Harrisia brookii

Harrisia brookii is a species of cactus found in the Bahamas.

Harrisia brookii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Harrisia
Species:	H. brookii
Binomial name
Harrisia brookii Britton
Synonyms
Cereus brookii (Britton) Vaupel 1913

Description

Harrisia brookii grows as a shrub with richly branched, light green shoots 3 to 4 centimeters in diameter and reaches heights of up to 5 meters. There are ten distinct, deeply notched ribs. The nine to twelve brown to white thorns are up to 2.5 centimeters long.

The funnel-shaped flowers are around 20 centimeters long. Its floral tube and pericarpel are covered with long, pointed scales. The yellowish, ellipsoid to spherical fruits reach a diameter of up to 8 centimeters. They are covered with low tubercles and perennial scales.^[1]

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Distribution

Harrisia brookii is common in the Bahamas at elevations of 0-20 meters.^[2]

Taxonomy

The first description by Nathaniel Lord Britton was published in 1909. The specific epithet brookii honors the archivist Herbert A. Brooke from the Bahamas. A nomenclature synonym is Cereus brookii (Britton) Vaupel (1913).^[3]