Polaskia chende

Polaskia chende is a succulent cactus native to a small area of mountains of northern Oaxaca and southern Puebla, Mexico. It grows in xerophytic shrubland between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level.

Description
Polaskia chende forms 3 - 5 m tall branching columnar stems, 40 to 80 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide, and can reach up to 4.5 m in height. 7 to 8 ribs, rarely 9, 1.7 to 3 cm high, areoles 5 mm long, circular to elliptical, spaced 2 cm apart, with the presence of black trichomes. It has 5 or 6 radial spines 2 cm long and 0.8 cm wide, grey, the central spine may be absent or rudimentary; fertile zone not differentiated from the infertile zone. Plants bloom between August and January. Its flowers are white reach a length of 5 cm oblanceolate, mucronate apex, green, some with a red to purple middle stripe. The fruit approximately 3 cm long and 4 cm wide, are purple, with short bracts, yellow trichomes, with short spines, juicy purple pulp. Seeds 1.6 mm long and 1 mm wide. Flowering occurs between the months of August and January, and bears fruit between December and June.

Distribution
It inhabits oak (Quercus) forests, xeric scrublands, tropical deciduous forests, and among riparian vegetation, at elevations from 1700 to 2200 meters.

Taxonomy
The plant was initially named Cereus chende, was described by Robert Roland-Gosselin in 1905. The specific epithet "chende" comes from its Spanish common name. In 1979, Arthur Charles Gibson and Karl E. Horak reclassified the species under the genus Polaskia.