Corryocactus erectus

Corryocactus erectus or is a species of columnar cactus found in Peru.

Description

Corryocactus erectus grows semi-prostrate to upright, is only slightly branched and reaches heights of up to 1 meter. The slender, cylindrical shoots have a diameter of up to 3 centimeters. There are five to nine narrow, not very prominent ribs. The eight to 18 bright, unequally long thorns that radiate in all directions have a darker base and cannot be differentiated into central and peripheral thorns. They are up to 1 centimeter long.
The light red to vermilion flowers are 2.5 to 4 centimeters long. The bright red fruits reach a diameter of up to 2 centimeters.

Distribution

Corryocactus erectus is found in Cusco, Peru growiung primarily in desert or dry scrub biomes, on cliffs located between 3000 and 3500 meters.

Taxonomy

The first description as Erdisia erecta was made in 1942 by Curt Backeberg. The specific epithet erectus comes from Latin, means 'upright' and refers to the upright shoots. Friedrich Ritter placed the species in the genus Corryocactus in 1981