Rhipsalis
Gaertn. (1788)
Etymology
| 🌵 Author(s) | Joseph Gärtner | 🌵 Published in | Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 137 (1788) |
| 🌵 Type | Rhipsalis cassutha |
Not explained by Gärtner. Presumably Greek rhips (stem rhip-) ‘wicker-work, mat’ + Greek –alis, Latin –ălis (stem –alid-), a suffix used to form plant names (e.g. Aspidalis, Oxalis, Physalis) (the name should correctly be Rhipalis). For the many tangled, thin stems of Rhipsalis cassutha (= Rhipsalis baccifera).
The stem of the word Rhipsalis is either Rhipsalid– (Rhipsalidopsis, tribe Rhipsalideae) or Rhipsal– (Begonia rhipsaloides, Euphorbia rhipsaloides, Pfeiffera rhipsaloides, Viscum rhipsaloides).
Maarten H.J. van der Meer (2023 Dec 09). Rhipsalis. Dictionary of Cactus Names. Retrieved from https://www.cactusnames.org/rhipsalis