Leptocereus leonii

The Sierra de Anafe and plant structure

Leptocereus leonii forms a shrub or small tree up to 5 m tall. The trunk is cylindrical, up to 30 cm in diameter at the base, with rough, scaly bark. Areoles occupy separate depressions arranged in vertical rows and bear needle-like spines. The population studied was on the southeastern slope of the Sierra de Anafe in western Cuba, at 142–186 m. Its habitat was seasonally dry, semi-deciduous forest on a limestone hill. [Ruiz and Barrios 2026, pp. 7–9]

Flower opening and nectar

In the 2026 paper, morphology was assessed in 15 flowers from 13 plants, and opening and closing in 25 flowers from 19 plants. Mean flower length was 42.3 ± 2.9 mm and fully expanded diameter was 29.8 ± 2.9 mm. Flowers began to open between 17.30 and 18.30. Closure began between 6.00 and 7.00 the next day. These are local times during the observations. Floral longevity was less than 24 hours. [Ruiz and Barrios 2026, pp. 9–11, 15]

Nectar was measured in 10 flowers, one from each plant. Secretion began between 20.00 and 22.00 and was predominantly nocturnal. The peak around 22.00 averaged 110 ± 10 µl per two-hour collection interval. Mean total nectar production was 270 ± 30 µl per flower, with a maximum recorded value of 340 µl. Sugar concentration changed through the night and individual readings ranged from 13–18%. [Ruiz and Barrios 2026, pp. 9–11]

Self-incompatibility and pollination timing

Pollination experiments involved 185 flowers from 73 plants. Autonomous and manual self-pollination, as well as pollen transfer between flowers of the same plant, produced no fruits. Manual nocturnal pollination with pollen from another plant yielded 44% fruit set among 25 flowers. When flowers were accessible only to nocturnal visitors, 40% of 25 flowers set fruit. Natural controls yielded 32% among 25 flowers. Fruit development was assessed 10 days after flower opening. [Ruiz and Barrios 2026, pp. 9–12, Table 1]

Manual cross-pollination in the morning and access restricted to daytime visitors produced no fruits. The findings support self-incompatibility and nocturnal pollination effectiveness in the studied population. Treatments differed in flower bagging, so the higher value in the nocturnal treatment than in the control may also reflect protection of the flower. The study does not directly determine whether the absence of morning success resulted from pollen viability, stigma receptivity, or both. [Ruiz and Barrios 2026, pp. 12–15, Table 1]

The bat recorded

Two camera traps monitored 8 flowers for 4 nights, from 20.00 to 5.00. They recorded 8 visits by Monophyllus redmani, with the greatest number between midnight and 2.00. It was the only pollinator recorded during this limited period. The authors left open a possible role for moths because monitoring was brief. Conserving the population therefore also involves maintaining its nocturnal relationships with fauna. [Ruiz and Barrios 2026, pp. 10–13]

Seeds in the 2025 experiment

A separate germination study used Sierra de Anafe seeds collected in May 2016. After 28 days in light, mean germination was 42.28 ± 5.09% at 25°C and 21.71 ± 9.76% at 25/35°C. In darkness at 25°C it was 0%. Each treatment comprised 7 replicates of 25 seeds on 1% agar. Some ungerminated seeds remained viable. The result concerns an early life stage, with constraints differing from those governing flowering in adult plants. [Barrios et al. 2025, pp. 3–4, 7–8, Tables 1–3]