Aguilar-Cruz Y., Flores-Martínez A., Cornejo-Romero A., Martínez-Hernández D., Sánchez-Serano S., Gómez-Hinostrosa C., Hoeber V., Zotz G., Callejas-Chavero A., “Unexpected epiphytes” - Cacti growing on trees in the xerophytic scrubland of the Barranca de Metztitlán, México, Journal of Arid Environments, 2026, 235:105617, doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2026.105617
The authors inventoried approximately 1400 cacti at three xerophytic shrubland sites in Barranca de Metztitlán. They compared terrestrial and epiphytic growth, plant size and host use. Small Isolatocereus dumortieri and Myrtillocactus geometrizans individuals grew on trees, while some globose Mammillaria also flowered there. Most epiphytic cacti occurred on Neltuma laevigata.