Sign in Start free
Species library › Harrisia › Harrisia adscendens
Succulents Well documented

Harrisia adscendens

A sprawling to arching, slender-stemmed cactus of the caatinga dry forest of north-eastern Brazil, with large white night-opening flowers and red fruit. It needs heat year round, strong light and a pronounced dry season. Keep it warm in winter; it is not a cold-hardy Harrisia.

Harrisia adscendens
Photo: Thomaz de Carvalho Callado, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Caatinga thorn scrub and dry forest on sandy or stony soils and rock outcrops, where stems lean through or over shrubs. It gets strong sun with some light shade from surrounding scrub, much of which drops its leaves in the dry season.

Recorded from sea level to about 920 m, median 444 m, mostly on the inland caatinga plateaus.

Brazil Northeast

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Harrisia adscendens? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Harrisia

Harrisia fragrans Harrisia bonplandii Harrisia martinii Harrisia pomanensis Harrisia portoricensis Harrisia aboriginum Harrisia gracilis Harrisia tortuosa Harrisia tetracantha Harrisia divaricata Harrisia eriophora Harrisia brookii All 18 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 4.0 licence, unmodified.