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Mistletoe cactus

Rhipsalis baccifera

About

Rhipsalis baccifera, commonly known as the mistletoe cactus, is an epiphytic cactus which originates in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Florida. It is also found throughout the tropics of Africa and into Sri Lanka where it is known in Sinhala as nawahandi (නවහන්දි). This is the only cactus species naturally occurring outside the Americas. One hypothesis is that it was introduced to the Old World by migratory birds, long enough ago for the Old World populations to be regarded as distinct subspecies. An alternative hypothesis holds that the species initially crossed the Atlantic Ocean on European ships trading between South America and Africa, after which birds may have spread it more widely.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA

Family
Cactaceae

Ecology

How it lives

Propagated by
Seed
Full detailsevery field on the record, to copy
Name
Rhipsalis baccifera
Slug
rhipsalis-baccifera
Kingdom
Plantae
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Rhipsalis
Species
baccifera
Wikidata QID
Q136525
Propagule type
seed
Container suitable
No
Indoor suitable
No
OSSI pledged
No
Hazard level
1
Data completeness
43

Generated sections & citations

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