Trichocereus chiloensis, also known as Trichocereus chilensis or Echinopsis chiloensis, is a columnar cactus from Chile. It is closely related to Trichocereus terscheckii and something like the Chilean version of the large Andean Trichocereus species.
Current name:
Echinopsis chiloensis H.Friedrich & G.D.
Synonyms of T. chiloensis:
T. chilensis, T. chiloensis, Echinopsis chilensis, E. chiloensis, Cactus chiloensis, cereus chiloensis, Trichocereus skottsbergii, Trichocereus nigripilus, Echinopsis skottsbergii, Echinopsis nigripilus, Trichocereus spinibarbis. Trichocereus litoralis, Echinopsis litoralis, Trichocereus bolligerianus, Echinopsis bolligerianus
It´s debatable whether or not Trichocereus litoralis and Trichocereus coquimbanus are synonymous with Trichocereus chiloensis, but there is a clear connection and intermediates exist.
Some people consider Eulychnia eburnea to be synonymous with Tr. chiloensis / E. chiloensis, but I disagree vehemently. The plants look kinda similar, but the flowers of them are very different and clearly belong to the genus Eulychnia.
This Trichocereus species is the predominant Trichocereus in Chile. The Name “chiloensis” is the taxonomically correct one, but there´s a very high chance this was typo as the name was supposed to mean”Chilean Trichocereus” and not “Trichocereus from Chiloe”. T. chilensis doesn not grow anywhere near the island of Chiloe. This makes the confusion around the name even more ridiculous. I understand that Taxonomy has to prefer the earliest name recorded, but in this case, the name Trichocereus chilensis should be ignored because it is the taxonomic equivalent of a typo.
Trichocereus chilensis grows from the Provence Talca in the south of Chile down to the Elqui Valley in the Provence Coquimbo in the north. There are various varieties and the maximum size of the plants varies greatly. Trichocereus chiloensis is one of the most typical cacti in Chile, grows like a tree and can get up to 6-7 meters tall. It grows as strong columns that reach a maximum diameter of 15 centimeters. The areoles are white/beige and up to 2 centimeters long. It has 10-12 radial spines that are up to 2 centimeters large and 2-4 middle spines. The middle spines are usually between 5-10 centimeters long-
Flower: The flower of Trichocereus chilensis is a little smaller than the ones on other Trichocereus species. It is between 8-14 centimeters long. The tube has very little hair on it and is 4-6 centimeters long, white petals (up to 5 centimeters long). Trichocereus chiloensis is a diurnal species, but the flowers tend to stay open for a very long time, sometimes even up late into the night so you might get the idea it is actually night flowering. There are many varieties or intermediates of Trichocereus chilensis, which grow all around the habitats and in the area where different types grow in the neighborhood of each other.
Trichocereus chiloensis is a very tough cactus, just like many other cacti from Bolivian or Chilean deserts . They can take extreme heat and are very easy to grow. But they don’t like too much water, so you should never give too much water at once. They should only be watered in summer and require dry soil medium during the winter. Besides, they need a temperature change during the water in order to produce flowers. That means that you should overwinter Trichocereus chiloensis in a bright and well-ventilated room between October and April until there are no more night frosts. Trichocereus chiloensis is able to tolerate slight night frosts but the temperatures should not drop below -9° Celsius or you might lose the cactus. Apart from that, Trichocereus chiloensis is really easy and can thrive on very poor soil medium. I can recommend purely mineral soil mixes for them because they tend to rot when there is too much humus in the soil. A cactus that is kept in a mineral substrate can stay wet for much longer without any damage to the roots that one that is grown in a highly humus substrate.
Growing Trichocereus chiloensis from Seed: Trichocereus chiloensis is similarly easy from seed as any other Trichocereus. The seeds stay long for 5-10 years, though it´s best to use seeds that are not older than one year. The seeds need light to germinate and you usually sprinkle them on top of the soil and put the pot/sowing container in a room with a temperature between 25-30° Celsius for 2-6 weeks. If you still have no seedlings after 2-6 weeks, chances are that the seeds are not viable. There are not many suppliers for seed of Trichocereus chiloensis.
Right now I have a terrific strain of Trichocereus chilensis ssp. litoralis in my shop. Check it out here.
Trichocereus Chilensis – Huntington Botanical Garden by Richard Hipp
Jimmy Baikovicius -Echinopsis_chiloensis_(2) Trichocereus chiloensis
Jimmy Baikovicius -Echinopsis_chiloensis
Jimmy Baikovicius -Echinopsis_chiloensis_(2) Trichocereus chiloensis 22
Trichocereus glaucus, also known as Echinopsis glauca, is a Peruvian Trichocereus species described by Friedrich Ritter. It might be synonymous with Trichocereus chalaensis, or at least related to it in some form. There are also Peruvianoids that are sold under this name and I occasionally encountered Trichocereus fulvilanus being sold under this name as well. The whole complex is chaotic and it´s hard to verify which plant Ritter´s description was covering.
Friedrich Ritter original photo
Trichocereus glaucus – Foto: Friedrich Ritter
Origin of Trichocereus glaucus:
Peru ( South Peru ), Arequipa (Rio Tambo), Chile. In Chile, this plant is closely related to Trichocereus fulvilanus and Trichocereus deserticolus.
Description of Trichocereus glaucus / Echinopsis glauca:
Trichocereus glaucuscan get between 1,5-2 meters tall and is a prostrate/creeping species that you often find hanging down slopes and cliffs. This trait is very distinct in the variety Trichocereus glaucus var. pendens. The color of the skin is very glaucous and small specimens look absolutely like the type of plants that are labeled Trichocereus macrogonus / Echinopsis macrogona today. Spiny, dark blue versions from the complex around T. peruvianus. However, macrogonus grows columnar while this species tends to bend over with age. New growth is very glaucous.
Areoles of Echinopsis glauca:
The areoles are dark brown to gray in color and approximately 2,5 centimeters apart of each other. Similar to other plants related to Trichocereus peruvianus, the plant has a diameter of up to 10 centimeters and the areoles are gray felted. The spines look a bit like the ones on Trichocereus cuzcoensisand old growth has a typical satin white glow that is common on this species. Trichocereus glaucus has 6-9 ribs, 3-6 middle spines and 8-11 radial spines. The middle spines are 5-10 centimeters and the radial spines 1-2 centimeters long. New spine growth is black to brown and turns gray with age.
Flowers of T. glaucus:
White, just like almost every other Trichocereus from this complex. The diameter is very variable and usually is between 15-22 centimeters. Trichocereus glaucus is a night-flowering species with green, round fruits. However, the hairy flowers usually stay open until the next morning.
Fruit of E. glauca:
Round, green, and 3 centimeters thick.
Type locality: Lower part of the Rio Tambo in the department Arequipa.
Trichocereus glaucus is very similar to Trichocereus chalaensisand grows in a similar way. We think that Trichocereus chalaensis might be synonymous with Ritter´s Trichocereus glaucus. Ritter´s field number of Trichocereus glaucus was FR270. We distributed seeds of Trichocereus glaucus various times in the past and all ended up amazingly beautiful. It´s a very nice species.
Buy Trichocereus glaucus seeds:
Trichocereus glaucus aka Echinopsis glauca is extremely rare and most plants on the market will probably come labeled as “Trichocereus peruvianus” or “Trichocereus macrogonus”. It is common occurence for some Peruvian cactus collectors to label all glaucous Trichocereus species with this name. This is obviously wrong and causes chaos. We sometimes have plants of this species in our Trichocereus Facebook group, which can be found here: https://facebook.com/groups/trichocereus
Cultivation of Echinopsis glauca:
Trichocereus glaucus is a very resilient grower and likes to be watered well in summer. In winter, they should be kept as dry as possible at around 10° Celsius. Seed germinates very well and the plant is usually very tough. That´s also caused by its drought tolerance, which is very typical for these kinds of plants. The species will probably tolerate temperatures between -5° to -7° Celsius over very short time, but I would not stress it and this also depends on many other factors, like general health and dryness. I would recommend keeping at no lower than 10° Celsius in winter.
Varieties of E. glauca: Trichocereus glaucus var. pendens. This variety does only grow hanging down cliffs and small hills. This variety only grows at one location in Chile and is extremely rare. This local population is in the south of Arica, Camarca in Chile. Backeberg suggested that this would be his Trichocereus uyumpaensis, but Friedrich Ritter vehemently disagreed with that. More information is necessary about this topic.
Below: Trichocereus Glaucus – Fotos: Auxin
Translation of Ritter´s description (loosely)
This species forms shrubs the size of 1 – 2 meters and often several meters in diameter, sprouting mainly from shoots that lay sideways on the ground. This plant rarely pups from the top or upper parts. The shoots are 5 – 8 inches thick, erect, later lying in the lower parts, the new shoot blue-green, later gray-green.
