Selenicereus

If you have a cactus plant and need help identifying it, this is the place to post it.
Post Reply
User avatar
leland
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:55 pm
Location: North central Nicaragua

Selenicereus

Post by leland »

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...
IMG_0001_3.jpg
IMG_0001_3.jpg (47.97 KiB) Viewed 3011 times
[attachment=1]IMG_0001_1.jpg
Attachments
IMG_0001_1.jpg
IMG_0001_1.jpg (65.78 KiB) Viewed 3011 times
Last edited by leland on Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DaveW
Posts: 7376
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm
Location: Nottingham, England/UK

Re: Selenicereus

Post by DaveW »

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
User avatar
leland
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:55 pm
Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Selenicereus

Post by leland »

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.
Last edited by leland on Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
One Windowsill
Posts: 544
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Selenicereus

Post by One Windowsill »

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
User avatar
leland
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:55 pm
Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Selenicereus

Post by leland »

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.
DaveW
Posts: 7376
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm
Location: Nottingham, England/UK

Re: Selenicereus

Post by DaveW »

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.
User avatar
One Windowsill
Posts: 544
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Selenicereus

Post by One Windowsill »

DaveW wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 5:22 pm 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.
You can do a search on there but it seems there are no cactus specialists listed at Kew.
DaveW
Posts: 7376
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm
Location: Nottingham, England/UK

Re: Selenicereus

Post by DaveW »

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.
User avatar
greenknight
Posts: 4813
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
Location: SW Washington State zone 8b

Re: Selenicereus

Post by greenknight »

They'll be really happy if you come up with a new species.
Spence :mrgreen:
User avatar
leland
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:55 pm
Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Selenicereus

Post by leland »

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.
Attachments
IMG_0002_1.jpg
IMG_0002_1.jpg (40.3 KiB) Viewed 2702 times
User avatar
One Windowsill
Posts: 544
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Selenicereus

Post by One Windowsill »

Cool.
User avatar
leland
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:55 pm
Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Selenicereus

Post by leland »

This has been named as a new species Deamia funis endemic to Nicaragua.

https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/artic ... xa.576.2.8
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: Selenicereus

Post by MrXeric »

How exciting to find a previously undescribed species. The thick wax on the epidermis is quite curious.
Download
Posts: 251
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 5:22 am
Location: Adelaide, Australia

Re: Selenicereus

Post by Download »

Very cool to hear.

I'd ask about getting seeds of it, but being Australian, the import would be a nightmare.
User avatar
leland
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:55 pm
Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Selenicereus

Post by leland »

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".
Post Reply