''Pilosocereus brooksianus'' 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), ...

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

cactus 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, ...

family Cactaceae,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Cuba. It was first described in 1912 by

Nathaniel Lord Britton Nathaniel Lord Britton (1859 – 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York (state), New York. Early life Britton was born on the 15 of January 1859 at New Dorp, Staten Island ...

and

Joseph Nelson Rose Joseph Nelson Rose (January 11, 1862 – May 4, 1928) was an American botanist. He was born in Union County, Indiana. His father died serving during the Civil War when Joseph Rose was a young boy. He later graduated from high school in Liberty, ...

as ''Cephalocereus brooksianus''.

Description

''Pilosocereus brooksianus'' has bluish to glaucous green stems with 8–10 ribs. It has more-or-less upright branches. The

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

s have rigid spines up to long. Flowering areoles have dense tufts of silky hairs up to long; non-flowering areoles have few or no such hairs. The flower is long. The outer

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

segments are greenish, the inner ones white. The fruit is glaucous blue-green.

Taxonomy

''Pilosocereus brooksianus'' was first described in 1912 by

and

as ''Cephalocereus brooksianus''. The specific epithet ''brooksianus'' honours Theodore Brooks, the British consul in

Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...

in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was transferred to the genus ''

Pilosocereus ''Pilosocereus'' (from Latin, "hairy cereus") is a genus of cactus native to the Neotropics. Tree cactus is a common name for ''Pilosocereus'' species. The genera ''Caerulocereus'' and ''Pseudopilocereus'' are synonyms of this genus. The commonl ...

'' in 1957. Some treatments of ''Pilosocereus'' in the Caribbean have used relatively few taxa, interpreting species such as '' P. polygonus'' and '' P. robinii'' broadly, with ''P. brooksianus'' as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of one of these two. However, ''P. polygonus'' can be distinguished by the lack of bluish or glaucous stems and fruits and ''P. robinii'' by the absence of silky hairs.

Distribution

''Pilosocereus brooksianus'' is endemic to Cuba. It is found in southeastern Cuba, in the provinces of

and

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

References

{{taxonbar, from1=Q15318544 brooksianus Flora of Cuba Plants described in 1912