Translation from the German by Derek Butcher 10/2017 (Note: Software could not save all original characters, so there may be minor errors.) The original appeared in "Eine Neue Rhipsalis aus Brasilien -- Rhipsalis barthlotti," Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten 67 (11) 2016

Rhipsalis barthlottii Ralf Bauer & N. Korotkova, sp. nov.

Type: Brazilian; Rio de Janeiro; Serra dos Orgãos, Unterer Nationalpark, 8.10.1973; Barthlott in Rauh 35831 (holotype B 10 0525903!; isotype B 81 0013066 in spirit!).

Diagnosis: Differs from Rhipsalis crispata and R. oblonga in its red fruits (instead of white) and in its golden yellow flowers (instead of whitish or pale yellowish).

Description:  Translated by Butcher
Plant forming a small epiphytic shrub with 80-100 (-150) cm long drooping branches, divided into stem-segments and acrotonically branched (mostly one to three).

Stem-segments (70-) 100-160 mm long, 25-45 mm wide (widest place after about half to two thirds of the stem-segment, 0.5-1.0 mm thick (2-3 mm actually only in the area of the central (Basal third to basal half of the stem-segment strongly tapered down to the length), flat (two-lobed), green; the edges of the new growth are corrugated (the highest point closest to the areole).

Areoles 18-45 mm apart (more at the stem-segment base [45-75 mm], shorter at the stem-segment [5-10 mm]); Notches 4-7 mm above the lowest point where the areole sits, protruding; 3-4 areoles per margin, these inconspicuous or up to 0.7 mm wide with 0-4 very fine, 1-3 mm long, inconspicuous, bristle-like spines; the stem-segment apically somewhat abruptly ending in a 3 mm long areole; Stem-segments at the plant base usually much longer (up to about 250 mm), rather narrow, round or very short winged and a higher number of areoles having. 1-2 (-3) flowers per areole, 11-12 mm long, 10-14 (-17) mm diam (depending on how far the perianth segments fold back).

Pericarpel 2.5- 3.5 mm long, 2.0-2.5 mm wide, cylindrical, naked, green. 8-9 perianth segments, 6-8 mm long, (1.8-) 2.0-3.0 (-3.5) mm wide (the two or three outermost only 1.5-4.0 mm long and 2.5-3.5 mm wide), broad lanceolate with mostly rounded tip, strong golden-yellow to brown-yellow. Stamens 50-70 (-85), striking myrtle-like, exceeding the flower, 3-7 mm long, threadlike thin with tiny anthers, white. Style 8-9 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, with 2-4 scarlet lobes (1.0-2.5 mm long), white.

Fruits approximately spherical to globular, about 5-6 mm long and 5 mm wide, with adherent dried perianth segments; with a red, naked, smooth and translucent, very thin epidermis; Pulp sticky, colorless-translucent, approx. with 5-23 black seeds, oblong (about 1 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide).

Sequence Data: Sequences of the holotype are available in the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA, http: //www.ebi.ac.uk/ena) under accession numbers trnK / matK FN669675, rpl16 FN673579, psbA-trnH FN669100, trnQ-rps16 FN677829.

[Reproduced with the kind permission of the authors and the Deutsche Kakteen-Gesellschaft e. V. (DKG)]

The original article contains seven color photos.

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