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Sebucan

Leptocereus grantianus

Also called Puerto Rico Apple Cactus

Sebucan
Photo: C Pacheco, USFWS, Public domain

Sebucan (Leptocereus grantianus), also called Puerto Rico Apple Cactus, is a sprawling, nearly spineless cactus from a single coastal population on Culebra Island. It grows in dry thicket on rocky ground, so it needs sharp drainage and plenty of sun.

Family
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out fully between waterings; reduce water further in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining gritty cactus mix, often rocky or sandy.
Temperature
18–32 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Puerto Rico (Culebra Is.)
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Leptocereus grantianus (sebucan) is a sprawling or suberect, nearly spineless cactus, reaching up to 2 meters in height and 3 to 5 centimeters in diameter. Its elongated stems have from three to five prominent ribs with broadly scalloped edges. Ribs of young joints are thin, and the small areoles or spine-bearing areas may bear from one to three minute, nearly black spines which disappear as the joints grow older. The flowers are solitary at terminal areoles, from 3 to 6 centimeters long, and nocturnal. The outer perianth segments are linear, green, and tipped by an areole like those of the tube and ovary. The inner perianth segments are numerous, cream-colored, oblong-obvate, obtuse, and about 8 millimeters long. The fruit is subglobose to ellipsoid and about 4 centimeters in diameter.

Where it grows

Leptocereus grantianus is endemic to the island of Culebra which is located just off the northeastern corner of Puerto Rico. Only one population, consisting of approximately 50 individuals, occurs along the rocky coast near Punta Melones. It is found in the subtropical dry forest life zone in dry thickets which grow on a crumbling rock substrate on a steep bank just above the shoreline. Associated species include the sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera) and almacigo (Bursera simaruba).

Other Leptocereus plants

Aguacate Cimarrón · Pitahaya · Vascular Plants

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leptocereus grantianus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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