Praecereus euchlorus

Praecereus euchlorus is a flowering plant in the family Cactaceae that is found in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay at elevations of 700 to 1300 meters^[1]

Praecereus euchlorus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Praecereus
Species:	P. euchlorus
Binomial name
Praecereus euchlorus (F.A.C. Weber ex K. Schum.) N.P. Taylor 1997
Synonyms
Cereus euchlorus F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum. 1897 Monvillea euchlora (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Backeb. 1960

Description

Praecereus euchlorus 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.^[2]

Subspecies

Accepted Subspecies:^[3]

• Praecereus euchlorus subsp. amazonicus (K.Schum. ex Vaupel) N.P.Taylor
• Praecereus euchlorus subsp. diffusus (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor
• Praecereus euchlorus subsp. euchlorus
• Praecereus euchlorus subsp. goianus P.J.Braun, Esteves & R.Esteves Pereira
• Praecereus euchlorus subsp. jaenensis (Rauh & Backeb.) Ostolaza
• Praecereus euchlorus subsp. smithianus (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor

Distribution

Praecereus euchlorus is found slopes on rocky outcrops in southern and western Brazil, Paraguay, Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northeast Argentina growing from sea level to 2000 meters.^[4]

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.^[5] In 1997, Nigel Paul Taylor reclassified the species into the genus Praecereus.^[6]