Leuenbergeria

Leuenbergeria is a genus of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, mostly native around the Caribbean. Unlike most cacti, it has persistent leaves and develops bark on its stems early in its growth. The genus was created in 2012 by Joël Lodé. Before the creation of Leuenbergeria as a genus, the species within it were included in a broadly circumscribed genus, Pereskia. Leuenbergeria is the only genus in the subfamily Leuenbergerioideae.

==Description== Species of Leuenbergeria grow as trees or shrubs, up to in the case of L. lychnidiflora. They differ from most cacti in having leaves even when mature – as also do species of Pereskia and Rhodocactus, with which Leuenbergeria species were once united in a single genus. Leuenbergeria differs from those other genera in that the stems of Leuenbergeria species form bark at an early stage in their growth and do not have stomata, preventing them from acting as organs of photosynthesis. Like other cacti, they have areoles bearing spines. In most species, the areoles also bear leaves. Their flowers are mostly pink, orange or red, although some species have yellow flowers.