Name and distribution
POWO accepts Polaskia chichipe (Rol.-Goss.) Backeb. and records its native range in Puebla, Michoacán and Oaxaca. The historical combinations Cereus chichipe, Lemaireocereus chichipe and Myrtillocactus chichipe refer to this same accepted species. Detailed reproductive studies were conducted near San Luis Atolotitlán, Caltepec and Los Reyes Metzontla in Puebla. [2-WWW] [Otero-Arnaiz et al. 2003]
Habit and flowering schedule
The species description in the seedling development study presents plants reaching 3–5 m, with numerous branches, 9–12 stem ribs and globose red fruits. These features characterize adult habit, while the anatomical experiment examined young seedlings. In the Tehuacán Valley populations studied, flowering began in January and ended between March in wild plants and May in cultivated populations. [Rosas et al. 2012] [Otero-Arnaiz et al. 2003]
Individual flowers remained open for seasonally varying periods, approximately 28 hours in winter and 13 hours in spring. Bees and hummingbirds visited by day and hawkmoths by night. Experimental access during selected periods showed a predominant daytime contribution. In the spring trials, daytime access allowed all flowers tested to set fruits, whereas nighttime-only access produced no fruits. [Otero-Arnaiz et al. 2003]
Seeds and offspring parentage
The species shows partial self-compatibility, meaning that some plants can produce offspring after receiving their own pollen. Microsatellite analysis of offspring nevertheless found approximately 9% realized selfing across the sample. Most offspring involved other plants. At least about 27% of the fertilizations analysed were attributed to pollen from outside the maternal population, documenting genetic connectivity across the landscape. [Otero-Arnaiz et al. 2003] [Otero-Arnaiz et al. 2005]
The germination experiment alternated 27°C and 12°C with 14 hours of light and 10 hours of darkness. After 34 days, germination reached 60.8% in seeds from wild plants, 77.2% in field-retained populations and 76.3% in cultivated populations. The latter two groups also germinated faster. The results describe differences among seed origins under a common laboratory procedure. [Otero-Arnaiz et al. 2003]
Tissue development and traditional management
In an in vitro experiment, mannitol reducing water availability altered seedling development and initially reduced xylem vessel number. At a later sampling time the difference in vessel number disappeared, while total vessel cross-sectional area depended mainly on age. Collapsed cells were more frequent in the parenchyma. The researchers measured tissue structure without directly measuring hydraulic conductivity. [Rosas et al. 2012]
In traditional milpa-chichipera, native vegetation patches containing this cactus adjoin cropped areas. Soil comparisons showed that retained vegetation patches supported richer mycorrhizal fungal communities than monocropped fields. Samples represented whole plant communities, so the finding concerns the habitat mosaic and land use. A separate article explains the comparison and the relationships it documented. [Jiménez-Martínez et al. 2026]
Related articles
Materials from the author's archive
The species also appears in Konrad Szychowski's private material archive. [Kaktusy i Inne 2005a]
Synonyms and names in the literature
Cereus chichipe · Cereus mixtecensis · Lemaireocereus chichipe · Lemaireocereus mixtecensis · Myrtillocactus chichipe [2-WWW]