? ric rac leaf

Why is the Selenicereus anthonyanus leaf so different from other Epiphyllums?

Same Family: Cactaceae, different genus

I googled and found this:

Genus: Epiphyllum: Any cactus of the genus epiphyllum having flattened, jointed irregularly branching stems.

Genus: Selenicereus: Mostly epiphytic, climbing cacti that bloom at night.


I am a novice with the Orchid Cacti and it sometimes is very confusing to me because some Epiphyllums bloom at night too.

Hopefully one of the experts who grow these plants will be along with better info soon.

Oddly, I have neither of the two plants I am about to use as examples, but I have picked them out because they illustrate the kinds of things botanists look for when they decide which genus a plant belongs in. Here is S. anthonyanus http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/109159/ - note the bristles at the base of the flower, where the fruit forms after fertilization. By comparison, here is E. anguliger http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/174888/ and it has naked ovarys, just like all of the species Epiphyllums. Even though both of these are "ric-rac" cacti and thus share a superficial similarity it is the detailed structures of the flowers which decide which genus they belong in.

Without giving the whole diagnosis here are a few details for each genus which I have quoted from Curt Backeberg's Cactus Lexicon - firstly, for Epiphyllum -

(Glabrous means naked so in this case without spines or wool on the flower)

and secondly for Selinicereus -

You can't really see it in the photos but if you actually had the flowers in front of you, then you could look at lots of other details like the length and structure of the stamens and other flowering parts all of which can be important clues as to the "proper" place for each plant.

For anyone who is REALLY interested in why plants get the names they do, along with why these names change as we learn new things about them, here are a couple of interesting references.

For the concept of "species" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_problem
and for "genus" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus . As for the rest of us, we can just learn the names the way we do those of our friends and acquaintances - one plant at a time, LOL!

Hope this helps, Ciao, KK.

I was wondering if there was a particular thing about the tree or trees used for support in the jungle that had something to do with the Ric Rac's leaf formation. Maybe a different trees bark or limb structure. Maybe even the sunlight and the location in the jungle.

I visited a hoya site that showed hoyas in their jungles and how the tree was used by the plant. This kinda got me thinking when I was looking at my plants this morning.
Thanks for the info.

Actually, one thing that the ric-rac does for the plant, is to allow its stems to interlock, or get caught on the stems of another plant. Probably an evolutionary advantage based on its home turf.

Now you have me wondering.

Thanks yall