Site and comparative features
Leptocereus carinatus occurs in Cuba. Material for the germination study was collected in the Sierra del Chorrillo, Camagüey Province, on an inland limestone hill at 244 m. In the 2020 analysis the species formed a separate branch at the base of the sampled Cuban lineage. Its nocturnal tubular flowers with white perianth segments were described. The pericarpel of the bud and fruit remains relatively little modified, as shown in the authors’ photographic comparison. [Barrios et al. 2020a, pp. 7, 10 in the 2020 study, p. 3 and Table 1 in the 2025 study] [Barrios et al. 2025, pp. 7, 10 in the 2020 study, p. 3 and Table 1 in the 2025 study]
Germination in a growth chamber
Seeds were collected and sown in September 2017. After mucilage removal and disinfection they were sown on 1% agar, with 25 seeds in each of 7 replicates per treatment. Lighting lasted 8 hours per day. After 28 days, mean germination was 93.14 ± 11.24% at 25°C, 94.85 ± 1.95% at 25/30°C and 56.71 ± 7.09% at 25/35°C. At 25°C in darkness, germination was 0%. Among the 10 source taxa compared, L. carinatus retained the highest germination at 25/35°C. [Barrios et al. 2025, pp. 3–4, 7, 12, Tables 1–2]
Limits of seed tolerance
Germination was inhibited in the hot treatments, but some seeds resumed it after transfer to 25°C. Many ungerminated seeds retained viable embryos at the end of the experiment. In the test after 56 days, for treatments up to 25/40°C the authors recorded 100% viability among the remaining ungerminated seeds. This figure concerns seeds remaining after germination, rather than the entire initial seed lot. The experiment does not establish an adult plant’s tolerance of prolonged heat. [Barrios et al. 2025, pp. 8, Table 3]