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Useful Tropical Plants

Acanthocereus chiapensis

Bravo

Cactaceae

+ Synonyms

Acanthocereus griseus Backeb.

Peniocereus chiapensis (Bravo) Gómez-Hin. & H.M.Hern.

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Acanthocereus chiapensis is a spiny, evergreen, shrubby cactus, usually branching from the base, and growing 170 - 350cm tall from a tuberous rootstock. Individual stems are up to 400cm long and 11cm in diameter.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Acanthocereus chiapensis has experienced a population decline of more than 30% in the past 60 years (generation length is 20 years) and habitat loss and severe fragmentation is continuing within its limited range. While this species tolerates some disturbance, it cannot survive in significantly modified habitats such as agricultural areas. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

C. America - Honduras, Guatemala; Southern N. America - southern Mexico (Chiapas)

Habitat

Tropical dry and semi-dry deciduous forest; at elevations from 500 - 1,300 metres[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Properties

Conservation StatusVulnerable
Edibility Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Shrub
Height2.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[
1996
Title
Las Cactáceae de Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Véliz M.E.
Publisher
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala
Year
2008
ISBN
99922-2-551-3
Description
 
]. Fruits almost spherical or obovoid, tuberculate, bright-red when mature, 35 - 55mm long, 23 - 40mm in diameter when mature.

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-26. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Acanthocereus+chiapensis>

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