Cleistocactus is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to mountainous areas - to 3,000 m (9,843 ft)[1] - of South America (Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina). The name comes from the Greek kleistos meaning closed because the flowers hardly open.

Cleistocactus
Cleistocactus strausii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Cereeae
Subtribe: Trichocereinae
Genus: Cleistocactus
Lem.
Type species
Cleistocactus baumannii
Species

See text

Description

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The plants of the genus are slender stem succulents that are tall, mostly slender and often many-branched up to about 3 m high. They usually form basally branching shrubs, rarely they branch higher and form small trees. The shoots stand upright and then often hang over as they get older; they usually lie down with their ends rising up; more rarely they grow hanging. They usually have many ribs, closely set areoles and spines. The areoles on the ribs usually have many fine, hair-like spines with a few firmer spines in between; the spines are rarely longer and coarse.

In most species, the flowers appear in large numbers individually from the areoles. The flowers are tubular and the tips hardly open with only the style and stamens usually protruding. In some species (from the earlier genera Borzicereus and Cephalocleistocactus) they appear from conspicuous zones of heavy bristle and hair formation. In adaptation to the pollinators (hummingbirds), the flowers are long, tubular with upright bracts, which are sometimes not or only slightly folded outwards at the tips and thus appear almost closed. They are often slightly zygomorphic due to an upward bend near the base and/or an oblique flower border (longer or straighter at the top, shorter or more folded at the bottom). The flower colors range from green to white, yellow, orange and red to violet, with shades of red predominating. The densely scaled fruits that emerge after fertilization are relatively small, but usually contain numerous seeds.

Species

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Species of the genus Cleistocactus according to Plants of the World Online As of July 2023:[2]

Image Scientific name Distribution
Cleistocactus ayopayanus Cárdenas Bolivia
  Cleistocactus baumannii (Lem.) Lem. Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay
  Cleistocactus brookeae Cárdenas Bolivia
  Cleistocactus buchtienii Backeb. Bolivia
  Cleistocactus candelilla Cárdenas Bolivia
Cleistocactus capadalensis F.Ritter Bolivia (Chuquisaca)
Cleistocactus chrysocephalus (F.Ritter) Mottram Bolivia
Cleistocactus dependens Cárdenas Bolivia
  Cleistocactus hildegardiae F.Ritter Bolivia
  Cleistocactus hyalacanthus (K.Schum.) Rol.-Goss. Argentina, Bolivia
  Cleistocactus laniceps (K.Schum.) Rol.-Goss. Bolivia
  Cleistocactus luribayensis Cárdenas Bolivia
  Cleistocactus micropetalus F.Ritter Bolivia
  Cleistocactus morawetzianus Backeb. Peru
  Cleistocactus parviflorus (K.Schum.) Rol.-Goss. Bolivia
  Cleistocactus pungens F.Ritter Peru
  Cleistocactus reae Cárdenas Bolivia
  Cleistocactus ritteri Backeb. Bolivia
  Cleistocactus samaipatanus (Cárdenas) D.R.Hunt Bolivia
  Cleistocactus smaragdiflorus (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose Argentina
  Cleistocactus strausii (Heese) Backeb. Bolivia, Argentina
  Cleistocactus tominensis (Weing.) Backeb. Bolivia
Cleistocactus variispinus F.Ritter Bolivia
  Cleistocactus viridiflorus Backeb. Bolivia (La Paz)
  Cleistocactus winteri D.R.Hunt Bolivia

Synonyms

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The following genera have been brought into synonymy with this genus:

References

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  1. ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  2. ^ "Cleistocactus Lem". Plants of the World Online. 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  • Innes C, Wall B (1995). Cacti, Succulents and Bromaliads. Cassell & The Royal Horticultural Society.
  • The species list is referenced from http://www.cactiguide.com/ which is in turn referenced from several books which are listed on that site. The principal book listed here is The Cactus Family by Edward F. Anderson.
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