Rhipsalis micrantha

Description

Rhipsalis micrantha is a plant species in the genus Rhipsalis from the cactus family (Cactaceae). Rhipsalis micrantha grows epiphytically with strong, hanging shoots that never branch into whorls. The slightly differently designed, yellowish-green shoots are flat or triangular. Older shoots also have four to six ribs. The shoots have a diameter of 1.2 centimeters or more. The edges are slightly rounded. The areoles have one to four bristles. The single, white flowers appear on the side of the shoots. They are 6 to 10 millimeters long and reach a diameter of 6 to 11 millimeters. The spherical fruits are white to off-white and often tinged with red. Their diameter is 5 to 8 millimeters. Rhipsalis micrantha is distributed in Costa Rica, western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. The first description as Cactus micranthus was in 1823 by Karl Sigismund Kunth. Augustin-Pyrame de Candolle placed the species in the genus Rhipsalis in 1828. Another nomenclatural synonym is Hariota micrantha (Kunth) Kuntze (1891).