Flowers and stem anatomy
Numerous terminal branches arise from longer axes. In the Minas Gerais material, terminal segments were about 3–12.5 cm long. Spreading tepals distinguish the flowers from the bell-shaped flowers of Rhipsalis juengeri, with which sterile plants can be confused. Mature fruits were described as whitish and translucent, and also as pink in a southern Brazilian study. Identification therefore requires several characters considered together and attention to the material examined [Tortorelli et al. 2025] [Guaraldo et al. 2013].
Microscopic epidermal depressions run in longitudinal bands. They arise from the organisation of ordinary epidermal cells, while the stomata are not sunken. Thick-walled cells occur beneath the epidermis, and conspicuous mucilage cavities were recorded in the cortex and pith. The comparative study identified this combination as useful for distinguishing species. Its functional significance for water balance was not tested through water-loss measurements in the same paper [Calvente et al. 2008].
Persistent fruits and germination
Fruits protected from animals persisted for many months in a field experiment. Seeds passed by Euphonia birds reached a final germination percentage similar to manually cleaned controls. Delivery of sticky seeds onto supports may nevertheless benefit an epiphyte independently of that percentage. Evidence about dispersal behaviour must therefore be distinguished from germination performance measured in a dish [Guaraldo et al. 2013].
In a 30-day study, seeds performed best at 15–20 °C and failed to germinate at constant temperatures of 30 and 35 °C. A separate trial at 20 °C also produced no germination in darkness. For sowing this material, the result supports moderate temperatures and light reaching the seeds. It does not measure an adult plant’s tolerance of extreme temperatures. Broader context is provided in the article on germination and tree colonisation [Lone et al. 2016].
Related articles
Materials from the author's archive
The species also appears in Konrad Szychowski's private material archive [Schumann 1890].
Synonyms and names in the literature
Cactus teres · Hariota teres · Hariota conferta · Hariota prismatica · Hariota riedeliana · Rhipsalis alboareolata · Rhipsalis capilliformis · Rhipsalis clavellina · Rhipsalis conferta · Rhipsalis floribunda · Rhipsalis gracilis · Rhipsalis heteroclada · Rhipsalis maricaensis · Rhipsalis prismatica · Rhipsalis riedeliana · Rhipsalis teres f. capilliformis · Rhipsalis teres f. heteroclada · Rhipsalis teres f. prismatica · Rhipsalis virgata [2-WWW]
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