Ribs: 7-9, very broad, obtuse, 7.5 to 13 mm high, 15-25 mm wide, notched, with transverse furrows that do not reach down to the separating grooves of the ribs, areoles: grey felted, 1/2-3/4 inches in diameter, 1 to 2 inches free removal, let down by the humps in the notches Spines: In the new shoot black to brown, becoming gray, straight, rigid Marginal spines: 7-10, directed laterally, the lower and lateral 8 to 15 mm long, coarse needle-shaped, somewhat flattened, the upper the upper stronger and not sharply separated from the Central spines. Central spines: 3-6, very spread apart, subulate in the middle, but usually closer to the top edge and almost in the position of an edge of spine, below 1.5 mm thick Flower: Not far from the apex, 13 to 19 centimeters long, fragrant, opening in the evening, the morning still open, Ovary: Green with fleshy green, narrowly triangular, 2-5 mm long, pointed scales and large scales raised bases. The flowers are covered with brown/black hairs. Partition against the nectar chamber 3-4 mm thick, tube-shaped, 13 to 23 mm long, to the stylus 1to 2 mm wide, brownish, almost openly, with nectar
Tubes:
In addition funnel shaped, 40-65 mm long, the top 2 to 3 cm wide, pale green interior, exterior gray-green, with triangular points, 7.5 to 10 mm long, dark green scales and tufts of hair as on the ovary. Stamens: white, greenish below, insertions missing on the top 2 to 3 centimeters of the tube to a ring on the hem, pouch pale brown, approximately at half height petals standing Stylus: pale green, white or pale brownish above, 10 to 11 cm in length, with 14 to 18 mm fall on the 13-16 spread pale yellow stigma lobes, between the pouches or outstanding.
German original description / Deutsche Original Beschreibung:
Büsche von 1 meter bis 2 meter höhe und oft mehreren Metern Durchmesser, sprossend hauptsächlich unten von liegenden Trieben, weniger oben sprossend. Triebe 5 bis 8 Zentimeter dick, aufrecht, später in den unteren Teilen liegend, im Neutrieb blaugrün, später mehr graugrün. Rippen: 7-9, sehr breit, stumpf, 7,5 bis 13 mm hoch, 15 bis 25 mm breit, gekerbt, mit Querfurchen, die nicht bis zu den Trennfurchen der Rippen hinabreichen, Areolen: Graufilzig, 1/2-3/4 Zentimeter Durchmesser, 1bis 2 Zentimeter freie Entfernung, , von den Höckern in die Kerben hinabreichend Stacheln: Im Neutrieb schwarz bis braun, , vergrauend, gerade, starr Randstacheln: 7 bis 10, seitlich gerichtet, die unteren und seitlichen 8 bis 15 mm lang, derb nadelförmig, etwas abgeflacht, die oberen die Oberen stärker und nicht scharf von den Mittelstacheln gesondert. Mittelstacheln: 3 bis 6, sehr gespreizt, pfriemlich in der Mitte, aber meist näher dem oberen Rand und fast in der Stellung eines Randstachels, unten 1,5 mm dick Blüte: Nicht weit weg vom Scheitel, 13 bis 19 zentimeter lang, duftend, abends öffnend, morgens noch offen, Fruchtknoten: Grün mit fleischigen grünen, schmal dreieckigen, 2-5 mm langen spitzen Schuppen und großen erhabenen Schuppenbasen. Mit starken schwarzen oder braunschwarzen Wollhaaren. Trennwand gegen die Nektarkammer 3-4 mm dick, diese tubisch, 13 bis 23 mm lang,um den Griffel 1bis 2 mm weit, bräunlich, fast offen, mit Nektar
Röhren: Darüber trichterig, 40 bis 65 mm lang, oben 2 bis 3 cm weit, innen blaß grünlich , außen graugrün, mit dreieckigen Spitzen, 7,5 bis 10 mm langen dunkelgrünen Schuppen und Haarbüscheln wie auf dem Fruchtknoten. Staubfäden: weiß, unten grünlich, Insertionen fehlen auf den obersten 2 bis 3 Zentimetern der Röhre, bis auf einen Ring auf dem Saum, Beutel blassbraun, etwa bei halber Petalen Höhe stehend Griffel: blassgrün, oben weiß oder blass bräunlich, 10 bis 11 cm lang, wovon 14 bis 18 mm auf die 13-16 gespreizten blaßgelben Narbenäste fallen, zwischen den Beuteln oder sie überragend.
Photos of Trichocereus glaucus / Echinopsis glauca
Jeff Alaback / The version of Trichocereus glaucus from Sacred SucculentsJeff AlabackPatrick NollJeremy JonesJeremy JonesJeremy JonesJeremy JonesPatrick NollDelia KisarDelia KisarDelia KisarSams PlantsSebastian PreissPatrick NollRodni KisarCactus Affinity T. glaucus v. pendensSams Plants
In comparison to this species, check out closely related species:
Trichocereus chalaensis Cactus Affinity Echinopsis chalaensisTrichocereus deserticolus Leonora Enking Echinopsis deserticolaTrichocereus fulvilanus Michael Wolf Echinopsis fulvilana
Trichocereus riomizquensis is a Bolivian Trichocereus species that is closely related to Trichocereus bridgesii. I count it as a close relative and potential regional form of Trichocereus bridgesii, which is only endemic to one site in Bolivia near the Rio Mizque. The species was discovered and described by the German cactus field botanist Friedrich Ritter, who gave Chuyllas as the type locality and described it growing on steep slopes in the province Campero.
His Field Number was FR 856. Friedrich Ritter was one of the leading Cactus experts of his time and successfully ran a seed shop, in which he sold this species as seed to people all over the world. Trichocereus riomizquensis was also visited during the Sacred Succulents Fieldtrips and they found a couple of different types growing around that area.
In Ritter´s book, he published a photo of this species. Unfortunately this photo is not very good and it is one of the species that are rare in cultivation. Almost all labels on plants grown from Ritter´s seeds are lost, but the plant is definitely available. On the market, it sometimes shows up labeled as Trichocereus bridgesii, or probably also labeled as Trichocereus PC. Please note that there is a wide variety of plants from this site and the range is very big, ranging from spiny to completely spineless plants.
Ben Kamm published some photos of a Herbarium specimen that was very close to Trichocereus bridgesii as well.
Where to buy seeds and plants of Trichocereus riomizquensis?:
Though Trichocereus riomizquensis is common in cactus collection in the USA, it is usually mislabeled. Sacred Succulents were giving away seeds after their Field Trips and some plants might have gotten into the hands of collectors. They are also selling live plants grown from their collected seeds sometimes.
Description of Trichocereus riomizquensis:
This is partial description of Friedrich Ritter´s original description, including remarks on how to keep it apart from T. scopulicola.
Trichocereus riomizquensis is 6-8 centimeters thick (while Trichocereus scopulicola is 8-10 centimeters thick), it has 5-6 ribs, (T. scopulicola: 4-6), its flanks are 2 centimeters wide (Scopulicola 3-4 cm wide flanks), the flanks are less rounded than the ones on Tr. scopulicola. It has rounded areoles (while the ones on T. scopulicola are usually oval). The areoles have a very visible fluff with a diameter of 2-3 mm. The 1-5 spines are honey-colored and between 1-3 mm long. Sometimes they are even missing. The flower of Trichocereus riomizquensis is 20 centimeters long (while the flowers of T. scopulicola are 16-20) and covered with dark brown/white wool with large scales. The fruit looks knobby.
Type locality: Chuyllas near the Rio Mizque, on very steep rock walls in the province Campero, Bolivia. Discovered from Ritter in 1958 – FR 856.
Ritter´s original photo of his Trichocereus riomizquensis. It is possible that this plant is the same strain as the American PC clone, which gets very close to this plant´s phenotype. However, DNA testing needs to be done to verify. The photos show two VERY similar plants though.
In comparison to Ritter´s plant, check out the PC Trichocereus clone above. (Forest and Kim Starr)
This is one of the plants from the Sacred Succulents Field Trips:
Trichocereus riomizquensis is one of the most interesting species from the Sacred Succulents Field Trips because of its incredible range. Some plants look like the Trichocereus bridgesii-type plants with long spines from the Field Trips and some other ones look like the short spine versions that Friedrich Ritter´s description was about.
If you take a close look at the whole appearance of this plant, you can see that it has a similar areole shape to the areoles on the well known Trichocereus PC clone, also known as predominant cultivar or predominate cultivar. The flower and the overall appearance are so similar that everything else would be extremely surprising. Despite the fact that there are some very spiny plants at this site, there are some other which get extremely close to Ritter´s original photo. Though this will probably never be proven, there´s definitely reasonable doubt that this PC clone is actually a Trichocereus pachanoi.
