Description
Schlumbergera truncata resembles other species of the genus Schlumbergera in that it has leafless green stems which act as photosynthetic organs. The stems (cladodes) are composed of strongly flattened segments, which have two or three "teeth" of varying shapes along their edges and at the ends. The ends of the stems are "cut off" (truncated) rather than pointed. Individual segments are about 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) long by 1.5–3.5 cm (0.6–1.4 in) wide.
Special structures characteristic of cacti, called "areoles", occur between two teeth at the end of segments. The areoles, which have brown wool and bristles up to 3 mm (0.1 in) long, are where the flower buds appear. The flowers are held at a constant angle somewhat above the horizontal with the higher side different from the lower side (zygomorphic, specifically bilaterally symmetrical). The flowers are about 6.5–8 cm (2.6–3.1 in) long by 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) across. There are six to eight tepals, which may be of various colours, including shades of red, orange, pink and white. The outer tepals (those at the base of the flower) are shorter and bent backwards, the inner tepals are longer and fused together at the base to form a floral tube; nectar is produced at the base of this tube. The lower inner petals are bent backwards so that the upper inner petals appear longer. Plants flower in the autumn: around May in their natural habitat, in October to November in cultivation in the Northern Hemisphere; short days and long nights are necessary to induce flowering.
A characteristic of the genus Schlumbergera is that the many stamens are arranged in two series: the inner stamens form a ring around the style; the outer stamens arise from the floral tube. The filaments of the stamens are white, the anthers and pollen being yellow. The style has six to eight lobes at its end and is dark red.
When ripe, the fruit is red, pear-shaped, and about 1.2 cm (0.5 in) long or exceptionally up to 2.3 cm (0.9 in) long. The shiny seeds are black, each with a diameter of about 1 mm (0.04 in).
Read more about this topic: Schlumbergera Truncata
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“I fancy it must be the quantity of animal food eaten by the English which renders their character insusceptible of civilisation. I suspect it is in their kitchens and not in their churches that their reformation must be worked, and that Missionaries of that description from [France] would avail more than those who should endeavor to tame them by precepts of religion or philosophy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)