Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa Photo by: Forest Starr & Kim Starr
Habit with red stems at Kihei, Maui, Hawaii (USA). August 14, 2009.
Origin and Habitat: Pseudorhipsalis ramulosaSN|8613]]SN|8613]] is widely distributed. It occurs in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela. In Mexico, it can be found in the states of Chiapas, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Puebla, Nayarit, Tabasco, and Veracruz. In Bolivia, it occurs in the Nor Yungas province, La Paz department. In Brazil it occurs in the northwestern parts of the Amazon jungle.
Altitudinal range: It grows at elevations of 500 to 2200 metres above sea level.
Habitat and Ecology: In Belize, Pseudorhipsalis ramulosaSN|8613]]SN|8613]] occurs in forests. In the Bolivian Andes it grows in submontane and montane forest and from trunk of trees near the cataracts. In Mexico and Costa Rica it can be found in humid forest. Deforestation for urban development, wood harvesting, and cattle ranching is a threat across its range.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa
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Accepted name in llifle Database:Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa (Salm-Dyck) BarthlottBradleya 9: 90. 1991Synonymy: 15
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Common Names include:
ENGLISH: Red mistletoe cactus
Description: Pseudorhipsalis ramulosaSN|8613]]SN|8613]] (also known as Red mistletoe cactus) is a graceful shrubby epiphyte succulent freely branching basally with completely pendant flat reddish tapeworm stems and the more sun, the deep violet red it gets. It produces lots of greenish-white flowers followed by small mistletoe-like fruits lining both edges of the ribbon stems most attractively. It forms large hanging clusters. Two subspecies are recognized, the nominate form and subsp. jamaicensis (Britton & Harris) Doweld.
Stems: Of two forms, the main primary stems woody, with rounded bases, 30-70 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, erect, terete flattened, often hairy basally. Secondary stems (branches) arising in four or five rows from the rounded parts of the primary stems, rounded basally, flattened apically, often further branched, lance shaped to linear, reddish at first, later pale green, 7-25 cm long, to 15-15 mm cm wide, with distant low crenations 12 to 20 mm apart, when young often ciliate at areoles but in age naked.
Areole: Spineless.
Flowers: Usually borne singly at the areoles, more or less pendent, small, rotate, greenish white or pinkish 7-12 mm long, 10-14 mm in diameter; sepals and petals 6 or 7. Pericarpel with few , small scales. Stamens in two groups one forming a ring in the throat, the remainders inserted further down the tube.
ovate-lanceolate, adhering to the base of the ovary, persistent; stamens 12 to 18. Style filiform; stigma lobes inconspicuous.
Fruit (berries): Ovoid, glabrous, white to pinkish white and subpellucid that looks like and are about the same size as pearls (4 to 8 mm in diameter), with 2 to 3 minute scales.
Seeds: Small, black.
Similar species: It is similar to Rhipsalis lorentziana but bearing scales on the ovary.
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Forest & Kim Starr “Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa (Pseudorhipsalis)”. Plants of Hawaii. <http://www.starrenvironmental.com>. Downloaded on 25 September 2014.
2) Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 2001
3) James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey "The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass" Cambridge University Press, 11/Aug/2011
4) David R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. "The New Cactus Lexicon" dh books, 2006
5) Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: “Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names” Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg 2010
6) N. L. Britton, J. N. Rose: “The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family.” Volume 4, The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 4: 7. 1923 [24 Dec 1923]
7) Terrazas, T., Hammel, B., Arreola, H., Ishiki, M. & Pizaña, J. 2013. Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 September 2014.
8) "Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa". In: Wikipedia, Die freie Enzyklopädie. Bearbeitungsstand: 8. Januar 2014, 14:47 UTC. URL: http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pseudorhipsalis_ramulosa&oldid=126250704 (Abgerufen: 25. September 2014, 16:24 UTC)
Habit with red stems at Kihei, Maui, Hawaii (USA). August 14, 2009. Photo by: Forest Starr & Kim Starr
Leaves and fruit at Iao Tropical Gardens of Maui, Maui, Hawaii (USA). May 22, 2012. Photo by: Forest Starr & Kim Starr
Leaves and fruit at Iao Tropical Gardens of Maui, Maui, Hawaii (USA). May 22, 2012. Photo by: Forest Starr & Kim Starr
Leaves and fruit at Iao Tropical Gardens of Maui, Maui, Hawaii (USA). May 22, 2012. Photo by: Forest Starr & Kim StarrCultivation and Propagation: PseudoSN'>
8613' alt='8617'>Rhipsalis ramulosa#SN#8617'>Pseudo[[Rhipsalis ramulosaSN' style='border:none;'>SN|8613]] is among the easiest to cultivate epiphytic cacti and tolerates neglect. This forest cactus tends to be long lived, but appears to be rare in cultivation, where it needs some shade and high humidity to succeed. It is great in a hanging basket or as a specimen planted in a crotch of a large tree. Cultivated in windowsills it will rapidly form dense bunches of red stems dangling over the edge of a pot.
Exposure: This plant (as with all Rhipsalis) prefers partial shade.
Watering: It requires ample summer water (more than other cacti), but allow soil to dry slightly between waterings.
Soil: These cacti won't want a normal cactus soil but will prefer to be in a soil largely composed of organic material, such as peat or sphagnum moss, This type of soil would normally be used for orchids, bromeliads or other epiphytic plants.
These forest cacti tend to be long lived.
Hardiness: Frost tender. It needs night-time temperatures no cooler than 5° C, especially in the winter.
Special requirements: These plants bloom profusely if grown in an even, high temperature, but significantly less if the temperature fluctuates between 4°C and 18°C. They drop their buds easily if they are moved. Once flower buds have formed, do not move the plant, as slight changes in environment may cause the buds to drop.
Propagation: Stem cuttings.
