Semaphore cactus (Consolea spinosissima)
Description
Consolea spinosissima is a species in the genus Consolea from the family of cactus (Cactaceae). The specific epithet spinosissima means, (lat. Spinosissimus) very thorny Consolea spinosissima grows upright in tree-form with branched crown and reaches heights of growth of up to 4.5 meters. The almost cylindrical trunk is heavily thorned. It reaches a height of up to 2.5 meters and a diameter of 8 centimeters. The elliptical to elongated, cloudy to light green, fairly thick shoot sections are patterned net-like. They are 15 to 28 inches long and 5 to 9 inches wide. The glochids are brown. The one to three yellowish to white, needle-like thorns which can sometimes be missing, are up to 8 inches long.The initially orange-yellow flowers later turn reddish. They are 3 to 7.5 inches long and have a diameter of 1.2 to 2.5 inches. The often flattened yellow fruits are thorny. They reach a length of 2 to 6 centimeters and a diameter of 2 to 4 centimeters.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Caryophyllales
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Family: Cactaceae
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Genus: Consolea
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