Pereskia horrida rauhii

Description

Plants are leafy and spiny, treelike, shrubby, and often scrambling. Majority species may be treelike or shrubby, 2-7 m high, highest at 10 m. Pereskia aculeata forms clambering shrubs or climbing vines 3-10 m long. Roots are sometimes thickened and tuberous. Leaves alternate, broad, flattened, deciduous, usually with petioles, 2-20 cm long. Areoles in the axils of the leaves, usually with wool, bearing spines and leaves. Spines 0 - 8 on young primary areolas on twigs, to numerous on trunk (15 - 40, max. 120), unequal in length 2 - 12 cm, straight, usually black. Flowers solitary or in an inflorescences of 2-15 flowers (P. aceulata 70, P. grandiflora 10-30), 2-8 cm in diameter, usually pink, rose, purple, sometimes orange, yellow, white, cream. Fruits solitary or clustered, variable in shape, oblong, pear-shaped, usually green or yellow-green in maturity, also orange, reddish, brownish, 2-7, max. 10 cm long. Three species have fruits very small, 0.5 - 1.5 cm globbose, glossy black. Seeds 2-7 mm large, obovate to kidney shaped, glossy black.