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Rhipsalis baccifera

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This one is also from Oribi Gorge, South Africa.


The flower by Osbel López Francisco y Mariano Gorostiza Salazar.

Author:  William Thomas Stearn 1939
Family:  Cactaceae
Habitat:   Angola, Argentina, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Islands, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Leeward Islands, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Réunion, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, USA, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Islands, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
Soil:   Grit/Epiphytic
Water:   Minimum
Sun:   Medium
Thickness:  4 millimetres
Height:  60 centimetres
Flower:   Crème colour
Propagate:   Seeds/Cuttings
Names:   Mistletoe Cactus
Synonyms:  Cassytha baccifera, John M. Miller 1771.
Cactus parasiticus
, Lam.1783.
Rhipsalis cassutha
, Gaertn. 1788.
Rhipsalis delphinensis
, Barthlott 1788.
Rhipsalis parasiticus
, Haw. 1812.
Rhipsalis fasciculata
, Haw. 1819.
Rhipsalis pendulina,
A. Berger 1820.
Rhipsalis cereuscula
Haw. 1830.
Hariota cassytha
Lem. 1839.
Rhipsalis horrida
Baker 1884.
Rhipsalis prismatica
, Rumpler 1885.
Rhipsalis madagascariensis
, F.A.C. Weber 1889.
Rhipsalis comorensis
, F.A.C. Weber 1890.
Rhipsalis pilosa
, F.A.C. Weber ex K. Schum. 1890.
Rhipsalis suareziana
, F.A.C. Weber 1892.
Rhipsalis tetragona
, Web. 1892.
Rhipsalis bartlettii
, Clover 1938.
Rhipsalis heptagona
, Rauh & Backeb. 1957.
Rhipsalis coralloides
, Rauh 1962.
Rhipsalis saxicola
, Rauh 1963.
Rhipsalis bermejensis
, F. Ritter 1966.
Rhipsalis mauritiana
, Barthlott 1973.

This member of the Cactaceae family was described by William Thomas Stearn in 1939 (and by a lot of others before and after!). It is found in central and south America, central and southern Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. It grows in grit, between rocks and as an epiphyte with little water and some sun. It is the only native cacti outside the Americas. Probably spread by birds because of the white fruits have sticky pulp and tiny seeds. The branches are 3-4 millimetres in diameter, and can reach for 60 centimetres. Some subspecies has no thorns, others have lots of small thorns. The flowers are crème coloured.

baccifera means sticks-making.

SubFamily: Cactoideae , Tribe: Rhipsalideae.


Except from this one, which is from northern Madagascar.