Xiquexique gounellei

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Xiquexique gounellei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Xiquexique
Species:
X. gounellei
Binomial name
Xiquexique gounellei
(F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Lavor & Calvente 2020
Synonyms
  • Cephalocereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Britton & Rose 1920
  • Cereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Luetzelb. 1926
  • Pilocereus gounellei F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum. 1897
  • Pilosocereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Byles & G.D.Rowley 1957
  • Pseudopilocereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Buxb. 1968

Xiquexique gounellei is a species of plant in the genus Xiquexique of the cactus family.[2] Common names include "Alastrado", "Chique-Chique", "Xique-Xique" and "Xique-Xique das Pedras".

Description[edit]

Xiquexique gounellei grows as a shrub and rarely as a tree, branches out numerously from a trunk and reaches heights of growth of 0.5 to 4 meters. The upright shoots become crooked or even horizontal with age. They are olive green, sometimes glaucous, and range from 3.7 to 9 centimeters in diameter. Young shoots appear near the top of the main shoot. There are 8 to 15 ribs with transverse ridges. The opaque to translucent spines are golden to reddish or brown or gray. The 1 to 10 ascending to protruding central spines are 1 to 13 centimeters (rarely up to 16 centimeters) long. The spread 10 to 20 radial spines lie on the surface of the shoots and are 6 to 30 millimeters long. The flowering part of the shoots is weak to strong and is located near the tip of the shoot. The flower buds are completely surrounded by long, silky hairs.

The funnel-shaped white flowers are 4 to 9 centimeters long and reach a diameter of 2.5 to 6 centimeters. The spherical to depressed spherical fruits are 4.5 to 6 centimeters in diameter, fissure at their base or near the apex, and contain magenta or white flesh.

Distribution[edit]

Xiquexique gounellei is widespread in northeastern Brazil in the Caatinga vegetation.

The species is classified as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]

Taxonomy[edit]

The first description as Pilocereus gounellei was published in 1897 by Frédéric Albert Constantin Weber.[3] Pâmela Lavor and Alice Calvente placed the species in the genus Xiquexique in 2020. Other nomenclature synonyms are Cephalocereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose (1920), Cereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber) Luetzelb. (1926), Pilosocereus gounellei (F.A.C. Weber) Byles & G.D.Rowley (1957) and Pseudopilocereus gounellei (F.A.C.Weber) Buxb. (1968).

The specific epithet gounellei honors the French entomologist Pierre-Émile Gounelle (1850–1914).[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Kew), Nigel Taylor (RBG (2010-08-09). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  2. ^ "Xiquexique gounellei (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Lavor & Calvente". Plants of the World Online. 1989-01-01. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  3. ^ Schumann, Karl Moritz; Hirscht, Karl. (1899). Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen (Monographia cactacearum) /von Karl Schumann. Neudamm [Dębno, Poland?]: J. Neumann. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.10394.
  4. ^ Lourteig, Alicia (1986). "The Botanical Collections of Pierre-Emile Gounelle". Brittonia. 38 (3). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 264. doi:10.2307/2807352. ISSN 0007-196X.

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