Strophocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. Its status and circumscription remain somewhat uncertain, with the genus containing one to three species (not always the same ones). Molecular phylogenetic data suggest that it consists of three species, including two formerly comprising the genus Pseudoacanthocereus. With this circumscription, the species have different growth habits, but share similarities in their flowers, which are white and open at night.
GENUS
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Strophocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. Its status and circumscription remain somewhat uncertain, with the genus containing one to three species (not always the same ones). Molecular phylogenetic data suggest that it consists of three species, including two formerly comprising the genus Pseudoacanthocereus. With this circumscription, the species have different growth habits, but share similarities in their flowers, which are white and open at night.
==Description== As circumscribed by Korotkova et al. in 2017, the three species of Strophocactus have tubular to funnel-shaped flowers with tubercules arranged in ribs and areoles with bristles. The flowers are white and open at night. They are followed by yellow to brown fruits. Two species (S. brasiliensis and S. sicariguensis) are scrambling or decumbent shrubs, with thin stems (up to 4.5 cm across) and tuberous roots. S. sicariguensis sometimes has flattened stem segments. The third species, S. wittii, is an epiphyte with flattened stems that cling to the trunks of trees using aerial roots.
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