View source for Cipocereus

{{Taxobox
| name = Cipocereus
| image = Cipocereus_minensis.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Cereeae]]
| subtribe = [[Cereinae]]
| genus = '''Cipocereus'''
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015).
}}

== Etymology ==
The name means "Candle of Cipó," referring to the Serra do Cipó in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where the genus is primarily found.

== Description ==
'''Cipocereus''' comprises shrubby to shortly columnar cacti, some of which develop woody stems with age. The stems have a variable number of ribs (4–21), and the areoles can be rounded and woolly, though some species lack spines entirely. 

The flowers are nocturnal but often remain open into the next day. They are tubular, typically glaucous (bluish-grey) on the outside and white inside, adapted for pollination by bats. The most defining feature of the genus is the fruit: globose to ovoid, strikingly blue, and indehiscent (does not split open). The pulp inside is translucent and watery. The seeds are spoon-shaped (cochleariform), black, and strongly tuberculate. Seed dispersal is carried out by both birds and bats.

== Habitat ==
Endemic to the mountains of Minas Gerais, Brazil, growing at altitudes between 500 m and 1500 m. They prefer rocky areas and white quartz sand, often growing in the shade of shrubs where humus accumulates. The high-altitude mists provide essential moisture for these plants, which share their habitat with bromeliads, terrestrial orchids, mosses, and lichens.

== Distribution ==
* '''Brazil''' (Minas Gerais)

== Species ==
Currently, Joël Lodé recognizes 5 species and one subspecies:

* [[Cipocereus bradei]]
* [[Cipocereus crassisepalus]]
* [[Cipocereus laniflorus]]
* [[Cipocereus minensis]]
** [[Cipocereus minensis subsp. leiocarpus]]
* [[Cipocereus pleurocarpus]]

== Notes ==
* '''Taxonomic Controversy:''' The distinction between ''Cipocereus'' and ''Pilosocereus'' is considered weak by some authors (Braun & Esteves, 2001), as it relies heavily on the watery, indehiscent fruit. 
* '''Cipocereus pusilliflorus:''' Molecular analysis by Machado (2006) revealed that this species belongs to a separate lineage and is not closely related to the rest of the genus. Following Lodé, it is removed from ''Cipocereus'' and treated under ''Floribunda'', likely being a stabilized natural hybrid.
* Joël Lodé maintains ''Cipocereus'' as a separate genus pending further molecular evidence, noting that the broader group (including ''Arrojadoa'', ''Cereus'', etc.) appears polyphyletic.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Cereeae]]
[[Category:Cereinae]]