You enter the series of the
2018 photos of
STROPHOCACTUS TESTUDO
(botanical species)
photo 1/5
STROPHOCACTUS TESTUDO
(formerly SELENICEREUS TESTUDO)
I have been growing this plant since 1999. It is from Palenque, in the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico. As it had never wanted to flower, I left it in a pot a little too small, and it took an atypical shape. When I saw it in its biotope, she would climb up the trunk of a tree.
I will briefly present this species.
Strophocactus testudo is a climbing or epiphytic plant that grows in Central America, at altitudes between 50 m and 1300 m, in dry, humid, or flooded tropical forests, or riverside, or gallery forests. Its range is relatively limited. It straddles Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala.
Distribution area of Strophocactus testudo (source: IUCN)
The species is on the IUCN Red List, as low threatened due to deforestation for the creation of habitat areas, agricultural or livestock lands.
Its segments, which often overlap, are frequently inhabited by ants; this makes it a myrmecophilous plant. It is notmyrmecophilous in my collection, but the fiercely thorny crevices of the plant accumulate a lot of plant debris from my garden. I cleaned these crevices a little with a water jet to make the photograph of the plant more readable.
I had this summer 2018, particularly hot, during a watering, the surprise to discover a rather developed bud. So I observed photographically until the flower blossomed.
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