There is a lot variation within the populations the original site near the Rio Mizque. This population is one of the most interesting Trichocereus populations out there and DNA testing should absolutely be made to look into its relationship to Trichocereus bridgesii.
Where to buy seeds or cuttings of Trichocereus riomizquensis:
Well, Ben and Sacred Succulents would be my starting point if I were in the USA. They don´t ship plants internationally, but if you have the luck to be in the country you might be able to get some cuttings. Apart from this, I do not know any sources for this species. Most of Ritter´s old plants have lost their labels meanwhile, which makes getting one even harden. I am sure that some of them show up on online market places labeled as Trichocereus bridgesii every now and then.
This photo here looks really unspectacular, but shows the area of the Rio Mizque. It is the place of origin of this rare species and most of the plants that can be found there are obviously Bridgesii related.
Check out our main plant database page for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
Trichocereus santaensisis columnar cactus and species described by Curt Backeberg and Werner Rauh. It is endemic to the Santa Valley in Peru. There are many different forms that belong into the larger context of T. santaensis, e.g. Trichocereus sp. Chavin de Huantar also known as El Lanzon, Trichocereus huanucoensis, Trichocereus pallarensis and many others. The current status of Trichocereus santaensis is unclear. The spiny populations might be placed into Trichocereus peruvianus, and the classic ones from Rio Santa might be placed into Trichocereus pachanoi. Without genetic testing it will be hard to estimate if Trichocereus santaensis is a valid species or just another Backeberg name.
Origin of Trichocereus santaensis
Northern Peru, the valley around the Rio Santa, Puente, Bedoya, Huayanca
Can be kept apart from Trichocereus cuzcoensis by the absence of swollen spine bases. It also has a more frosted blue skin color, has fewer spines and shorter middle spines. Unlike Trichocereus peruvianus, it grows always columnar and does not grow prostrate.
Trichocereus Santaensis – Huntington Botanical Garden – by Richard Hipp!
Description of Trichocereus santaensis Rauh & backb g -. Descr. Cact. Nov. 20, 1956
Trichocereus santaensis can get up to five meters high and branches from the bottom. The stems are blue-green to a glaucous green. It has 7-9 ribs that are similarly broad than the ones on Trichocereus knuthianus aka Echinopsis knuthiana. There is a distinct furrow above the areoles. This distinct V-Notch is very strong in young pups. The areoles have a diameter of approximately 1 centimeter and Trichocereus santaensis has between 1-3 radial spines. Spines medium long to short. In addition, Trichocereus santaensis has one very long middle spine, which is up to 5 centimeters long.
Flower: The flower is white and gets up to 22 centimeters in length. It has a similar flower than other San Pedro types, which is another indicator that Trichocereus santaensis is just a regional form of another species, e.g. T. pachanoi or T. peruvianus.
Origin/Habitat: Rio Santa, Puente, Huayacana, Bedoya.
Trichocereus santaensis is very similar to Trichocereus cuzcoensis and is constantly confused with it. However, it does NOT have rounded, knobby spine bases. Besides, the spination is less strong and grows always columnar instead of creeping. Today, the species would probably not be considered to be correct and extensive DNA testing is necessary to look into the limits of this species and where other species begin.
Please note that T. santaensis is very variable due to the high number of regional forms. Some of which have red spines, some with yellow spines and some where the spines are completely absent.
In the Chapter of Trichocereus peruvianus, Backeberg wrote about its growth type:
This is Backebergs Key for Trichocereus santaensis
Branchesto 10cm∅ Blue greenshoots Ribs7, very broad, strongly furrowed, Notflattenedfurrows Spinesgray-brown,brighter towards the base Middlespines: 1 spine is longer, spines up to 4 cmlong.
Friedrich Ritter´s description of Trichocereus santaensis
TrichocereusSANTAENSISRAUH&BACKBG. 1956RAUH: BEITRÄGE PERUANISCHER KAKTEENVEGETATION 1958, s. 361 Differences from TR. Pachanoi (data for the latter in parentheses): Body gray-green (grass green to bluish green). Ri. 6-7, usually 6 (5-8, in Peru medium to 10 and even higher), on the Areoles a slight v-shaped Notch (little cross notch). Ar. 3-5 mm Dm Spines: few or absent,Rsp. to 3, a few mm to 3 cm long, Middle Spines. usually one, often it is the only Spine, a few mm to 4 cm long. Flower. Near the apex, about 18-19 cm long, about 12 cm wide open (up to 20 cm wide between the outer petals), obliquely upward (about protruding horizontally), just (with two slight curves). Nectar Chamber 19 mm long (slightly longer), without significant gap (small space), with little or no Nectar (with some nectar). Tube about ca 6 cm long with 2.5 cm further Opening (longer and wider). Petals slightly shorter and narrower, the outer almost adjacent to the interior Ones (strongly bent outwards), SANTA Valley at 2000 m and about Depart. Ancash; only here. No. FR 567a. Fig. 1,188,
Trichocereus santaensis / Echinopsis santaensis at the Rio Santa (Riley Flatten)
Photos below Trichocereus santaensis / Echinopsis santaensis in Chavin de Huantar, El Lanzon (Riley Flatten)
Check out our main plant database pages for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
Trichocereus scopulicola, also known as Trichocereus scopulicolus or Echinopsis scopulicola is a columnar cactus from Bolivia. It was discovered and described by Friedrich Ritter. Its current status is unknown, but it may be extinct in nature.
Trichocereus scopulicolawas discovered by Friedrich Ritter during one of his expeditions to Bolivia in 1959. The location of the type is Tarija, Bolivia. More precisely, Ritter gave Tapecua as the location and assigned the collection number FR991 and sold seed of his discovery through his legendary Winter Seed lists. Because of that, he helped spreading the plant all over the world, despite the fact that Trichocereus sScopulicola is really rare in nature. There are very few collections of this plant in nature and I am always interested in obtaining seed from new scopulicola types. The plant grows in Tarija in the province O Connor. And no, this has nothing to do with Sarah Connor from the movie TERMINATOR. Trichocereus scopulicola grows in the cactus forests around the Department Tarija at around 1000-1500 meters.
Description of Trichocereus scopulicola:
Trichocereus scopulicola grows columnar like a tree and pups from the base. But it´s actually rare for this plant to produce numerous shoots and most plants don´t have any side shoots. Trichocereus scopulicola can get up to 4 meters tall though most specimens are smaller. The columns are between 5-10 centimeters in diameter and have a nice, dark green epidermis.
Ribs:
Trichocereus scopulicola can have 4-6 ribs though most specimens have five. The areoles are furrowed. The areoles are sunk in and have very little white fluff/wool on top of them. The areoles are rounded or oval and are between 1-4 mm long and 1-2 mm broad, which is very small for a Trichocereus. The distance between the areoles is between 15 and 30 mm. Areoles that form flowers have 4-5 mm diameter. Large, adult plants often lack the spines, while very young seedlings look remarkably similar to a Trichocereus pachanoi and can only be differentiated by the weird rib shape of Trichocereus scopulicola. Adult plants have (if they have any) 3-6 spines that are very small and up to 1.5 mm long. Seedlings have 6-7 ribs, areoles up to 2 mm in diameter and 3-5 mm away from each other, 7-14 needle-like spines (2-3mm long), of which two are central spines.
Flower of Echinopsis scopulicola:
Trichocereus scopulicola flowers from the apex but there are plants where the flowers come out from lower points on the plant. The flower is white and between 15-22 centimeters long. Trichocereus scopulicola is a night-flowering species but the flowers stay open until the late morning.
Fruit of Trichocereus scopulicola:
The fruit of Trichocereus scopulicola is green and can get up to 6 centimeters thick.
Friedrich Ritter considered this species to be very close to Trichocereus bridgesii, which is one of the plants that grow in the neighborhood of Trichocereus scopulicola. And it´s very likely that Tr. scopulicola is some kind of natural hybrid involving Trichocereus bridgesii or Trichocereus pachanoi.
In addition, Ritter wrote that Trichocereus riomizquensis is related to it, but not as closely related as Trichocereus crassicostatus is. These days, Trichocereus crassicostatus is generally seen as a synonym of Trichocereus scopulicola or Tr. pachanoi. So far, I´ve not been able to track a specimen down but they are certainly out there. If you grow one, let me know.
Cultivation of Trichocereus scopulicola:
Trichocereus scopulicola is similarly tough as Trichocereus bridgesii. The reason is simple; both come from Bolivia and are used to the same conditions. Bolivian Trichocereus species are very drought resistant, but can also deal with strong rainfalls in summer pretty flawlessly. However, they should not be watered when it´s cold and they prefer a purely mineral soil mix because that dries up a lot faster. During the hot summer season, they can be watered every few days when the soil has dried up again. Don´t water them when it´s cold or rainy because that can cause rot.
