Cleistocactus

Cleistocactus Lem. ()
🌵 Author(s)
🌵 Published in Ill. Hort. 8: misc. 35 (1861)
🌵 Type Cleistocactus baumannii
Etymology

Greek kleistos ‘closed’ + Cactus. For the “oblique and almost closed limbe [perianth] from which slightly protrudes a compact bundle of unequal stamens” (Lemaire), which dinstinguished Cleistocactus baumannii and Cleistocactus colubrinus (now considered a synonym of C. baumannii) from Aporocactus flagelliformis. Lemaire: “κλειστός, fermé : allusion au mode d’être du limbe floral”. Not for the fact that Cleistocactus sepium (= Borzicactus sepium) was used to make hedges or fences (Genaust, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen. 3. Auflage. 1996); that species was only included in Cleistocactus in 1904.

Post & Kuntze corrected the name to Clistocactus, which is consistent with Latin cătaclīsta (from Greek katakleistos) and Clīsthĕnes (from Greek Kleisthenēs). Compare Clistanthocereus.


How to cite

Maarten H.J. van der Meer (2023 Jul 14). Cleistocactus. Dictionary of Cactus Names. Retrieved from https://www.cactusnames.org/cleistocactus

Pronunciation
[KLY-stoh-kak-tus]

Ross Bayton (2019): The Garderner's Botanical

[Cleistocáctus]

Helmut Genaust (1996): Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen, 3. Auflage

“Botanical Latin is essentially a written language, but the scientific names of plants often occur in speech. How they are pronounced really matters little provided they sound pleasant and are understood by all concerned.”

William T. Stearn (1983): Botanical Latin, 3rd Edition: 53