Description
Stems
scandent, clambering or sprawling, branching, producing aerial roots, stiff, to 8 m long or more, 10-15 mm thick; ribs 5-6(-7), well marked and prominent, flattened, prominences 2-3mm high; areoles 1,5 mm in diameter, wool brownish or greyish, internodes 1-5 cm, depressed or shallow; spines 3-5, 2 (-5) mm long, brown, reddish brown or yellowish tipped brown, bristles from the lower part of the areole white; epidermis dark glossy green, often shaded purplish, smooth.
Flowers
produced from year-old areoles or older, 30-35cm long, nocturnal, not or weakly fragrant; pericarpel ovoid or sphaerical, dark green, covered with long brown hairs and yellowish bristles 10-13 mm long, podaria numerous, bracteoles deltoid, densely imbricate, reddish; receptacle 12 cm long, with adpressed bracteoles with spines and brown hairs in their axills, glaucous green, tinged with brown or striate; oter tepals linear, acute, the outermost reddish brown to reddish purple or orange purple, the innermost yellow, partly reflexed; inner tepals 10 cm long, 20-30 mm wide, lanceolate, oblanceolate or spathulate, more or less toothed at apex, acute, white or creamy white, not forming a regular cup; stamens white, much shorter than inner tepals.; style thick, much longer than stamens, white, stigma lobes 20-25, papillose, yellow.
Fruit 8 cm, blong, podaria numerous with many spines. |