Winter protection and Minimum Temperature:
Scops are relatively hardy and can short night frosts of down to -5° Celsius and maybe even lower than that, but I would not test it out because low temps weaken the plants. The minimum average temperature should be around 10° Celsius and they should be completely dry over winter if you take the plants inside. If the get wet over a prolonged period of time, it can cause root rot or other infections.
Seed & live cuttings:
I get seeds every now and then and I know a couple of growers who actively breed with Scops. There sometimes are some available at SAB and the SAB forum. Besides, Misplant makes a couple Scop Crosses a year. This year, he made a pretty cool cross between a Scop and a colored Grandiflorus, which I can wholeheartedly recommend you because it might produce Scop seedlings with a colored flower.
Trichocereus scopulicola can be used as a grafting stock. It is a great stock that accepts graftings very easily.
Photos of Trichocereus scopulicola
Trichocereus scopulicola FR991 (above)
Trichocereus scopulicola ‘Super Pedro’ above
Sausage Plant x Trichocereus scopulicola _ Echinopsis scopulicola (Below)
TRICHOCEREUS SCOPULICOLA RITT., “Cactus” April 1966 Körper: Aufrechte Säulen, nicht oder nur gering vom Grund sprossend, 3-4 m hoch, 8-10 cm dick, dunkelgrün. Ri. 4-6, meist 5, fast höckerlos, breit und stumpf, die etwas gewölbten Planken ca 3-4 cm breit, Trennfurchen gerade. Ar. etwas eingesenkt, gering weißfilzig, rundlich oder oval, 1-3 mm lang, 1 mm breit, 15 bis fast 30 mm freie Entfernung; Blühareolen ca 4-5 mm Dm., rund, St. an großen Pflanzen fehlendoder 3-5, pfriemlich und nur ca 1 mm lang; Sämlinge haben 6-7 Ri., Ar. von 1-1,5 mm Dm. mit 3-5 mm freier Entfernung und 7-13 nadelförmige, weißliche oder braune, 2-5 mm lange St., davon 1-2 zentral. Bl. meistnahe dem Scheitel, zuweilen auch tiefer, 16-20 cm lang, duftend, nachts öffnend, in den kühleren Morgenstunden noch offen. Frkn. grün, groß gefeldert, Felder ca 1 cm Dm., oben auslaufend in grünliche dreieckige Schuppen von 1-2 mm Länge, mit weißen, oben dazu auch schwarzen Wollhaaren. N.-K. bräunlichweiß, tubisch, sehr eng um den Gr., ca 2 cm lang, mit Nektar. Rö. darüber trichterig, 65-85 mm lang, innen und außen hellgrün, die grünen Schuppen nach oben bis ca 25 mm Länge und 15 mm Breite an Größe zunehmend; Obergänge in die Krbl. rotbraun, Haare sehr krauswollig, schwarz mit weiß. Stbf. unten blaßgrün, nach oben gelblich, 7-9 cm lang, die des Saumes 4-5 cm lang; Insertionslücke ca 4 cm; Beutel bräunlich. Krbl. 6-8 cm lang, 2,5-4 cm breit, mit schmaler Basis, Enden gerundet mit oder ohne Spitzchen, nahe oben am breitesten, weiß, die äußeren schmaleren weiß mit grünem Mittelstreif. Gr. blaßgrün, 14-18 cm lang, wovon ca 2 cm auf die 12 hellgelben ausgebreiteten Narbenlappenkommen. Fr. grün, 4-5 cm langunddick, gefeldert und bedeckt wie Frkn., wohlschmeckend, Sa. 1,8 mm lang, 1,3 mm breit, 0,8 mm dick, fast nierenförmig, Testa glänzend schwarz, etwas gehöckert, Hilum oval, bräunlich, sehrschief. Die Art ist verwandt mit TRICHOCEREUS BRIDGESII, noch näher mit TR. CRASSICOSTATUS. Heimat Felsenhänge und Blockhalden von Gebirgswäldern des Depart. Tarija in etwa 1000 bis 1500 m Höhe. Typusort TAPECUA, Prov. O’Connor, von mir entdeckt 1959, Diese Art ist eine vorzügliche Pfropf unterläge. Nr. FR 991. Abb. 443.
Trichocereus camarguensis is a thin Cactus that resembles Trichocereus strigosus, huascha and some forms of T. spachianus. It has golden Spines. Live cuttings and seeds of Trichocereus camarguensis were distributed by various sources, including Karel Knize under the collection Number KK1414. There also are many hybrids available. Trichocereus cajasensis is closely related and is considered to be a separate species by some authors. DNA testing is necessary to look into this.
Description of Trichocereus camarguensis:
Thin columnar cactus that can get up to 50-60 centimeters tall. It grows prostrate and usually leans forward because of its tendency to creep. The epidermis is bright to pale green with many golden spines. 13-15 ribs and areoles are around 1 centimeter apart of each other. This cactus can resemble Trichocereus huascha and Trichocereus strigosus, but does not reach its large height!
Spines:
12-15 radial spines and 1-3 middle spines that are up to 5 centimeters long, The spines are bright yellow and like very thin, fine needles.
Flower:
White. Up to 22 centimeters long, tube with dark gray hairs, sepals are pink/purple/green and white petals (up to 10 centimeters)
Fruit of Echinopsis camarguensis:
Round fruit, up to 3 centimeters in diameter
Origin:
Bolivia, near Camargo, 2750 meters. Chuqisaca, Tarija, Potosi
Trichocereus camarguensis is a night-flowering species. It also is self-sterile, what means you need pollen from a second plant to get seeds.
Cultivation of T. camarguensis:
Trichocereus camarguensis is USDA 10-12. It originally comes from Bolivia, where there is very little water and should not be overwatered. They are much more likely to rot than a Trichocereus pachanoi or Trichocereus peruvianus. So keep them more on the dry side and don’t water when it’s cold or rainy because that attracts mold and other infections. They like a mineral substrate and can deal with quite a lot of sun. The minimum average temperature should not go below 10° Celsius and that´s actually the temperature that you should overwinter them. Only water them between May and October if you have to bring them inside to overwinter. If you don´t have the luck to live in a country where you can grow them outside,then better not try it because they will most likely not make it through the winter! Just make sure to provide them with a winter protection that keeps em from getting wet all the time. They should take short, nightly frosts, but the absolute minimum is -9° Celsius/15.8 Fahrenheit. Frost resistance also depends on many other factors, like general health, soil composition and humidity.
Growing Trichocereus carmaguensis from seed:
The same requirements as most other Bolivian Trichocereus species. Seeds need light to germinate and seedlings prefer mineral substrate. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil and put the pot/container in a warm room (25°-29°) and make sure it´s not getting too hot in there. As soon as all the seeds have germinated, keep a close eye on the temperatures because they can die from heat quite easily. Temps should not go above 30° Celsius! Especially in closed containers, temps can be substantially higher than in the room around them.
Where to get seed:
There are not many seed sources for Trichocereus camarguensis available right now. I have received some top notch seeds from the current harvest by a friend this year. Check out the shop to buy some Trichocereus camarguensis seeds.
Hybrid Culture:
Trichocereus camarguensis is used extensively in hybrid culture because they flower early on and produce a beautiful flower. Because of that there are many camarguensis hybrids with a flower other than white.
Similarity to Trichocereus strigonus
Trichocereus camarguensis and Trichocereus strigonus are extremely similar. The difference is that Trichocereus camarguensis only has yellow spines, while T. strigonus has yellow and red colored forms. In addition, T. strigonus has much more spines and is a bit taller.
Photo: Trichocereus camarguensis (Dean Karras)
by Frank Vincentz
This photo is labeled as Trichocereus camarguensis, but probably shows Trichocereus strigonus. Trichocereus camarguensis does not have red spines. by Daderot
Trichocereus vollianus, also known under it´s currently valid name Echinopsis volliana, is a columnar cactus from the genus Trichocereus. It is a very interesting plant and there is only little information to be found about it. Ben Kamm and Sacred Succulents encountered Trichocereus vollianus during their 2010 Sacred Succulents field trip.
The original description of this plant came from Backeberg in his book KAKTUS-ABC. The original type location is in Arque in Cochabamba. The shoots have a maximum diameter of up to 10 centimeters, approximately 13 ribs and a very bright green yellow color. The epidermis of this plant has similarities to Trichocereus spachianus, which has a very bright green color too. The ribs are 7 mm broad and are up to 5 mm high. The areoles are approx. 2-2,5 cm apart from each other. The plant has 7-12 radial spines and very fine and thin spines that can get up to 7 mm long. There usually is only one middle spine which can reach a length of 2,5 cm. All spines are yellow colored (Backeberg used the term “Amber”).
