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Magnoliopsida
Pereskia P. Miller, 1754
EOL Text
Genus Peruskia has a presence in South America, North America and the Caribbean Basin. North American occurrences are limited to southern Mexico clearly within the tropics; although there are vouchered specimens in southern Florida for Peruskia aculeata, some impute these occurrences to the result of introductions. Genus occurrences are widespread in the tropics of Mesoamerica and South America, as well as throughout the Caribbean Islands. Some sources cite a restriction of the genus to the tropics; however, some species native ranges in Brazil and Argentina are clearly outside the Southern Hemisphere tropics.
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Rights holder/Author | C. Michael Hogan, C. Michael Hogan |
Source | http://www.eoearth.org/article/Cactus?topic=49480 |
Pereskia aculeata Mill.
Arbusto sarmentoso o liana que alcanza 15 m de largo, muy ramificado a partir de una base leñosa. Tallos leñosos, marrón obscuro, cilíndricos, sin costillas, 2-3 cm de diámetro, con numerosas areolas; espinas dimorfas, hasta 1.5 cm de largo, usualmente deciduas; ramas escandentes o colgantes. Hojas alternas, persistentes; láminas 4-7 × 1.5-5 cm, lanceoladas, ovadas u oblongas, carnosas, glabras, el ápice cortamente acuminado, la base cuneada o redondeada, los márgenes enteros; haz y envés glabros; pecíolos 3-7 mm de largo, con un par de espinas estipulares, recurvadas en la base. Flores pocas, en racimos terminales; hipanto crateriforme, con algunas bractéolas y areolas con espinas aciculares. Tépalos blancos, 2.5-3 cm de largo; estambres numerosos, en dos series, amarillos; ovario ínfero. Baya, amarilla o anaranjada, globosa, ca. 2 cm de diámetro, con algunas bractéolas y espinas persistentes; semillas pocas, 4-5 mm de ancho, lenticulares o redondeadas, marrón obscuro.
Fenología: Coleccionada en flor en octubre; y en fruto en enero y febrero.
Estatus: Exótica, cultivada y naturalizada, poco común.
Especimenes Estudiados: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 4267; Gregory 209; Shafer, J.A. 2563.
Conservation Actions
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Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/46508 |
Pereskia aculeata Miller, Gard. Dict. ed. 8. 1768.
Clambering shrub or liana attaining 15 m in length, much branched from a woody base. Stems woody, dark brown, cylindrical, without ribs, 2-3 cm in diameter, with numerous areoles; spines dimorphic, up to 1.5 cm long, usually deciduous; branches scandent or pendulous. Leaves alternate, persistent; blades 4-7 × 1.5-5 cm, lanceolate, ovate, or oblong, fleshy, glabrous, the apex shortacuminate, the base cuneate or rounded, the margins entire; upper and lower surface glabrous; petioles 3-7 mm long, with a pair of stipular spines, recurved at the base. Flowers few, in terminal racemes; hypanthium crateriform, with several bracteoles and areoles with acicular spines. Tepals white, 2.5-3 cm long; stamens numerous, in two series, yellow; ovary inferior. Berry yellow or orange, globose, ca. 2 cm in diameter, with several bracteoles and persistent spines; seeds few, 4-5 mm wide, lenticular or rounded, dark brown.
Phenology: Collected in flower in October and in fruit in January and February.
Status: Exotic, cultivated and naturalized, uncommon.
Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 4267; Gregory 209; Shafer, J.A. 2563.
Uses: Fruit, Vegetable/potherb, Cultivated ornamental
Comments: The leaves are used as a pot herb or vegeetable, particularly in rural areas of Minas Gerais and Bahia. The fruits are edible. Because of the showy flowers it is also planted as an ornamental, but the strong, rather unleasant fragrance limits its use. It is probably the most frequently cultivated Pereskia in botanical gardens.
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Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Pereskia+aculeata |
Cactus pereskia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 469. 1753.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242413988 |
Pereskia aculeata is a scrambling shrub in the family Cactaceae. Common names include Barbados gooseberry, leaf cactus and ora-pro-nobis. It is native to tropical America. The leaves and fruits are edible, containing high quantities of protein, iron and other nutrients, and it is a popular vegetable in parts of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais under the name of ora-pro-nóbis.
