Monvillea saxicola

Monvillea saxicola is a flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae that is found in Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.

Description

Monvillea saxicola grows shrubby with sparsely to well branched, upright to spreading, blue green stems of 1.5 to 3 centimeters in diameter. There are 6 to 9 ribs available. The 1 to 5 needle-like middle spines are up to 1.5 inches long. The 6 to 9 needles are white and have a black tip. They are 2 to 6 millimeters long.
The greenish-white flowers are up to 12 centimeters long. The fruits have diameters of up to 3 centimeters.

Taxonomy

The first description as Cereus saxicola was published in 1893 by Thomas Morong. The specific epithet saxicola is derived from the Latin words saxum for 'rock' and -cola for '-dwelling' and refers to the rocky habitat of the species. Nigel Paul Taylor placed the species in the genus Praecereus in 1997. Taxonomic synonyms include Cereus cavendishii and Cereus rhodoleucanthus., Monvillea saxicola is the currently accepted name in Plants of the World Online.

Distribution

Monvillea saxicola is widespread in southwestern Brazil and northeastern Argentina at altitudes of 300 to 900 meters. It is also found in Paraguay.