Sites and traits
The Cuban account recorded the subspecies on cayos Romano, Sabinal, Paredón Grande and Cruz. It grows in coastal dry scrub and small-leaved evergreen forests at sites below 2 m above sea level. This describes local Cuban sites. The range of the whole subspecies also includes part of the Bahamian archipelago. [Barrios et al. 2023] [2-WWW]
Areces-Mallea described plants with closely spaced, sunken areoles on mature segments. Compared with subsp. caymanensis, the trunk has more numerous, weaker, more flexible spines, and flowers are carmine and cup-shaped. This comparison requires adult material. Areoles on young segments may look different from those after development is complete. [Areces-Mallea 2001]
Population census and tissue cultures
The abstract of Martel-Ortiz and colleagues' paper reported that a subsequent census on Cayo Paredón Grande found five adult plants, compared with fifteen recorded in 2019. It also found 41 juvenile plants. These are data from one local population rather than an estimate of subspecies abundance across its entire range. [Martel-Ortiz et al. 2025]
The authors obtained shoot development and rooting in early micropropagation stages. Shoot development was studied with added benzyladenine, and roots were also obtained without growth regulators. The available abstract does not contain the entire course of material preparation, sterilisation, subculture and acclimatisation. The biological result is therefore described without turning it into an incomplete laboratory instruction. [Martel-Ortiz et al. 2025]
The paper appeared online in July 2024 and belongs to volume 38 of “Vegetos” from 2025. The volume year is used in citation. Obtaining rooted plants in vitro is a propagation stage. Their survival after soil transfer and effectiveness in population restoration require further assessment. [Martel-Ortiz et al. 2025]