Contents
Description[edit]
Like other members of the genus Pereskia, these plants are unusual cacti with spiny non-succulent stems and large leaves.
It is a scrambling vine growing to 10 m (33 ft) tall in trees, with stems 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) thick. Younger stems have hooked thorns and older stems have clusters of woody spines. The leaves are 4–11 cm (1.6–4.3 in) long and 1.5–4 cm (0.59–1.57 in) broad, simple, entire, and deciduous in the dry season. The strongly scented flowers are white, cream or pinkish, 2.5–5 cm (0.98–1.97 in) diameter, and numerous, produced in panicles. The fruit is a rounded berry, translucent white to pink, yellow, orange or red, and 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter. The leaves are edible, containing 20 to 30% of protein in the dry leaf matter. The fruit are also edible, containing numerous small seeds. It somewhat resembles the gooseberry in appearance and is of excellent flavor.
Distribution[edit]
Native[edit]
Panama, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Virgin Islands (U.S.), French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay.
Introduced[edit]
United States, Mexico, South Africa and Australia.
Ecological significance[edit]
A flea-beetle (Phenrica guérini) and a leaf-mining moth (Epipagis cambogialis), feed on the leaves.
Although Pereskia aculeata is edible and of high nutrition quality, been an alternative to conventional food, this plant is a declared weed in South Africa where it does extensive damage to forest areas by smothering indigenous trees. Infestations occur in some KwaZulu-Natal forests and are embedded in the canopy and difficult to remove. The plant has a tendency to form large, impenetrable clumps and the spines on the stems make control of large infestations difficult. The plants can regrow from leaves or pieces of stem. One specimen that had infested a tree had its stems cut at the base, but after four years the 'dry' stems of the Pereskia that fell from the tree still set root and regrew.[3]
Control[edit]
These plants are extremely difficult to kill and eradicate. It can be controlled by Triclopyr or biological control with the leaf-feeding flea-beetle, Phenrica guérini, which has caused significant damage to Pereskia plants at Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, South Africa, but although the beetle was also released widely in KwaZulu-Natal, it has not become established there.
References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pereskia aculeata. |
- ^ Taylor (2002). Pereskia aculeata. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 9 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
- ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved May 16, 2014.
- ^ Purves et al. (1995)
- Grocer's Encyclopedia: The Encyclopedia of Food and Beverage, by Artemas Ward, New York, 1911.
- http://www.hear.org/Pier/wra/pacific/pereskia_aculeata_htmlwra.htm
- Pooley, E. (1998). A Field Guide to Wild Flowers; KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. ISBN 0-620-21500-3.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pereskia_aculeata&oldid=645175703 |
Cactus pereskia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 469. 1753
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242413988 |
Pereskia aculeata (Barbados gooseberry) is a species of Pereskia, a genus of unusual cacti with spiny non-succulent stems and large leaves. It is native to tropical America.
It is a scrambling vine growing to 10 m (33 ft) tall in trees, with stems 2–3 cm (0.79–1.2 in) thick. The leaves are 4–11 cm (1.6–4.3 in) long and 1.5–4 cm (0.59–1.6 in) broad, simple, entire, and deciduous in the dry season. The flowers are white, 2.5–5 cm (0.98–2.0 in) diameter, and numerous, produced in panicles. The fruit is a yellow to orange berry 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter, edible, containing numerous small seeds. It somewhat resembles the gooseberry in appearance, is generally yellow in color and of excellent flavor.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pereskia aculeata |
- ^ Taylor (2002). Pereskia aculeata. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
- Grocer's Encyclopedia: The Encyclopedia of Food and Beverage, by Artemas Ward, New York, 1911.
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License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barbados_gooseberry&oldid=337835747 |
Liane, to 10 m. Spines straight, solitary or in clusters below; curved and paired above. Leaves c. 7 cm, oblong or ovate, slightly fleshy. Flowers showy, fragrant, white, pale yellow or pink. Ovary leafy and sometimes spiny.