Monvillea euchlora

Monvillea euchlora is a flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae that is found in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay at elevations of 700 to 1300 meters^[2]

Monvillea euchlora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Monvillea
Species:	M. euchlora
Binomial name
Monvillea euchlora (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Backeb.
Synonyms[1]
Cereus alticostatus (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun Cereus campinensis (Backeb. & Voll) P.J.Braun Cereus campinensis subsp. piedadensis (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun & Esteves Cereus campinensis var. piedadensis (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun Cereus euchlorus F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum. Cereus euchlorus subsp. alticostatus (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun & Esteves Cereus euchlorus subsp. leucanthus (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun & Esteves Cereus lauterbachii K.Schum. Monvillea alticostata F.Ritter Monvillea campinensis (Backeb. & Voll) Backeb. Monvillea lauterbachii (K.Schum.) Borg Monvillea leucantha F.Ritter Monvillea piedadensis F.Ritter Pilocereus campinensis Backeb. & Voll Praecereus campinensis (Backeb. & Voll) Buxb. Praecereus euchlorus subsp. euchlorus in Praecereus euchlorus (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) N.P.Taylor

Description

Monvillea euchlora initially grows slightly upright, is less branched and later bent over and leaning in sympathy. The slender shoots are up to 5 meters long. There are 4 to 14 low and sharp-edged ribs. The up to 20 thorns are weak, whitish, needlelike and often very unevenly long. The up to 4 middle spines, which may be missing, are up to 5 (rarely to 7.5) inches long. The much shorter edge spines have a length of 5 to 10 (rarely to 15) millimeters.

The white to greenish white flowers are up to 8 centimeters long. Their pericarpell and the flower tube are covered with very little scales and otherwise bald. The fruits are elongated.^[3]

Taxonomy

Originally described as Cereus euchlorus by Karl Moritz Schumann in 1897, its specific epithet derives from the Greek words "eu" (real) and "chloros" (green), referring to the plant's vibrant green shoots.^[4] In 1997, Nigel Paul Taylor reclassified the species into the genus Praecereus.^[5] As of November 2025^[update], Plants of the World Online places the species in the genus Monvillea as Monvillea euchlora.

Distribution

Monvillea euchlora is found slopes on rocky outcrops in southern and western Brazil, Bolivia, and northeast Argentina growing from sea level to 2000 meters.^[6] It is also found in Paraguay.^[1]