Polaskia chende

Polaskia chende is a succulent cactus native to a small area of mountains of northern Oaxaca and southern Puebla, Mexico. It grows in xerophytic shrubland between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level.^[1]

Polaskia chende
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Polaskia
Species:	P. chende
Binomial name
Polaskia chende (Rol-.Goss.) A.C.Gibson & K.E.Horak
Distribution of Polaskia chende
Synonyms[2]
Cereus chende Rol.-Goss. Cereus delmoralii J.A.Purpus Heliabravoa chende (Rol.-Goss.) Bravo & D.K.Cox Lemaireocereus chende Rol.-Goss.) Britton & Rose Myrtillocactus chende (Rol.-Goss.) P.V.Heath

Description

Polaskia chende forms 3–5 m (9 ft 10 in – 16 ft 5 in) tall branching columnar stems, 40 to 80 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide, and can reach up to 4.5 m in height. 7 to 8 ribs, rarely 9, 1.7 to 3 cm high, areoles 5 mm long, circular to elliptical, spaced 2 cm apart, with the presence of black trichomes. It has 5 or 6 radial spines 2 cm long and 0.8 cm wide, grey, the central spine may be absent or rudimentary; fertile zone not differentiated from the infertile zone. Plants bloom between August and January. Its flowers are white reach a length of 5 cm oblanceolate, mucronate apex, green, some with a red to purple middle stripe. The fruit approximately 3 cm long and 4 cm wide, are purple, with short bracts, yellow trichomes, with short spines, juicy purple pulp. Seeds 1.6 mm long and 1 mm wide. Flowering occurs between the months of August and January, and bears fruit between December and June.^[3][1]

Distribution

It inhabits oak (Quercus) forests, xeric scrublands, tropical deciduous forests, and among riparian vegetation, at elevations from 1,700 to 2,200 metres (5,600 to 7,200 ft).

• 
  Limestone habitat in Oaxaca
• 
  Adult plant in Oaxaca
• 
  scrublands habitat in Oaxaca

Taxonomy

The plant was initially named Cereus chende, was described by Robert Roland-Gosselin in 1905.^[4] The specific epithet "chende" comes from its Spanish common name. In 1979, Arthur Charles Gibson and Karl E. Horak reclassified the species under the genus Polaskia.^[5]