaragua.
https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/artic ... xa.576.2.8
https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/artic ... xa.576.2.8
Re: Selenicereus
How exciting to find a previously undescribed species. The thick wax on the epidermis is quite curious.
Re: Selenicereus
Very cool to hear.
I'd ask about getting seeds of it, but being Australian, the import would be a nightmare.
I'd ask about getting seeds of it, but being Australian, the import would be a nightmare.
Re: Selenicereus
Unfortunately, my specimens have never fruited which was one of the obstacles to identifying it. The team that did identify it appears to have been working on it for at least a decade and involved people in several countries. I have found that the tropical vining species tend to be obscure plants in obscure places!
I remember when I identified s. escuintlensis with the help of David Hunt that the cuttings seemed to go through 4 or 5 stages before they came to what I would call mature growth. It is not a simple thing like philodendrons that have just juvenile and mature features.
Yes, legally transporting plant material is a nightmare best left to professionals and or organizations with deep pockets. I stick with my photos and transporting rooted cuttings to people within the country. A Nicaraguan professional friend who legally transported some materials from a few miles away in Honduras said emphatically "never again".
I remember when I identified s. escuintlensis with the help of David Hunt that the cuttings seemed to go through 4 or 5 stages before they came to what I would call mature growth. It is not a simple thing like philodendrons that have just juvenile and mature features.
Yes, legally transporting plant material is a nightmare best left to professionals and or organizations with deep pockets. I stick with my photos and transporting rooted cuttings to people within the country. A Nicaraguan professional friend who legally transported some materials from a few miles away in Honduras said emphatically "never again".