Pereskia grandifolia var. violacea Leuenb.
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Authority
Leuenberger, Beat E. 1986. Pereskia (Cactaceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 41: 1-140.
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Family
Cactaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Latin Diagnosis - A var. grandifolia differt bracteis et foliis sepaloideis atropurpureis ad laete violaceo-roseis, recurvatis; foliis petaloideis minoribus, 10-15(-18) mm longis, variabile coloratis, pallide roseis ad laete violaceo-roseis; antheris pallide flavis; fructu et loculo plerumque obtriangulari, umbilico angustiore, 4-5 mm lato.
Variety Description - Shrub, ca. 2-4 m high; leaves narrowly elliptic-lanceolate to oblong; blade rather thick and fleshy, 0.6-0.7 mm thick when fresh, dark green, often slightly discolorous, matt below, nearly always distinctly acuminate and with recurved apex; spines variable in size and number, red at base when young; bracts all dark purplish to bright purplish-pink even in bud, the normally ca. five lower receptacular bracts very showy and resembling open flowers from a distance; lower bracts nearly as long as the petaloids, with acuminate, recurved apex, thick and keeled below; petaloids 10-15 (-18) mm long, fleshy and thick at base, color of blade variablel; pale pink to purplish-pink, pale at base; anthers pale yellow; fruit and locule usually narrowly obtriangular; bracts purplish to tinged with green or becoming nearly green; umbilicus narrow, ca. 4-5 mm in diam. Chromosome number: 2n = 22. Horst & Übelmann HU 226, cult. hort. Berol. 036-01-77-30 (B).
Distribution and Ecology - Distribution (Fig. 45) and phenology. Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, Brazil; from ca. 600 to 1400 m, in the transition zone of forest and savanna (cerradão), also in secondary forest and locally cultivated; planted near houses in northeastern Minas Gerais and in southern Bahia, but apparently not native there; flowering from September to April, fruits observed in April; range of distribution and natural habitat insufficiently known.
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Discussion
Type. Brazil. Minas Gerais: Mun. de Santana do Riacho, area do futuro Parque Estadual da Serra do Cipó, 650 m, 23 Sep 1981 (fl), F. C. F. da Silva 89 (holotype, HRB; isotype, B). Local names and uses. Ora pro nobis (Minas Gerais). Planted as an ornamental in northeastern Minas Gerais and southern Bahia. This new variety was discovered by the commercial collectors L. Horst and W. Übelmann before 1972 and introduced into European collections as Pereskia bahiensis HU 226. Uil (1978) received material of probably the same origin from Burning in 1974 and described and illustrated it as Rhodocactus grandifolius, while Leuenberger (1976a), Barthlott (1977,1979), and Rauh (1979), misidentified it as P. bahiensis again. It is definitely closer to the former species in all major characters, and dried material is often impossible to distinguish from P. grandifolia, while living plants are strikingly different due to the coloration of the bracts and flower buds. Smaller flower size than in well developed specimens of P. grandifolia seems to support delimitation of a separate taxon, but most other characters seem too weakly defined to give this plant specific status. It is best treated as a variety of P. grandifolia. The material distributed by Horst and Übelmann as HU 226 seems to consist of two slightly different clones. One plant cultivated at Berlin, received from Horst with locality data “Minas Gerais, Malacacheta, or Capelinha, Jaguarina” has a deeper tone of color of the petaloids and rather broad petaloids; the other received from Übelmann under the same number as from “W of Teófilo Otoni, on the road to Itamarandiba” has narrower and pale petaloids and even darker purplish bracts. Since an original herbarium specimen with exact locality data is not available I have selected as type a more recent field-collected specimen accompanied by a note on the diagnostic color character. It is likely to be from the natural habitat of the variety and preferable to a cultivated specimen. My journey to Minas Gerais in 1983 in search of the plants seen by Horst and Übelmann around Capelinha was unsuccessful, although the local curandero recognized the plant from photographs as existing in the area. Later I found an identical plant, thanks to enquiries of G. Martinelli, planted near a rural house in the hills southwest of Itaobim. It is also planted near houses on the main highway in northern Minas Gerais and in Vitoria da Conquista, Bahia (Leuenberger et al. 3060). Under experimental conditions this variety hybridizes with the typical variety. The first and only F1 hybrid specimen flowered so far is somewhat intermediate in the color of the bracts but identical with var. grandifolia in flower size and color of the petaloids. This demonstrates the close relationship but may also support its status as a variety rather than just a mere form. The above cited specimens collected by Sampaio, Santos, and Heringer and Eiten unfortunately lack notes on the color of the bracts and are included here with some reservations.