Cephalocleistocactus

Cephalocleistocactus F.Ritter (1959)

🌵 Author(s)	Friedrich Ritter
🌵 Type	Cephalocleistocactus chrysocephalus

Etymology

Greek kephalē ‘head’ + Cleistocactus. For the side-cephalium and the Cleistocactus-like flowers.

With 20 letters, Cephalocleistocactus and Austrocylindropuntia are among the longest names ever published for a vascular plant genus. ×Acanthosalpingolobivia (22 letters) is the longest generic name in the cactus family and the second-longest overall. Boerner (Taschenwörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen. 4. Auflage. 1989) called Cephalocleistocactus Austrocylindropuntia and Echinofossulocactus “word monstrosities” (“Wortungetüme”).