Cleistocactus variispinus

Cleistocactus variispinus F.Ritter (1964)

🌵 Author(s)

Friedrich Ritter

Etymology

Latin vărĭus ‘various’ + Latin –spīnus ‘spined’. Not explained by Ritter. For the variable color (“pale yellow or golden or brownish-yellow”) and/or length (“upper [spines] up to 10 mm long, some (1-2) up to 2-4 cm”) of the spines.

The epithet is sometimes corrected to varispinus to conform to the compound formation rules of classical Latin (see William T. Stearn, Botanical Latin: 286. 1983), but the spelling variispinus is in accordance with article 60.10 of the International Code of Nomenclature.