Flowers: The flowers of Trichocereus vollianus are white and up to 12 cm long. However, I assume that the flowers depend greatly on the health of the plant and larger flowers wouldn’t come as a surprise to me.
Fruit: Green and very hairy.
How to keep it apart from Trichocereus spachianus?: Trichocereus vollianus is very similar to Trichocereus spachianus but thicker, even more shiny and has a brighter green epidermis. Backeberg also mentioned that they work very well as a grafting stock.
There also was a Trichocereus vollianus var. rubrispinus with reddish spines, which would probably be regarded as nothing but a regional form under today´s standards. It is a common occurrence that some populations are extremely variable with lots of different forms growing together and it is not enough to warrant a separate description as a new species.
Where to get seeds of Trichocereus vollianus?:
Well, it´s definitely a rare species. Sacred Succulents collected some seeds and gave them away under the name mentioned above but apart from that, there are very few sources that provide viable seed. You could make a posting in our Trichocereus Facebook group because I know of some people who were able to get some seeds back when they were sold by Sacred Succulents. Definitely an interesting plant!
Misidentified Trichocereus vollianus in Australia:
There are a whole lot of misidentified plants of this species going around in Australia. These are probably either Trichocereus thelegonoides or Trichocereus quadratiumbonatum. If your Trichocereus vollianus has strong ridges/notches above the areoles, it is not the right species.
The name Trichocereus shaferi was described by Britton and Rose in the 1920s and lacked some important information. However, there were some later descriptions by Friedrich Ritter, Curt Backeberg/Rauh and Werdermann that went more into detail.
Trichocereus shaferi pups from the base and reaches a size of 1-1,5 meters. The plant grows halfway prostrate or leaning over and has between 15 and 20 ribs. Britton and Rose gave an average number of 12 ribs, which is dramatically different from the data that were given in later descriptions. The maximum diameter is 5-12 centimeters and the color is a gray/dark green, which you can very well see on the pictures that were provided by Trout. The ribs are 0,5-1 centimeters high and there are substantial furrows .
The areoles on Trichocereus shaferi are white felted and 1-6 mm in diameter and up to 1,2 centimeters apart of each other.
Spines: The spines of Trichocereus shaferi are yellow, very fine and needle-like with a slightly dark-brown tip. It has 7-10 radial spines (up to 1 cm long) and 1-3 middle spines (1-2 cm).
Flower: Very round flower. White. Trichocereus shaferi flowers from the upper part/apex and Britton and Rose gave a size of 15-18 cm.
Fruit: The fruit has very dominant white hairs, as you can beautifully see on the second picture. The edible fruit is round and 3-5 cm in diameter. Green in color with reddish/green scales.
Origin: Ritter encountered this plant near Leon near Jujuy at around 1500-1800 meters growing on rocky slopes. Britton and Rose gave San Lorenzo in the provence Salta at 1800 meters as the location of the typus. Ritter considered his collection in jujuy to be a regional variety but didnt really follow up on it. His collection name was FR41 and there is a large number of seeds that gotten into the collections of cactus fans all around the world.
Where to buy seeds and plants of Trichocereus shaferi? Well, it´s rare and you might come across them on eBay. Like I already mentioned before, I bought a large plant with this name a few years ago and we´re waiting for it to flower next year. Some seed stores and cactus nurseries have them in stock every once in a while, but it´s a rather rare species and it´s not available from South America. I am sure there are some collectors that offer seeds from their collections sometimes, but it´s probably a little bit hard to find and luck has a lot to do with it. If I´d be looking for this species, I´d write emails to Kakteen Haage, Kakteen Uhlig, Succeed, Sacred Succulents and hope for the best. You can also try making a post in our Trichocereus Facebook group but I´ve never really encountered one there. But it cant hurt to ask.
Photos of Trichocereus shaferi
Check out our main plant database pages for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
Trichocereus andalgalensis has a weird & complicated history. The name first appeared in 1893 in the MONATSZEITSCHRIFT FÜR KAKTEENKUNDE, which is a German publication about cacti. The plant was originally introduced into the world of taxonomy as a red flowering variety of Cereus huascha (Trichocereus huascha). In his book, Schuman mentioned that Weber described this plant and regard the red flowering variety of Cereus huascha (now Trichocereus huascha) to be a separate species called Cereus andalgalensis. The plant is very similar to Trichocereus huascha and was recently declared to be synonymous with Trichocereus huascha. The current taxonomy tends to merge relative plants together in larger, more variable species and I absolutely agree with that. The species was originally found near Andalgala, has very fine yellow spines and is sprouting from the base.
Synonyms: Echinopsis andalgalensis, Lobivia andalgalensis, Cereus andalgalensis, Cereus huascha var. rubriflorus, Trichocereus huascha var. rubriflorus
Now back to the time when Cereus andalgalensis was first desctribed. Back then, a cactus enthusiast and taxonomist called Spegazzini somehow got the idea that the name Cereus andalgalensis would actually be about a small Lobivia that was found near Ancasti. Which was absolutely not the case, since Trichocereus Andalgalensis is a columnar cactus that grows very much like Trichocereus Huascha (but does not get as big) and not a small clumping Lobivia.
And when Britton & Rose wrote their cactus manifest called THE CACTACEAE, they did not realize that Spegazzini described a completely different plant and published the troubled description in their as Lobivia andalgalensis B&R and declared that Lobivia to be synonymous with the red flowering variety of Trichocereus huascha (Trichocereus andalgalensis), which back then was called Cereus huascha Rubriflorus. Now, there were two different plants that were considered to be the same plant. And one (the Lobivia) did absolutely not fit into Weber´s old description of a columnar cactus. Weber originally gave Andalgala in the province Catamarca to be the type location of the plant. Exactly where Rauh found a small clustering Trichocereus that fit into Webers old description and which was most likely the original origin of Trichocereus andalgalensis, which was back then still called Cereus andalgalensis.
Description: Trichocereus andalagensis is bright green in color and reaches a maximum diameter of up to 6 centimeters. The shoots can reach a maximum height of 10-40 Centimeters. It´s pretty typical for this plant to sprout abundantly from the base, even at a relatively young age.
Ribs: Trichocereus andalgalensis has 10-18 Ribs that are up to 5 mm high and between 5-10 mm wide. The areoles are brown and declining in color with age. The areoles are between 1-3 mm in diameter and 5-10 mm apart of each other.
Spines: The spines of Trichocereus andalgalensis are yellow, very similar as the ones on Trichocereus spachianus. All spines are very fine and needle-like. It has 7-15 radial spines that can get up to 1,5 mm long and 1-2 middle spines, which are 1-4 cm long.
Flowers: The flowers are usually red and up to 8,5 cm long, what makes the flower of Trichocereus andalgalensis one of the smallest flowers on a Trichocereus species. The flowers are and have a lot of brown hairs. There also is a variety with a yellow flower. The yellow variety is called Trichocereus andalgalensis var. flaviflorus and the red flowering one is Trichocereus andalgalensis var. rubriflorus.
Where to buy seeds or plants of Trichocereus andalgalensis?: There only are a couple of sources where you can get seeds of Trichocereus andalgalensis. One is Sacred Succulents, which was offering very viable seeds of this amazing cactus. Köhres has them in stock sometimes too though I have no idea how the germination rate of those is. Apart from that, I am not aware of any commercial sources that sell this seed. If you have a shop and have them in stock, you can let me know and I´ll add you to this page. You can also make a posting about Trichocereus andalgalensis in our Trichocereus Facebook Group. It´s not a very common type, but chances are some of our older members might still have some from the time when Friedrich Ritter sold seeds of this plant as FR 428.
This b/w pic shows Trichocereus Andalgalensis var. auricolor. It is probably the same type as shown in the color pics below.
Trichocereus huascha v. andalgalensis
Photo: Jofre Vlastni
Photo: Allie Caulfeld
Pics below show a Yellow flowering version: K.Trout – Troutsnotes.com
Unfortunately, I do not have pics of the red flowering Trichocereus andalgalensis but I will add more pics as soon as I get some.
This population from the Bolivian island ‘Isla Del Sol’ belongs into the wider complex of Trichocereus bridgesii / Echinopsis lageniformis. However, it is currently discussed whether or not this plant is actually a different species and DNA testing is required to look into its status. Sacred Succulents visited this population during their Field Trips and made some amazing photos. I also have some sick photos of it in my first book.
