Selenicereus hamatus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Selenicereus hamatus |
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| Photo: Mary Crowell | |
| Scientific classification | |
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Selenicereus
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| Species: |
hamatus
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Selenicereus hamatus is a type of cactus that grows like a vine. It is famous for having one of the largest flowers in the entire Cactaceae family! People grow this plant for its beautiful flowers.
This special plant comes from Mexico.
Contents
What Does Its Name Mean?
The name Hamatus comes from a Latin word. It means "hooked." This name describes the plant's stems, which have interesting hooked shapes.
Where Does It Come From?
This plant is originally from southern and eastern Mexico. Even though it's a common plant, we only know it from places where people grow it. Scientists have not yet found it growing wild in nature.
How to Grow This Plant
Selenicereus hamatus is an easy plant to grow. It grows very fast!
It likes soil that has a lot of humus, which is rich, dark soil. It also needs enough water during the summer. In winter, keep it warmer than 10 °C (50 °F).
You can grow this plant in a spot that gets some shade or in full sunshine. Giving it extra light in early spring can help it grow flower buds. Only older, more developed plants will produce flowers. It also looks great hanging down from a pot!
What Does It Look Like?
This plant has long, climbing stems. They can grow to be 5 to 12 meters (about 16 to 39 feet) long or even more! Sometimes they grow over 2 meters (6 feet) in just one year. The stems are about 16 to 22 millimeters thick.
The stems have 4 ribs, but sometimes 3 or 5. These ribs are strong and have small, brownish or black spots called areoles. From these spots, short, bristly spines grow. There are usually 5 to 6 spines, about 5 millimeters long. The plant's skin is a shiny light green color.
Amazing Flowers
The flowers of Selenicereus hamatus are truly amazing! They are among the largest in the cactus family.
- They are huge, about 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) long.
- They open at night and have a strong, pleasant smell.
- The outer petals are reddish-purple on the outside and bright yellow inside.
- The inner petals are white and very wide.
- The flowers produce oval-shaped fruits that are green or yellow. These fruits are covered with yellowish spines.
See also
In Spanish: Selenicereus hamatus para niños
