Lymanbensonia brevispina

Flowers and growth habit

White flowers distinguish this species in the key by Korotkova and colleagues. The flower-bearing areoles lie near the surface, unlike the deeply set areoles of L. incachacana. The flowers are narrow and bell-shaped, matching the diagnosis of the genus. [Korotkova et al. 2010, p. 166]

POWO lists Ecuador and northern Peru, with an epiphytic habit in the wet tropical zone. In the 2010 biogeographical treatment, the northern Peruvian part of its range brings this species close to the terrestrial Calymmanthium substerile. The relationship between these plants therefore connects different growth forms in a partly shared region of the Andes. [2-WWW] [Korotkova et al. 2010, p. 162–166]

Names in older material

The accepted name is Lymanbensonia brevispina. The 2010 molecular study also discussed the same plant as Pfeiffera brevispina. Its nomenclatural history includes Lepismium brevispinum and Rhipsalis riocampanensis. The latter name concerns a description of Ecuadorian material that the authors assigned to this species. [2-WWW] [Korotkova et al. 2010, p. 166–167]

The publication examines the dates and types of the names in detail. Lepismium brevispinum was based on an illustration by Ritter, while Pfeiffera brevispina was associated with a herbarium specimen. This difference explains the unusual history of authorship and transfers of the species between genera. [Korotkova et al. 2010, p. 166–167]

Evidence of relationship

The species was included in the 2010 analysis of chloroplast sequences. Together with L. micrantha and L. incachacana, it formed a clearly supported lineage distinct from Pfeiffera in the narrow sense. Both molecular data and a morphological review thus supported the name change. [Korotkova et al. 2010, p. 159–163]