''Polaskia'' (named after

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n amateur Charles Polaski) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of tree-like

cacti 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, ...

reaching 4–5 m high, comprising 2

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), ...

. Both present primitive characteristics, but '' Polaskia chichipe'' is nearer to ''

Myrtillocactus ''Myrtillocactus'' (from Latin, "blueberry cactus") is a genus of cactus, cacti. The genus is found from Mexico to Guatemala. The genus is best known with ''Myrtillocactus geometrizans''. The genus ''Myrtillocereus'' Alberto Vojtech Frič, Fric ...

'' while '' Polaskia chende'' is nearer to ''

Stenocereus ''Stenocereus'' () is a genus of columnar or tree-like cactus, cacti from the Baja California Peninsula and other parts of Mexico, Arizona in the United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela and the West Indies. The genus has been en ...

''. The genus is found in the Mexican states of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

and

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

Description

The tree-like, highly branched species of the Polaskia genus reach heights of growth of between 4 and 5 meters and form dense crowns 3 to 4 meters above the ground. Its bright green shoots repeatedly fork and grow 1 to 2 meters long. The 7 to 12 ribs are sharply triangular in cross-section. On their edges, these wear 3 to 4 millimeters wide, shield-shaped areoles at close intervals. The central spine may be absent. The 3 to 8 radial spines are greyish to blackish. The urn- to bell-shaped flowers are white to creamy white to yellowish green. They open day and night and are between 4 and 6 centimeters long. The red, spherical fruits with a diameter of 2 to 4 centimeters are juicy and edible. The small seeds it contains are pear- to ovoid-shaped and dull black.

Synonymy

The following genera have been brought into

synonymy 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 ...

with ''Polaskia'': *''Chichipia''

Backeb. Curt Backeberg (2 August 1894 in Lüneburg, Germany – 14 January 1966) was a German horticulturist especially known for the collection and classification of cacti. Biography He travelled extensively through Central and South America, and publi ...

(nom. inval.) *''Heliabravoa''

Extant Species

Species as of 2021:

References

External links

* * Echinocereeae Cacti of Mexico Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of Oaxaca Flora of Puebla Cactoideae genera {{Cactus-stub