BK08601.1 Trichocereus Isla del Sol, Bolivia
Now, this is one of the most interesting Trichocereus species that were visited during the Sacred Succulents Field Trips! All the photos shown here are from Ben Kamm & Sacredsucculents.com! This was from the 2008 Field Trip and it is very similar to an intermediate between Trichocereus bridgesii and something from the Trichocereus cuzcoensis complex. Trichocereus cuzcoensis is mostly known for the plants in Cusco that were used to write the original description, but there are similar plants and relatives of Trichocereus cuzcoensis that can be found in other Peruvian states.
It also reminds me a little bit of Trichocereus knuthianus, which also belongs to the Cuzcoensis complex and has similar, massive areoles. Those plants are definitely very old…how they evolved exactly is not known. Sacred Succulents gave away seed of this amazing species in 2008, but I do not know of anyone who raised some of them so far. If you happen to own this type, please let me know because it´s on my most-wanted list and I urgently need more pics of seed grown plants. The Isla Del Sol is an area that can be found in the southern part of the Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It´s a wonderful area that is filled with ancient ruins and that screams “History”. I do not know if those plants were intentionally planted there or if they just evolved, but it´s definitely one of the coolest Trichocereus species out there.
This is another Plant from the same region. Judging by the looks of it, it grows very nearby. The Plant is somehow connected to the Trichocereus cuzcoensis Complex and is simply awesome!
Check out our main plant database pages for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
Trichocereus lamprochlorus is strange species that needs investigation. There are various species associated with Trichocereus lamprochlorus / Echinopsis lamprochlora, such as Trichocereus purpureopilosus and some forms of Trichocereus candicans that are considered to be synonymous with it. The species was merged into the genus Echinopsis during Friedrich & Rowley´s merger in 1974 and named Echinopsis lamprochlora (Lemaire).
The situation around Trichocereus lamprochlorusis complicated because the original description of Cereus lamprochlorus (Lemaire) and the Trichocereus lamprochlorus that we know today are two different plants. It is unknown what kind of plant Lemaire was describing as Cereus lamprochlorus, but the description differs greatly from our modern Trichocereus lamprochlorus. One of the two plants associated with this name is a medium sized Trichocereus that pups very strongly from the base and grows in groups of many side-arms. The other one is a classical columnar cactus that grows upwards and tends to get a lot bigger than the other type. Both are totally different types of cacti, but were at some point, described as the same plant. The columnar growing type of this plant is the one that´s generally accepted as Trichocereus lamprochlorus today. Trichocereus lamprochlorus belongs to a very variable complex involving numerous closely related or visually similar species. Despite the fact that the two plants known as Trichocereus lamprochlorus are different types of cacti, they might still belong to the same group of plants and just be examples of different forms belonging to different populations. It is also possible that the columnar version is what´s shown on the photos below, and the smaller clumping cactus is the forum that was later described as Trichocereus purpureopilosus. Both of them are related and show visual similarities, but differ greatly in regards to their type of growth.
These pics were shot in Tiatako, Cochabamba, Bolivia. They show a regional form related to the type that we regard as Trichocereus lamprochlorus today. It has up to 15 ribs, strong spines, a reddish touch around the spines, a very bright green epidermis, 10-15 radial spines and 4 middle spines. The flower of the originally described plant was not know.
Britton & Rose already had problems with the two mixed up plants mentioned before and tried to get to the bottom of it. Without success. The other version of Trichocereus lamprochlorus was also described as “Trichocereus neolamprochlorus”. It is a plant that´s very similar and even related to Trichocereus candicans. This plant stays relatively small, pups from the bottom, has a bright green epidermis that later changes to a sickly looking yellow color. The plants can get up to 10 centimeters in diameter, have between 8-12 ribsm, spines with a reddish touch. Its flowers are up to 25 centimeters large, white, covered with black wool. This type originally grows around Cordoba in Argentina and is a different type of cactus, one which is close to Trichocereus candicans. Due to the chaotic history, the nomenclaturic situation around these plants is convoluted.T
The One on the lower left! The one on the right is Echinocactus grusonii! by Christian Bortes!
This is a really roughed up specimen, but it´s one of the few pics I have of it.
Check out our main plant database pages for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
Trichocereus strigosus is a plant from the genus Trichocereus. Its status is questionable and it is sometimes also listed as Soehrensia strigosa. I treat it as a correct species in the genus Trichocereus. It is closely related to Trichocereus vatteri and only differs from it by the flowers. Visually, both species are very hard to differentiate and are mostly synonymous.
This plant grows in direct neighborhood of Trichocereus candicans and was cataloged by Gilles in 1833. But back then, the plant was not described until 1834 when Salm-Dyck took the effort to write a complete description. Trichocereus strigosus and Trichocereus candicans both grow around Mendoza. The original name was Cereus Myriophyllus (Gilles) but it was changed to Trichocereus strigosus because it was based on a nomen nudum and that´s why Salm-Dyck´s description has priority over the older name Cereus Myriophyllus.
Flower: Up to 20 centimeters large, white. Trichocereus strigosus is a night flowering species. It also is self-sterile, what means that you need pollen from another donor to produce seeds. Please not that there is a white form of Trichocereus strigosus. The white flowering variety of this plant grows at around 1600 meters altitude. The plant is pupping from the base and only reaches around 60-65 centimeters in height.
Ribs: Trichocereus strigosus has 15-20 ribs and the shoots have a maximum diameter of 5-8 centimeters.
The areoles are white/beige felted and reach a maximum diameter of 5 mm. Every areole are approximately 3-6 mm apart from each other.
Spines: Yellow, very thin and fine spines, up to 3 centimeters long, 10-15 radial spines and 2-5 middle spines that can get up to 5,5 centimeters long. The plant has very long and fierce spines.
In addition, there are some other forms/varieties. One of them was originally known as Trichocereus strigosus var. flaviflorus and only occurs in Famatina, Province La Rioja in Argentina. This type has a yellow flower and is day flowering. The flowers are between 12-14 centimeters large. The yellow flowering variety grows a couple hundred meters below the white flowering one. In addition, the yellow flower is shorter.
Cultivation: The species is very rare in cultivation, though it sometimes shows up in cactus collections all around the world. The plant should be kept relatively dry, though it can be watered in the summer when it´s pretty hot. As it grows in the neighborhood of Trichocereus candicans, it requires similar conditions. Trichocereus strigosus likes getting a fair amount of sun light but shouldn´t be baked in full sun all day long. They usually grow in semi-shade and can form amazing clusters.
Winter protection and frost tolerance: Trichocereus strigosus is able to take a light amount of frost but everything lower than -5° Celsius is dangerous and can lead to permanent damage or death. Plants need to be kept completely dry if the temperatures drop below 10° Celsius/50° Fahrenheit and it´s best to keep them in a bright, well ventilated area. The minimum average temperature is 10° Celsius.
Seed germination: The seed germinates very easy, if it´s actually fresh. Especially with those rarer Trichos, there are problems regarding the viability of the seeds. I think Succeed has them in stock too and if possible, ask the seller in advance if he knows how old the seed is. That´s a good rule of thumb anyway and these days, I do it for all my seed orders.
Photos of Trichocereus strigosus
“Echinopsis strigosa” by Ryan Somma
Vela de la Virgen, Trichocereus strigosa, La Rioja desert – Picture “Echinopsis strigosa by Dick Culbert –
“Echinopsis strigosa” by Ryan Somma – Echinopsis strigosa
Trichocereus candicans is a species from the genus Trichocereus that originally grows in Argentina.
Current name: Echinopsis candicans (Gillies ex Salm-Dyck)
Synonyms: Cereus candicans, Echinocactus candicans, Echinocereus candicans, Echinopsis candicans, Helianthocereus candicans, Trichocereus pseudocandicans, Trichocereus tenuispinus, Echinopsis candicans var. tenuispinus, Cereus candicans spinosior, Trichocereus neolamprochlorus, Trichocereus gladiatus, T. candicans var. gladiatus, Trichocereus rubriflorus, Echinocactus dumelianus, Cereus Candicans var. spinisior, Helianthocereus pseudocandicans and some forms of Trichocereus lamprochlorus
First of all, this species is a mess. There are totally different types of plants floating around in the collection and I am not even counting the hybrids yet. There were numerous taxonomists in the past 100 years messing around with Trichocereus candicans and I am not really happy with the current taxonomy either. There originally were a couple of different subspecies like Trichocereus candicans & Trichocereus pseudocandicans + the closely related species Trichocereus lamprochlorus + neolamprochlorus. Trichocereus lamprochlorus was once again divided from T. candicans…and for good reasons.
Trichocereus candicans is a small and compact columnar cactus that builds clusters and grows approximately 75 centimeters tall- The plant usually has a yellowish skin color and grows in clusters up to 3 meters wide. The columns are 8-15 Centimeters thick and have between 9 and 11 Ribs. Areoles are pretty big and white felted and up to 2 centimeters apart of each other. Trichocereus candicans has 10-12 Radial Spines that are up to 4 centimeters long and 4 middle spines that are up to 8 centimeters long.
