biology

Selenicereus spinulosus

Selenicereus spinulosus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Selenicereus spinulosus rather than just read about it. In short: Selenicereus spinulosus is a cactus species native to eastern Mexico and, possibly, the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States. Common names include vine-like moonlight cactus and spiny moon cereus.

Key takeaways

Selenicereus spinulosus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Selenicereus spinulosus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Selenicereus spinulosus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Selenicereus spinulosus is a cactus species native to eastern Mexico and, possibly, the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States. Common names include vine-like moonlight cactus and spiny moon cereus. Its specific name, spinulosus, means "with small spines" in Latin.

History This was the third species of Selenicereus to be discovered. It was originally collected by Thomas Coulter in 1827, in Mexico, but no locality is known. Pyramus de Candolle received the plant in Paris and described it without knowing its flowers. He later sent cuttings to Berlin where it flowered the first time in 1842.

Range and habitat This species is found in eastern Mexico from Tamaulipas to Chiapas. Other sources claim that this species can be found in the states of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Plants were collected from the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States, but this population may have been extirpated as it has not been seen outside of cultivation in some time. The specimen is commonly found growing on top of sun-exposed limestone outcrops as well as climbing on other plants in the sierra madre oriental hillsides and submontane matorral (scrub).

Systematics Selenicereus spinulosus is a very variable species, especially in flower size, which vary from 7–15 cm long. It is most closely related to Selenicereus atropilosus and Selenicereus vagans.

Description Stems scandent, clambering or sprawling, branching, producing aerial roots, stiff, to 1-2(-5) m long, 2–3 cm thick; ribs 4–6 or more, later terete, acute; areoles 1,5–2 mm on Ø, reddish brown at first, later greyish brown, internodes 1,5-2,5 cm; spines 6–8, 1 mm long, acicular, white or yellowish, later blackish, radial spines 5–6 central spines 1–2, basally 0,25 mm in Ø above the swollen bases, apically attenuate-conical, circular in cross section, the bulbous bases 0,5 mm in Ø, hairlike spines none; epidermis light green, somewhat shining. Flowers produced from areoles near tip, 8–14 cm long, 7–8,5 cm in Ø, nocturnal but stays open for 2 2–3 days (John Ellis, UK), tepals rotate; pericarpel covered with spines, but no hairs, bracteoles small, triangular, reddish; receptacle ca 5 cm long, green, with clusters of 7–12 spines, 4–5 mm long, brownish, but no hairs; outer tepals 5,5–6 cm, narrowly oblong, acute, brownish; inner tepals 7,5 cm, 11 mm wide, narrowly oblong, acute, white, sometimes with pink base or pinkish throughout; stamens white, much shorter than inner tepals; style yellow, stigma lobes 9–11. Fruit globular, yellow, covered densely with yellowish spines.

Cultivation Plants ca 1 m long are capable of flowering. Give half-shade or full sun, and grow in a compost containing plenty of peat. During the growing period this plant needs ample water and regular doses of fertilizer. Fast growing and free flowering. Can be kept at 5 °C (41 °F) during winter, if kept dry. It is the easiest species to bring to flower in cultivation.

Hybrids 'Pimiento' (Raised by Sherman E. Beahm in 1955) (S. spinulosus × Disocactus 'Tulip') Wide open flower of Capsicum red darkening towards the edges. Medium. 'Sacred Ox' (Dr. Robert Poindexter 1943) (S. spinulosus × 'Scarlet Giant') Tepals white with pink and yellow outer tepals. 'Twinkle' (Dr. Robert Poindexter) (S. spinulosus × 'Scarlet Giant') Open wide bloom of salmon orange. Very similar to 'Gloria'. 'Tululosa' (Beamh 1947) (S. spinulosus × Disocactus 'Tulip'). Straw-orange edged in lavender. Nocturnal.

References

External links Media related to Selenicereus spinulosus at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Selenicereus spinulosus at Wikispecies

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Selenicereus spinulosus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Selenicereus spinulosus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Selenicereus spinulosus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Selenicereus spinulosus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Selenicereus spinulosus

In research: Selenicereus spinulosus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Selenicereus spinulosus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Selenicereus spinulosus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cacti of Mexico, Cacti of the United States, Flora of Chiapas, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Selenicereus spinulosus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Selenicereus spinulosus” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Selenicereus spinulosus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Selenicereus spinulosus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Selenicereus spinulosus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Selenicereus spinulosus in simple terms?

Why does Selenicereus spinulosus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Selenicereus spinulosus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Selenicereus spinulosus.