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Harrisia bonplandii (parm. ex Pfeiff.) Britton & Rose

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Cactaceae > Harrisia

Characteristics

Clambering shrub, 1-4 m, but reputedly up to 25 m tall; trunk up to 8 cm in diameter; branches segmented, obtusely 3-4(-5)-angled, 3-4(-5) cm in diameter. Spines c. 6, 1 stouter and longer (2.5-3 cm long) than the rest (1-2 cm long). Flowers large, 15-20 x 5-10 cm; pericarpel and hypanthium scales c. 2 cm long, without spines, numerous and relatively dense to overlapping on the hypanthium, with hairy to villous axils; flowering areole nearly naked. Fruit 4-7 cm in diameter, strongly tuberculate, each tubercle topped by a persistent scale, axils villous-hairy. Seed large (c. 2.5 mm long), rugose, black-brown (virtually black).
More
A cactus. It grows 3-4 m long. The roots are long and fattened tubers. The flowers are white. The fruit are red.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 13.0 - 13.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 5-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-11

Usage

The fruit are eaten raw. The young flowers are boiled in water with salt and Capsicum chacoense, or cooked in ashes. The roots are boiled and eaten.
Uses food medicinal
Edible flowers fruits roots
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -7
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Fruit

Harrisia bonplandii fruit picture by Jaime Sabrina (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Harrisia bonplandii world distribution map, present in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and South Africa

Conservation status

Harrisia bonplandii threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID -
WFO ID wfo-0000715881
COL ID 6LFS8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Cereus balansae Cereus bonplandii Cereus guelichii Eriocereus bonplandii Eriocereus guelichii Harrisia bonplandii Harrisia balansae Cereus rhodocephalus Harrisia guelichii Echinopsis balansae Harrisia pomanensis subsp. bonplandii Cereus pomanensis var. grossei
WorldFloraDB 2024