Flower: Most specimens of T. candicans have white flowers, but this is a heavily bastardized species in nature and I´ve seen various populations that had all kinds of flower colors and everyone of them was more beautiful as the other. And they had all kinds of flowers…yellow, red, white, you name it! Regularly, the flower is white and reaches a size of up to 20 centimeters (and some forms or varieties even more). The flowers have a very nice smell and attract all kinds of insects. Because of its excellent flower, Trichocereus Candicans is a perfect plant for hybrid breeding. The flower looks amazing and accepts pollen of most other Trichocereus, including the San Pedro cacti. Because of that, it´s a great candidate to breed colored flowers into the whole San Pedro group.
T. candicans is Night flowering. Besides, it is self-sterile, what means that you need pollen from another donor to produce seeds.
Origin: Argentina. Around Mendoza and Cordoba. San Juan, Catamarca, La Rioja.
Just like I already mentioned, the species is very variable and is also close to Trichocereus lamprochlorus. There are intermediates that show traits of both species and it´s nearly impossible to give a definite ID. There are natural hybrids between Trichocereus candicans x Trichocereus huascha and Trichocereus candicans x Trichocereus strigosa.
CITES: Trichocereus candicans is in Cites APPENDIX II.
Varieties & Cultivars: T. candicans var. gladiatus (with very large flowers), Trichocereus candicans var. robustior, Trichocereus candicans var. rubriflorus, Trichocereus candicans Gröner Hybrids (which is a hybrid between T. candicans x Pseudolobivia, which flowers very early on), Trichocereus candicans var. tenuispinus, Cantora hybrids (which is a cross between Trichocereus candicans and Echinopsis toralapana), and so on.
Trichocereus candicans is a very good species for grafting or hybrid culture. There are certain hybrids with extremely beautiful flowers called CANTORA. Those hybrids are one part Trichocereus candicans and one part Echinopsis toralapana.
Many taxonomists would agree that this species an extremely variable plant that makes many problems. And while I agree with that, it´s also caused by the chaos that was caused by the large amount of different types that were all merged into this huge species “Trichocereus candicans”. Because there are so many different types available on the market, there are countless atypical plants that grow more columnar than standard Candicans´or that have very short spines instead of the long spines that most candicans are known for.
Cultivation: Trichocereus candicans is very easy in cultivation. It is an excellent grafting stock that is known for its great frost tolerance, but the plant is so beautiful that you can also grow it just because it looks cool. Especially the colored flower hybrids around La Rioja are amazing and I can only recommend you this amazing cactus. The plant takes many years until it flowers but there are some hybrids called Groener candicans that are basically the result of an open pollination between candicans and Pseudolobivia, which flower very early on within the first five years. Those hybrids were named after the grower who raised and distributed them. If you can get those hybrids, you wont regret it. But they are rare and should only be watered when it´s hot.
Because of that, the plant does not get any water in between October and April. In Europe, you can overwinter them in a bright place with lots of fresh air at a temperature of approximately 10° Celsius. That´s the minimum average temperature and they do not need any water until the temperatures are starting to rise again.
Cultivation from Seed: Trichocereus Candicans is very easy from seed and requires the same treatment as any other Trichocereus. They are really frost resistant and can sometimes withstand short night frosts of down to -8° Celsius/17.5° Fahrenheit. I would not want to test it out though, because it always depends on the general health of a plant. The minimum average temperature is around 10° Celsius/50° Fahrenheit. The seeds will start germinating at temperatures between 24-30° celsius and require very little water to germinate. They are relatively uncomplicated to grow but I had the best experiences with a soil that was purely mineral.
Propagation: The plant is propagated by live Cuttings and seed.
Seed & live cutting sources: I am working on getting this species in my shop. As soon as I get high quality seeds of this one, I will let you know.
Trichocereus candicans var. robustior – Huntington Botanical Garden by Richard Hipp
Trichocereus candicans var. robustior on the left and the very rare Trichocereus santiaguensis on the right!
Photo: Prier
Trichocereus candicans / Echinopsis candicans
On this beautiful specimen you can see how similar Trichocereus candicans can get to Trichocereus taquimbalensis. However, Trichocereus candicans tends to have a higher spine count and a different spination. The spines on Trichocereus taquimbalensis are crooked and look very different. The epidermis of both Trichocereus candicans and Trichocereus taquimbalensis are waxy green. There are forms of both that are not waxy and that makes identification difficult at times. Trichocereus candicans does not get as tall as Trichocereus taquimbalensis and if you see them forming lower colonies instead of columnar cacti, the plant is probably a Trichocereus candicans. This form is also similar to what was described as Trichocereus gladiatus.
Photos: Jake Mhaidin
Trichocereus candicans / Echinopsis candicans photos of body and flowers
Copyright: Kyle Castelyn
Check out our main plant database pages for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
Trichocereus peruvianus or Echinopsis peruvianais a columnar cactus that can get up to 4 meters long and reaches 20 centimeters in diameter. It´s also called the PERUVIAN TORCH cactus and is native in Peru. Britton and Rose – The Cact. II, S.136 /192
Photos of Trichocereus peruvianus
Trichocereus peruvianus / macrogonus from Matucana Red Spines
Most regional forms belonging to this species have a frosted blue color and grow between 6-9 ribs. Its flowers are white, though there are some close relatives that have a different flower color (Trichocereus tulhuayacensis). It usually grows upright, but sometimes grows prostrate hanging down from cliffs and rocks. The size and color of the spines varies greatly, but most of them have about 6-8 honey-colored to brown spines that can reach about 4 centimeters in length. The areoles are brown to beige-felted and up to 2,5 centimeters distanced from each other. The Spines do NOT have a knobbed Base. The spine color is one of the key traits if you attempt to tell it apart from Trichocereus macrogonus. We write more on Trichocereus macrogonus in that particular chapter.
A Peru at the type locality in Matucana.
Echinopsis peruviana flowers very easily as soon as it reaches a certain size and the plant is very easy to cultivate. Some of them have a distinct V-Notch above the areoles, but not all and it´s not a trait that is reliable for identification.
Cultivation of Trichocereus peruvianus / Echinopsis peruviana:
Trichocereus peruvianus can be grown from seed 0r propagated by cuttings. Seeds need to be sprinkled on top of the soil because they require sunlight to germinate. The seeds are tiny and only a few mm large and have a long viability. Usually, the seeds can stay viable for up to 10 years or above, though that depends on many factors. The Seed needs to be stored in a dry and cold environment to guarantee maximum viability.
Los Gentiles (Noah Reams)
The cactus can also be propagated through cuttings and it´s very easy to root. But make sure that the cuttings are not smaller than 20 centimeters because that stunts the growth tremendously.
The flower of Trichocereus peruvianus / Echinopsis peruviana:
The flower is white and reaches as size of up to 25 centimeters. Trichocereus peruvianus is a night flowering species.
Type locality of Trichocereus peruvianus / Echinopsis peruviana:
Peru (around Matucana). Trichocereus peruvianus is the dominant Trichocereus species in Matucana.
Plants that are closely related or are synonymous with Trichocereus peruvianus:
Trichocereus tacnaensis, Trichocereus puquiensis, Trichocereus santaensis (some of the plants around the Santa Valley belong to Tr. pachanoi though), Trichocereus tarmaensis (closely related to Trichocereus cuzcoensis as well), Trichocereus macrogonus, Echinopsis macrogona, Trichocereus f. Ancash, Trichocereus sp. Ayacucho, Trichocereus giganteus, Trichocereus longispinus, Trichocereus sp. Pamacoche, Trichocereus sp. Matucana, Trichocereus rosei,
Trichocereus peruvianus and Trichocereus pachanoiare sister species and closely related. Some field botanist considered them one large and variable species and there are countless intermediates and hybrids that could be placed in either species. Around 1950-1980, some authors came up with a large number of unnecessary species names and most of these plants would fit into the description of Trichocereus peruvianus as well.
Some commercial names that we sometimes see in combination with Trichocereus peruvianus.
Please note that these are not officially accepted varieties and we only list them in this form because they were listed by wholesale:
Trichocereus peruvianus var. (H14192), Huntington, EE.UU. Trichocereus peruvianus var. huancabamba, Piura, northwest Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. huancavelica (KK242a), west central Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. cuzcoensis (KK340), Huachac, Cuzco, southeastern Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. huancayo (KK338), west central Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. ancash (KK1688), San Marcos, Ancash, northwest Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. matucana (KK242) Lima, central west Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. puquiensis (KK1689), Puquio, Apurimac Region, southwestern peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. trujilloensis, Trujillo, La Libertad, northwestern Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. tarmensis (KK2148), Tarma, Junin, west central Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. Rio Lurin (KK2147), Rio Rimac, Lima, west central Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. ayacuchensis (KK2151), southwestern Peru. Trichocereus peruvianus var. huaraz (KK2152), Ancash, northwestern Peru.
