• Stems - more or less erect, with the longest ones finally sprawling-pendent, to 80 cm ( - 2 m) tall or more, branching basally and laterally, 2 - sided, with age becoming terete near base, (1.5 -) 2.5 - 3.5 cm wide, 3 - 5 mm thick through midrib, elsewhere ca. 1.5 mm thick, the apices obtuse, the stem margins undulate, crenate, the lobes protruding 2 - 4 mm; epidermis smooth, light green, rather dull.
• Areoles - ca. 2 cm (5 - 30 mm) apart, at bottom of sinus between lobes, the leaflets appressed to areoles and folded around stem-edges, broadly truncate, ca. 2 mm wide and 1 mm long, auriculate on either side near base, with a slight erose margin. whitish and translucent, the areole with dense, curly, yellowish wool less than 1 mm long and 2 - 3 (1 - 8) subulate, sharp, straight, erect spines 1 - 1.5 mm long, these at first cream, later brownish.
• Flowers - single at an areole. narrowly campanulate, ca. 10 mm long, the tepals more or less straight and diverging at ca. 45 degrees, the limb 4 - 5 mm wide.
• Receptacle - 4 - 5 mm long, oblong, 3 - 3.5 mm thick at middle, 2.5 - 3 mm thick at apex, yellowish green, smooth, shiny, with 3 - 5 obscure, very obtuse podaria.
• Bracteoles - widely ovate to sub-deltoid, obtuse to subacute, often somewhat serrate, yellowish green, more yellow and translucent near margin, to 0.5 mm long and 0.75 mm wide, rather fleshy, not subtending wool, hairs or spines.
• Outer tepals - 8 - 10, the lowest oblong, the upper becoming more oblanceolate, obtuse, the outer face convex, the inner concave, 2 - 6 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, the lower ones greenish cream, the upper ones more yellowish.
• Inner tepals - 6 or 7, linear-oblong, obtuse, 5-6 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide at middle, faintly greenish cream; ovule-chamber turbinate, 2 mm long and 1 mm wide.
• Nectaries - ca. 0.75 mm long.
• Stamens - inserted in a single zone at apex of nectaries, the filaments 2.5 - 3 mm long, ca. 0.15 mm wide, yellowish cream, the anthers broadly renate to oblong, ca. 0.33 mm in diameter, yellowish.
• Style - 4-4.25 mm long and 0.5 mm thick, yellowish, the stigma lobes 4 or 5, widely expanding, oblong-ovate, ca. 1 mm long and 0.33 mm thick, heavily papillose, cream.
• Fruit - oblong, 6 - 8 mm long excluding dried perianth, 5 - 7 mm thick, the epidermis at first light green, finally whitish and translucent, with the seeds and white venation visible within, smooth and shiny, the bracteoles appressed, deltoid. less than 1 mm long and wide, greenish, lacking areolar wool; pulp colorless; dried perianth straight. ca. 3 mm long, brownish.
• Seeds - ovoid, 1.25-1.50 mm long, 0.75-1 mm wide, ca. 0.5 mm thick. the testa slightly and obtusely ridged along edge opposite hilum, smoother elsewhere, shiny, dark brown, the hilum diverging 45 degrees from main seed-axis, hardly depressed, whitish.

PERU: Dept. Amazonas: Prov. Chachapoyas: Cerro Calla Calla, 42 km below summit and ca. 21 km above Balsas, at Km 360.5, 1900 m alt., Oct.16, 1964, Hutchison & Wright 7006. UCBG 64.1726, HBG 18379 (F, NY, UC, US, USM); same collection pressed in cultivation (HNT)

DISTRIBUTION - Peru (Amazonas, Junin?); terrestrial, at c. 1700 - 2000 m altitude.

This species remains poorly known and is only provisionally placed in this genus on the basis of its whitish translucent, veined, mature fruits. Its Peruvian type locality is remote from other Lepismium taxa, although a recent collection from Depto Junin (Smith and Palacios 2646, SI!), which is only provisionally placed here ( cf. also species L. paranganiense and L. bolivianum; fruits described as pinkish cream), may provide a geographical link with its congeners to the south.

Even though Ritter deposited a specimen of this taxon at the University of Utrecht Herbarium (U!), his name Acanthorhipsalis brevispina is invalid, since he failed to cite this specimen in the protologue (cf. ICBN Art.37.3).

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