Acanthocereus tetragonus

(Linnaeus) Hummelinck

Succulenta (Netherlands) 20: 165. 1938.

Common names: Barbed-wire cactus triangle cactus chaco
Illustrated
Basionym: Cactus tetragonus Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 1: 466. 1753
Synonyms: Acanthocereus floridanus Small ex Britton & Rose Acanthocereus pentagonus (Linnaeus) Britton & Rose Cereus pentagonus (Linnaeus) Haworth Cereus tetragonus (Linnaeus) Miller
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 155. Mentioned on page 150, 154.

Shrubs, clambering or arching-reclining, branched near base, sometimes with well-developed trunks. Stems dark green, growing to 200 cm per season; ribs from base to rib crest 3–5 cm, less than 1 cm thick. Spines abruptly thickened at base, extremely variable. Flowers 14–20 cm; flower tube 8–15 cm, ± tuberculate, areoles few, usually 1 spine per areole; outer tepals narrowly lanceolate to linear, 3.5–4 cm, apex acuminate; inner tepals broadly linear, 3.5–4.5 cm, apex acuminate; ovary with small scales and usually 3–5 diverging spines per areole. Fruits bright red, ovoid to oblong, 30–80 (–100) mm, slightly tuberculate, shiny, edible, sweet. 2n = 22 [as A. pentagonus (Linnaeus) Britton and Rose].


Phenology: Flowering mid summer–fall.
Habitat: Sandy soils of dense thickets, hammocks, bottomlands of coastal areas
Elevation: 0-10 m

Distribution

V4 299-distribution-map.gif

Fla., Tex., Mexico, West Indies, Central America, n South America, Pacific Islands (Hawaii)

Discussion

The Florida populations have been called Acanthocereus floridanus but now appear to be the northernmost variants of the highly variable species A. tetragonus, which occurs throughout the Caribbean region (D. R. Hunt 1991).

The common name “triangle cactus” refers to the mature stems in cross section; the epithet “tetragonus” alludes to the juvenile stems, which often have four angles.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Acanthocereus tetragonus"
acuminate +
cushionlike +
apart +  and spaced +
circular to linear +
deciduous +  and persistent +
1 +  and few +
circular +  and oval +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
Bruce D. Parfitt +  and Arthur C. Gibson +
(Linnaeus) Hummelinck +
hardened +
Cactus tetragonus +
triangular +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Barbed-wire cactus +, triangle cactus +  and chaco +
Fla. +, Tex. +, Mexico +, West Indies +, Central America +, n South America +  and Pacific Islands (Hawaii) +
0-10 m +
not separating +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br />) +
lateral +  and terminal +
tubular +, urceolate +  and salverform +
14 cm140 mm <br />0.14 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
dehiscent +  and indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
tuberculate +
ovoid +  and oblong +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
juicy +  and fleshy +
Sandy soils of dense thickets, hammocks, bottomlands of coastal areas +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
broadly linear +  and narrowly oblanceolate +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
rudimentary +
flat +  and terete +
nearly +  and microscopic +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
fluted;spheric;depressed-spheric or club-shaped +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
denticulate +  and entire +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
Flowering mid summer–fall. +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
Succulenta (Netherlands) +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
prominent +
narrowly triangular +  and winglike +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
adventitious +
deciduous +
triangular +
arillate +  and strophiolate +
0.4mm;12mm +
obovoid +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.48 cm4.8 mm <br />0.0048 m <br />) +
Illustrated +
gray +, reddish +  and brown +
straight +
deciduous +  and persistent +
6 (?) +  and 8 (?) +
flattened +, terete +, acicular +  and subulate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
unsegmented +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
dark green +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (400 cm4,000 mm <br />4 m <br />) +
angled +, elongate +  and segmented +
succulent +
6cm;10cm +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
Acanthocereus floridanus +, Acanthocereus pentagonus +, Cereus pentagonus +  and Cereus tetragonus +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Acanthocereus tetragonus +
Acanthocereus +
species +
dull +  and glossy +
impenetrable +
well-developed +
epiphytic;epiphytic;epiphytic +
arching-reclining +  and clambering +
barrel-shaped +  and spheric +