For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Moon cactus (Harrisia martinii)

Family Cactaceae
This is a low-growing scrambler that thrives in the undergrowth and below trees forming an impenetratable thicket.

Stems resemble thick ropes and carry regularly spaced tufts of very sharp thorns along their length.

Flowers are borne in the late summer, open at night and become wilted by midmorning the next day.

The white flowers are replaced by bright red, golfball-size fruits which split open when ripe to expose small black seeds in a white marshmallowy pulp.

The species is very invasive in savanna and should not be cultivated.
Information from: Guide to Succulents of South Africa (Gideon F Smith & Neil R. Crouch)