Creeping Devil - Citizendia

Creeping Devil

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Genus:	Stenocereus
Species:	S. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There Caryophyllales is an order of Flowering plants that includes the cacti, carnations Amaranths Ice plants and most A cactus (plural cacti) is any member of the Spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas Stenocereus is a Genus of columnar or tree-like cacti from the Baja California Peninsula and other parts of Mexico, Arizona eruca

Binomial name

Stenocereus eruca
(Brandg. ) Gibson & Horak

Synonyms

Cereus eruca
Lemaireocereus eruca
Machaerocereus eruca

Creeping Devil (Stenocereus eruca) is a member of the family Cactaceae. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. A cactus (plural cacti) is any member of the Spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas It is one of the most distinctive cacti, a member of the relatively small genus Stenocereus. It is endemic to the central Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, and is found only on sandy soils, where it forms massive colonies. Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Baja California Sur (pron BAH-hah kahl'-ee-FORE-nyah SOOR is one of the 31 States of Mexico.

As with all Cacti, Creeping Devil is succulent, and is reported to contain mescaline and sterols. Mescaline or 345-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally-occurring Psychedelic Alkaloid of the Phenethylamine class Sterols, or steroid alcohols are a subgroup of Steroids with a Hydroxyl group at the 3-position of the A-ring Growth patterns can be widely scattered as individual stems; in favorable localities they can form impenetrable patches of branching stems measuring several metres across. The Creeping Devil is columnar, with a very spiny stem which is creamy green in color, averaging 5 cm in diameter and 1. 5-2 m long, with only the terminal end raised from the ground. A height of 20-30 cm is normal since this cactus is recumbent. The large, nocturnal flowers are white, pink, or yellow; usually 10-14 cm long with a spiny ovary, and flowering sparingly in response to rain. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also The spiny fruit is 3-4 cm long with black seeds. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology.

Creeping Devil lies on the ground and grows at one end while the other end slowly dies, with a succession of new roots developing on the underside of the stem. The growth rate is adapted to the moderate, moist marine environment of the Baja peninsula, and can achieve in excess of 60 cm per year, but when transplanted to a hot, arid environment the cacti can grow as little as 60 cm per decade. Over the course of many years, the entire cactus will slowly travel, with stems branching and taking root toward the growing tips, while older stem portions die and disintegrate. This traveling chain of growth gives rise to the name eruca, which means "caterpillar" as well as the common name Creeping Devil.

Stenocereus eruca is considered the "most extreme case of clonal propagation in the cactus family" (Gibson and Nobel, 1986). This means that due to isolation and scarcity of pollinating creatures, the plant is able to clone itself. Cloning in Biology is the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as Bacteria, Insects This is done by pieces detaching from the major shoot as their bases die and rot.

Other members of this genus that are found in the Baja Peninsula of California are Stenocereus thurberi (Organ Pipe Cactus, Pitaya Dulce) and Stenocereus gummosus (Sour Pitaya, Pitaya Agria, Pitayha). The Organ Pipe Cactus ( Stenocereus thurberi) is a species of Cactus native to Mexico and the United States. While once thought to be threatened with extinction, further evidence showed it not to be so. Transplantation, while not recommended due to environmentally specific factors, can be successfully with strict adherence to maintaining conditions which mirror the native environment.

References

Clark-Tapia R, Mandujano MC, Valverde T, et al. (2005). How important is clonal recruitment for population maintenance in rare plant species? The case of the narrow endemic cactus, Stenocereus eruca, in Baja California, Mexico. Biol. Conserv. 124 (1): 123-132 Online
Dimmitt, Mark A. (1998). Cactaceae (cactus family). [1]
Faucon, Philippe (1998-2005). Creeping Devil Cactus, Chirinole.
Gibson A. C. P. S. Nobel 1986 The cactus primer. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Lauri, Bob (2000). Ocean Oasis Field Guide.

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