Cereus uruguayanus C.Ritter ex R.Kiesling, Cactaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Cereus hildmannianus K. Schum. subsp. uruguayanus (C. Ritter ex R. Kiesling) N. P. Taylor; Cereus peruvianus auct. pl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: hedge cactus, Peruvian apple, spiny tree cactus

Habit:  cactus

Description:  "Plants arborescent, up to 6 m tall, branched; stems cylindrical, 10-20 cm in diameter, ribs 6-9, rarely fewer.  Areoles gray or brown, spines 6-8 per areole, brown or black, 1-4 cm long.  Flowers nocturnal, 12-15 cm long, 8-10 cm in diameter; sepaloid perianth parts green or slightly pinkish, narrowly oblong to narrowly lanceolate, 4-5 cm long, 0.9-1.2 cm wide, inner perianth parts white, oblanceolate, 4.5-7.5 cm long, 1-2 cm wide; staminal filaments greenish; style green, 7.5-10 cm long; stigma lobes 12-15, green, ca. 1 cm long.  Berries reddish or yellowish orange, 5-7.5 cm long, 4.5-5 cm in diameter, smooth or with a few scales, splitting along 1 side and exposing a sweet while pulp" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 417).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized on southern Kaua‘i" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 417).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Southern Brazil, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 417). Uruguay, naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 91) As Cereus peruvianus
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) As Cereus peruvianus (C. Linnaeus) P. Miller Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 417) Voucher cited: Au s.n. (BISH) Naturalized
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2008) (p. 25) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer & D. Crow H70702 (BISH, PTBG)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Hawaiian Islands per Staples et al., 2000.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Cereus uruguayanus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Cereus uruguayanus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Cereus uruguayanus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2008. New Hawaiian plant records for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:22-38.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).