Shrubs, clambering or arching-reclining, branched near base, sometimes with well-developed trunks. Stems dark green, growing to 200 cm per season; ribs from base to rib crest 3–5 cm, less than 1 cm thick. Spines abruptly thickened at base, extremely variable. Flowers 14–20 cm; flower tube 8–15 cm, ± tuberculate, areoles few, usually 1 spine per areole; outer tepals narrowly lanceolate to linear, 3.5–4 cm, apex acuminate; inner tepals broadly linear, 3.5–4.5 cm, apex acuminate; ovary with small scales and usually 3–5 diverging spines per areole. Fruits bright red, ovoid to oblong, 30–80(–100) mm, slightly tuberculate, shiny, edible, sweet. 2n = 22 [as A. pentagonus (Linnaeus) Britton & Rose].

Phenology: Flowering mid summer–fall.
Habitat: Sandy soils of dense thickets, hammocks, bottomlands of coastal areas
Elevation: 0-10 m

Distribution

Fla., Tex., Mexico, West Indies, Central America, n South America, introduced Pacific Islands (Hawaii).

Discussion

The Florida populations have been called Acanthocereus floridanus but now appear to be the northernmost variants of the highly variable species A. tetragonus, which occurs throughout the Caribbean region (D. R. Hunt 1991).

The common name “triangle cactus” refers to the mature stems in cross section; the epithet “tetragonus” alludes to the juvenile stems, which often have four angles.

References

None.

Facts about "Acanthocereus tetragonus"

RDF feed

Author	Bruce D. Parfitt + and Arthur C. Gibson +
Basionym	Cactus tetragonus +
Common name	Barbed-wire cactus +, triangle cactus + and chaco +
Elevation	0-10 m +
Habitat	Sandy soils of dense thickets, hammocks, bottomlands of coastal areas +
Illustrator	John Myers +
Phenology	Flowering mid summer–fall. +
Reference	None +
Synonym	Acanthocereus floridanus +, Acanthocereus pentagonus +, Cereus pentagonus + and Cereus tetragonus +
Taxon name	Acanthocereus tetragonus +
Taxon parent	Acanthocereus +
Taxon rank	species +
Volume	Volume 4 +