Consolea moniliformis
Native to southeastern Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico’s Mona and Desecheo islands, it is a succulent tree cactus of seasonally dry tropical habitats. It develops a woody trunk and a crown of flattened green stem segments with a conspicuously bumpy surface. Plants can produce chains of much smaller, rounded segments that detach and root, allowing vegetative reproduction. Flowers develop on the larger, mature segments. The species has separate male and female plants; flowers may appear bisexual, but female flowers lack functional pollen and male flowers have aborted ovules. Photographed in MedellĂn, Colombia.
