Origin and chromosomes

Tacinga ×flammea is the name of a hybrid described in 2021. The authors identified T. inamoena and T. werneri as the parent species based on their co-occurrence, intermediate morphological characters and cytology. The hybrid had 2n = 55 chromosomes. This number is consistent with the fusion of reduced gametes from tetraploid T. inamoena, with 2n = 44, and hexaploid T. werneri, with 2n = 66. [Freitas et al. 2021]

The karyotype contains 49 metacentric and six submetacentric chromosomes. Together with morphology, these data support the parentage hypothesis, although no controlled crossing was performed in the study described. Another named hybrid, T. ×quipa, refers to the combination of T. inamoena and T. palmadora. [Freitas et al. 2021] [2-WWW]

Stems and flowers

Plants form upright clumps 40–50 cm tall, with fibrous roots. The dark green, flat segments are 8–12 cm long, 4–6 cm wide and 0,5–1,3 cm thick. Each areole has 1–3 spines, 1–3,5 cm long. Young spines are golden, later turning white while retaining a brown tip. [Freitas et al. 2021]

Flowers reach 3,5–4 cm long and 1,5–2,5 cm wide. The 36–48 tepals in four series are particularly distinctive. The inner tepals grade from an orange base to red tips and bend outwards. The multiple perianth series help distinguish the plant from its parent species. [Freitas et al. 2021]

Fruits and site

Fruits are oblong, 2,5–3,2 cm long and 1,5–2 cm wide, orange-red at maturity. The translucent pulp contains magenta fibres. The protologue reported 38–66 seeds per fruit, including underdeveloped ones. Fruits ripened after about three months and then fell off. [Freitas et al. 2021]

At the time of description, one population was known in the Pedra Azul area of Minas Gerais. About 20 plants occupied 2000 m² on a granite outcrop at about 720 m above sea level, in full sun. Both proposed parent species grew at the same site. Flowering was recorded in December in the field and also in May in the collection. [Freitas et al. 2021]

Synonyms and names in the literature

Tacinga flammea [2-WWW]