Harrisia bonplandii
Harrisia bonplandii
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
The genus Harrisia is found in semi-arid tropical to subtropical regions of the Americas, growing in both the northern and southern hemispheres. There is usually a dry season at the cooler part of the year that can last up to 6 months. Annual precipitation is generally around 500 - 1,200mm. In the northernmost part of its range, in Florida, and in its southwestern range in Argentina and Bolivia, it experiences occasional freezing temperatures, and in cultivation light frosts (1-2 per year) experienced by species in Florida, seemed well-tolerated and not detrimental[1]. The plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in S. Africa and Hawaii, where it is designated an invasive plant[2, 1]. The flowers open of a night time and are sweetly scented to attract bats and moths[3].
Propagation
Seed - usually germinates quickly and well without pre-treatment, though fresh seed may have a short dormancy of up to 8 weeks, Washing the seed in water prior to sowing can shorten germination time[1]. Cuttings. Vegetative reproduction is frequent in nature when stems break and detach from the parent plant. The stems can proceed to produce roots along tissue nearest to the ground and produce a new plant[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Harrisia+bonplandii>
Pollinators
Moths, Bats
References
- [1]Monograph of Harrisia (Cactaceae) — Franck A.R. · 2016 · ISBN 2153 733X ↩︎A very comprehensive treatment of the genus, with lots of illustrations and colour photos
- [2]SANBI Invasive Alien Plant Alert — South African National Biodiversity Institute · http://www.sanbi.org/information-resources/infobases/invasive-alien-plant-alert ↩︎A series of leaflets on invasive plant species produced on the Internet and available for download
- [3]The Cactus Family — Anderson E.F. · Timber Press; Portland, Oregon · 2001 · ISBN 0-88192-498-9 ↩︎An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
- [4]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
- [5]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics