Rhipsalis floccosa ssp tucumanensis

R. floccosa subsp. tucumanensis (F A C Weber) Barthlott
and N P Taylor in Bradleya 13 (1995)

tucumanensis

Desc from B&R 1923

Plant - epiphytic on forest trees, when young setose, but soon naked, much branched
Branches - often pendent, sometimes in whorls of 4, 4 to 10 mm. in diameter, when young nearly terete, bright green with a red spot at the areoles, when old angled; yellowish green
Flowers - one from an areole, 15 to 18 mm. in diameter, rosy white to cream-colored
Sepals - 4, white but rose-colored on the back;
Petals - 8, ovate-lanceolate; stamens numerous, white, spreading, much shorter than petals
Style - white; stigma-lobes 4 or 5; ovary sunken in the branch, surrounded by a tuft of wool
Fruit - described as white tinged with red, but often red or pinkish, 8 to ~0 mm, broad

Type locality: Tucuman, Argentina.

Notes from Bradleya 13

DISTRIBUTION. Eastern Andes of Peru (Junin), Bolivia (La Paz, Santa Cruz, Tarija), Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucuman, Catamarca): epiphyte, at 700-1725 m altitude. Like subsp. pulvinigera, but stems less reddened and fruits larger, to 10 mm diam., red or white.

Like subsp pulvinigera, but stems less reddened and fruits larger, to 10 mm diam., red or white.

Rhipsalis tucumanensis Weber, Rev. Hort. 64: 426. 1892

Translated by Luc Scherens 12/20038.

Rhipsalis tucumanensis, Web. - Belongs to the section of Rhipsalis with sunken ovary, with floccose areoles. Sent in 1885 by M. Schickendantz from the environment of Tucuman (Republic Argentina). Found in company of Rh. lumbricoides and aculeata. Also gathered by M. Niederlein at Alpachiri (province of Catamarca) and mentionned by Dr. Schumann (Flora Brasil., page 284) as a form of Rh.pentaptera. Specimens I have received in 1885 were half dried and completely angular, like Rh. pentaptera.

Very robust species, long, climbing or hanging, 6 to 10 mm thick, having theappearance of Rh. funalis and floccosa, but longer, cilindrical or angularfrom the moment it's a little bit dehydrated. Green epidermis, not wrinkled; very few side branches, lateral, getting narrower towards the extremities. Flower bearing areoles floccose. Non flowering areoles with a large red orbrown scale.

Flowers solitary, surrounded by a big tuft of wool, white, open, 15 to 18 mmin diameter. Ovary immerged. Sepals 4, rounded, white, with a rose tone onthe back side. 8 Petals, lanceolate-oval, white, veined, with pinkextremities. Stamen 50 to 60, white, widely spreading, insertedin a white disk, projected by the style. Style white, slightly depassing thestamen, ended by 4 to 5 stigmata, thick, velvet, curling back.

The flower doesn't have the yellow tone like with Rh. floccosa, from whichit's distinguished by the rose tone on the sepals and the extremities of thetepals.

Berry big, 8 to 10 mm in diameter on 7 mm high, globoid (flattened spherical),waxy or porcelain white with a pink or fleshy tone, surrounded at its baseby the areole wool and crowned by the dried flower remains. Containing 20 to 30 seeds, smooth, brown, shiny, allongated, 1,2 mm long, 0,8 mm wide. Sub basichilum oblique, quite big, white. Rapid germination (8 days). Germen green, cotyledons pointy, curving back.