''Polaskia chende'' is a succulent

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, ...

native to a small area of mountains of northern

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 ...

and southern

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Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It grows in

xerophytic A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cactus, cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology (biology), morphology and physiology ...

shrubland between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level.

Description

''Polaskia chende'' forms tall branching columnar stems, 40 to 80 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide, and can reach up to 4.5 m in height. 7 to 8 ribs, rarely 9, 1.7 to 3 cm high,

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 5 mm long, circular to elliptical, spaced 2 cm apart, with the presence of black trichomes. It has 5 or 6 radial spines 2 cm long and 0.8 cm wide, grey, the central spine may be absent or rudimentary; fertile zone not differentiated from the infertile zone. Plants bloom between August and January. Its flowers are white reach a length of 5 cm oblanceolate, mucronate apex, green, some with a red to purple middle stripe. The fruit approximately 3 cm long and 4 cm wide, are purple, with short bracts, yellow trichomes, with short spines, juicy purple pulp. Seeds 1.6 mm long and 1 mm wide. Flowering occurs between the months of August and January, and bears fruit between December and June.

Distribution

It inhabits oak (''Quercus'') forests, xeric scrublands, tropical deciduous forests, and among riparian vegetation, at elevations from . File:Polaskia chende (5742289119).jpg, Limestone habitat in

File:Polaskia chende (5741007534).jpg, Adult plant in

File:Polaskia chende (5742295267).jpg, scrublands habitat in

Taxonomy

The plant was initially named ''Cereus chende'', was described by Robert Roland-Gosselin in 1905. The specific epithet "chende" comes from its Spanish common name. In 1979, Arthur Charles Gibson and Karl E. Horak reclassified the species under the genus ''Polaskia''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1653594 Echinocereeae Flora of Mexico