5. Lepismium Pfeiffer (1835: 315)

Lectotype (designated by Pfeiffer 1835: 314–315):— Lepismium commune Pfeiffer (1835: 315) ≡ L. cruciforme (Velloso 1825: 207) Miquel (1838: 49) .

Species richness:— Lepismium is a genus with wide geographic distribution and comprises 6 species (Hunt et al. 2006). In Brazil, there are 4 species of which ocurr in Rio Grande do Sul (Carneiro et al. 2016).

General distribution:— Occurs in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.

Distribution in Santa Maria river basin:— In SMRB occurs only L. lumbricoides (Lemaire (1939: 60) Barthlott (1987: 99), sometimes found in rocky outcrops and also in trees.

Morphologic notes:— This genus is characterized by shrubby plants with stem-segments often angled or flat with the areoles subtended by crenate or serrate, with numerous aerial roots.Areoles sometimes densely hairy. Flowers small, always somewhat erumpent, often campanulate, white to pale-green. It blooms from October to January, depending on the species, getting right after.