Acanthocereus is a genus of cacti. Its species take the form of shrubs with arching or climbing stems up to several meters in height. The generic name is derived from the Greek word άκανθα (acantha), meaning spine, and the Latin word cereus, meaning candle.^[2]

The six species occur in the tropical Americas from the southern tip of Florida to Colombia, including islands of the Caribbean.

Stems have 3 to 5 ribs, typically thin, with stout spines. The pretty white funnel-shaped flowers are night-opening, 12–25 cm (4.7–9.8 in) long and 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) in diameter.

Barbed-wire Cactus stem

Acanthocereus tetragonus, commonly known as Barbed-wire Cactus, Chaco, Nun-tsusuy, or Órgano, is the most widespread of the genus and the largest, reaching 2–7 m (6.6–23 ft) tall.

The name was first used by George Engelmann in 1863, although he did not describe its characters, leaving it to Alwin Berger in 1905 to define it as a subsection of Cereus. In 1909, Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose elevated Acanthocereus to a genus.^[3]

Barbed-wire Cactus habit

Synonymy

The genera Dendrocereus Britton & Rose and Monvillea Britton & Rose have been brought into synonymy.

Species

• Acanthocereus baxaniensis (Karwinsky ex Pfeiff.) Borg (Cuba)
• Acanthocereus colombianus Britton & Rose (Colombia)
• Acanthocereus horridus Britton & Rose (southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador)
• Acanthocereus occidentalis Britton & Rose (southern Sonora to Guerrero, Mexico)
• Acanthocereus subinermis Britton & Rose (Oaxaca, Mexico)
• Acanthocereus tetragonus (L.) Hummelinck - Barbed-wire Cactus (Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, northern South America)^[3]

References