''Cereus albicaulis'', is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the family
Cactaceae
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...
, native to Northeast and Southeast Brazil.
[ It was first described by Britton and Rose in 1920 as ''Acanthocereus albicaulis''.][
]
Description
''Cereus albicaulis'' grows as a shrub, with only slightly branched, initially upright, later overhanging and spreading to climbing shoots. The elongated, bluish-white, four-edged shoots have a diameter of 1 to 3 centimeters. There are four sharp-edged, only slightly wavy ribs. The small areoles are brown. The two to six unequal, needle-like spines are brown, swollen at their base and up to 2 centimeters long.
The flowers are white, the elongated, somewhat angular fruits are greyish-purple.
Distribution
''Cereus albicaulis'' is distributed in the Brazilian state of Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
.
Taxonomy
The first description as ''Acanthocereus albicaulis'' was published in 1920 by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose.
In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is listed as "Least Concern (LC)"
References
External links
*
albicaulis
Flora of Northeast Brazil
Flora of Southeast Brazil
Plants described in 1920
Taxa named by Nathaniel Lord Britton
Taxa named by Joseph Nelson Rose
{{Cactus-stub