The fruit and its small seeds
In the examined material, orange fruits contained numerous small seeds within their pulp. High water content and low fat and protein content matched the fruit characteristics of the other Rhipsalis investigated. The sticky material surrounding seeds is also relevant to the plant because it can assist deposition on a branch after consumption. Fruit analysis therefore describes both animal food and the material transported to a potential new growing site [Guaraldo et al. 2013].
Response to gut passage
After Euphonia gut passage, an average of 88% of seeds germinated, compared with about 73% in the manually depulped control. Germination also began earlier. The trial lasted 30 days at 25 °C and concerned a particular collected seed pool. This supports a beneficial germination effect for this bird–cactus combination. Reaching a branch, rooting and subsequent survival remain separate stages of effective dispersal [Guaraldo et al. 2013].
The dispersal paper used the hyphenated spelling Rhipsalis puniceo-discus. The POWO form Rhipsalis puniceodiscus refers to the same species. Searches for both spellings lead to one account, and the findings are not counted as evidence from two different plants. The broader mechanism is discussed in the article tracing the route from fruit to young cactus in a tree crown [Guaraldo et al. 2013] [2-WWW].
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Synonyms and names in the literature
Lepismium puniceodiscum · Rhipsalis chrysocarpa · Rhipsalis puniceo-discus · Lepismium chrysocarpum · Lepismium puniceodiscum var. chrysocarpum · Rhipsalis puniceodiscus var. chrysocarpa [2-WWW]
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