Polaskia chichipe

Polaskia chichipe is a succulent cactus native to Mexico.

Polaskia chichipe
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. chichipe
Binomial name
Polaskia chichipe (Rol-.Goss.) A.C.Gibson & K.E.Horak
Synonyms[2]
Cereus chichipe Rol.-Goss. 1905 Lemaireocereus chichipe (Gosselin) Britton & Rose 1920 Myrtillocactus chichipe (Rol.-Goss.) P.V.Heath 1992 Cereus mixtecensis J.A.Purpus 1909 Lemaireocereus mixtecensis Britton & Rose 1909

Description

Polaskia chichipe forms short main stem, Terminal branches 7 to 9 cm wide, slightly arched, light green, form a compact crown, 2-5 meter tall branching stems near the shoot tips with spines. It reaches heights of growth of 3 to 5 m tall and sometimes forms a clear trunk. The green, slightly curved shoots are less than 1 meter long and have a diameter of up to 7 centimeters.There are 9 to 12 sharp-edged ribs, 1 to 2 cm high, that are slightly curved and wavy on the back and that are up to 2 centimeters high. The areoles are 3 to 5 mm long, 1 to 1.5 centimeters apart. The spines are gray with a darker tip. The single central spine is up to 1.5 centimeters, the 6 to 8 radial spines 0.3 to 1.5 centimeters long.

The yellowish green to creamy white flowers open at night. They are 2 to 4 centimeters long, 3 cm long and reach a diameter of 3 to 4 centimeters. The bracts 3 to 4 mm long and 4 mm wide, ovate, fleshy, spines less than 1 mm long. External tepals 1 to 1.4 cm long, 0.3 to 0.5 cm wide, oblong, revolute (leaves that curve at their edges towards the underside or external face thereof), yellowish white; internal tepals 1.2 to 1.8 cm long and about 0.3 cm wide; stamens 0.8 to 1.5 cm long; style 1. 3 to 1.5 cm long.

The spherical fruits are deep reddish purple, 2 to 3.3 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm wide, globose, red, deciduous areoles when ripe, spines 5 to 7, 2 to 4 mm long, purple-red flesh; seeds 1.2 to 1.4 mm long that bloom between March and June.^{[2][1] [3]}

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  terminal branch tip
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  Flower
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  Flowers and buds
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  Crested plant

Distribution

Polaskia chichipe is found in a small area of mountains of northern Oaxaca, Michoacán, and southern Puebla, Mexico. It grows in xerophytic shrubland between 1,600 and 2,300 meters above sea level.^[1] It is found growing along Cephalocereus mezcalaensis, Polaskia chende, Mammillaria haageana subsp. haageana, Ferocactus robustus, Agave karwinskii, Agave lechuguilla and Yucca periculosa.^[4]

Taxonomy

The species was first described as Cereus chichipe by Robert Roland-Gosselin in 1905. The specific name "chichipe" comes from a common name in Spanish. In 1949, Curt Backeberg reclassified the species into the genus Polaskia.^[5]