Culture of T. peruvianus:
The culture of Trichocereus peruvianus is not very hard. The plant has very similar requirements as other Trichocereus species like Trichocereus macrogonus or Trichocereus pachanoi. Trichocereus peruvianus is an extremely frost resistant plant that can thrive in the most difficult environment. Some of its forms grow columnar while some others are creeping/prostrate. In their natural habitats, they even hang down on hills or rocky slopes. When watering cacti, the soil should not stay wet for more than a couple of hours because it greatly increases the probability of rot. Cacti need a substrate that dries out fast and too much water is often deadly for them. Apart from a little bit of water here and there, you should only water Trichocereus peruvianus when it´s warm. During the hot growth-season, they can take daily or weekly watering and like to be fertilized on a 7-14-days schedule. I even fertilize weekly during the main season, but that also depends on your personal way of growing cacti. It’s best to use a mineral substrate like Pumice or Lava, with additives like Coir, Sand, Sowing Soil, Expanded Clay etc. Just make sure to add in a very small part of Coir or Humus because it helps to solidify the soil and increases the cactus ability to take in nutrients. I personally love Lava and Pumice and the plants enjoy it very much! Echinopsis peruviana aka Trichocereus peruvianus likes a sunny place in half-shade, but not full sun. They can take it if they are used to it, but it increases the risk of sunburn. Especially directly after the winter period when they are not used to it yet.
Winter & Frost Protection: Trichocereus peruvianus is a relatively frost hardy cactus. It’s usually not a problem for it to take take a little night frost here and there and is tolerant down to -9° Celsius. But that’s really the limit and I would not be comfortable to push it below that. There are always plants are less frost tolerant than others and you never know where the limit for your plant is going to be. A plant that spent its life in a heated greenhouse, will die very soon if you suddenly start exposing it to cold winter frost. The cacti need to be hardened up and in a good general health. In my greenhouse I overwinter Trichocereus at 1° Celsius between December and March.
Minimum average winter temperature:
The ideal average winter temperature for Trichocereus peruvianus is 10° Celsius. That´s close to their natural winter period in habitat. Trichocereus peruvianus can compensate short frosts down to 15.8° Fahrenheit every now and then but you should take care that it has an average temperature of around 50° Fahrenheit.
Winter storage & Winter Protection for Trichocereus:
Trichocereus peruvianus needs fresh air during the wintertime if you want to overwinter the plant inside. It also needs light and the soil has to be completely dry, to make sure that the rootstock does not rot. This is important because that’s exactly what happens in the habitat during the winter time. Trichocereus peruvianus can deal with low temperatures as long as its dry. Of course all those overwintering-rules only apply of you live in a country with hard winter frost down to -20° celsius and lower. If you live in a warmer country such as Australia, this certainly is not a problem for you and water or high air humidity are the bigger problem then. I also know many growers from the CA area in the USA, and they usually get their plants over the winter without problems, if they do nor get surprisingly cold frosts. Leave your Trichocereus peruvianus in a bright room, give it a little bit fresh air every now and then and make sure to keep the temperatures below 10° Celsius. As soon as you put them in a heated room, they will require regular waterings and light or they will die quickly. In addition they will etiolate. If kept dry, the water requirements during the winter are minimal though. The minimum temp in Fahrenheit is 50° Fahrenheit. No water should be given between late autumn (October-early May) unless you grow them in a heated place, eg greenhouse or house. If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse, you can take out most Trichocereus in early March, but you should also check the maximum frost tolerance of the species you take out. There are many cacti that need higher temperatures to stay healthy.
Germinating Trichocereus peruvianus seeds:
Just like Seed of other Trichocereus species, Trichocereus peruvianus seeds need light to germinate. I usually prepare a mix of Pumice, Lava, Coir, and Sand and and sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. Make sure not to knock off the sowing container/pot because that would probably bury the seeds and that’s never a good thing. Buried seeds often do not germinate due to the lacking light or they germinate deep inside the soil and die. So yeah, sprinkle them on top of the soil and make sure that the temperatures are between 26° and 30° Celsius. Make sure to add in enough water to start the germination process. However, it does not take a lot of water to kick start the germination and it’s always better to give very little water early on because you can always add in some more. But if you add too much water in the beginning, it cannot be undone without risking to wash or soak away the seed with the excess water. With a syringe, excess water can be removed from the sowing container. Put the sowing containers in a bright and warm place and be patient. A window sill works perfectly. You can also use a LED lamp to give them enough light to germinate and I can recommend that very much because it increases the germination rate. Adding a decent LED Lamp (like 100 Watt and above) will increase germination rates dramatically and the plants are healthier and grow faster.
Germination of seeds and why some seeds don’t germinate
The problem with seeds is that some shops resell seed from South America wholesalers that sell over-aged seed. So the shops might not know about the bad germination rates that their seeds have and that´s a real problem with Trichocereus peruvianus seed on the market. If you did everything I just mentioned and your seed does not germinate within like 2-6 weeks, it´s most likely old garbage. It does not help to keep it wet for longer than that because that’s not how germination of cactus seeds works. Instead, you let it dry and start another cycle once the soil is completely dry. It does not help to keep dead seed in germination chambers for 6+ weeks. You will just grow Algae and Moss. Another problem that you can get with commercial seed is that there´s a lot of misidentified seeds of this species available on the market. The people who collect these seeds usually don´t have access to literature and that´s why the misidentification rate is extremely high. . Many Trichocereus cuzcoensis are sold as Trichocereus peruvianus and that´s a big problem for the seed market.
My best recommendation is that if you can get in touch with the seed producer, send them a message and ask about a pic of the mother plant. That way, you can minimize the risk of getting mislabeled seed.
Seed Viability of Echinopsis peruviana/ Trichocereus peruvianus:
The seed of Trichocereus peruvianus is viable for many, many years. I sometimes successfully germinate seeds that are more than 5-10 years old but it always depends on the storage and the seed. Some are dead within a couple of months while some can even stay viable for decades, like Ariocarpus seeds. The bigger the seed, the longer they are viable btw. Rebutia are dead within a couple of weeks, Trichocereus & Echinopsis 5-10 years, Ariocarpus 10+ years, Echinocereus (5-10 years), Lophophora (2-5 years at max).
How to differentiate Trichocereus peruvianus and Trichocereus cuzcoensis?
The swollen spine bases of Trichocereus cuzcoensis are the main trait that Britton and Rose used to tell them apart. Trichocereus peruvianus does NOT have swollen spine bases. There are many intermediates and forms in between the two, but in regards to the original description that’s the most important trait. In addition, Trichocereus cuzcoensis only grows in Cuzco. There are relatives of Trichocereus cuzcoensis that can be found in other parts of Peru however, e.g. Trichocereus knuthianus, Trichocereus schoenii, etc
How to differentiate Trichocereus peruvianus and macrogonus
Both species are probably synonymous. Trichocereus macrogonus was used for plants with dark brown or red spines, while plants with different spine color were seen as Trichocereus peruvianus. The original description of Trichocereus macrogonus is ancient, lacked important traits or information such as country of origin and the original plant was never found again afterwards. Technically, Trichocereus macrogonus is the older name and might replace Trichocereus peruvianus as official name one day (IF the problematic description will be accepted). Some authors have already started to use this system, but is unclear if it will be accepted officially. Modern taxonomy moves towards fewer species, with a larger number of subspecies or varieties and I completely support that.
Trichocereus peruvianus from Lurin Valle / Lurin Valley
Trichocereus peruvianus from Ayacucho
Trichocereus peruvianus intermediate
Trichocereus peruvianus Apurimac KK1689
Trichocereus peruvianus ‘Rosei 1’ (Rodni Kisar)
Backeberg´s Description of Trichocereus peruvianus
Trichocereus peruvianus Br. & R. — The Cact., II : 136. 1920 Cereusrosei Werd., in Backeberg, „Neue Kakteen“, 101. 1931. Entweder ± aufrecht oder überliegend bis hängend, 2—4 m lang; Tr. bis 20 cm ∅, anfangs bereift; Rippen über den Areolen etwas eingesenkt und ± höckerig erscheinend, breit-rund; Areolen bis 2,5 cm entfernt, ziemlich groß, braunfilzig; St. zuerstbraun, ca. 10, einigebis 4 cm lang, stark undsteif, Basis nicht verdickt; Bl. weiß, groß, zum Teil zahlreich nach dem Scheitel zu entwickelt. — P e r u (bei Matucana; nach Rauh bis oberhalb von Matucana bzw. bei Tamboraque ander Lima—Oroya-Bahn bis auf 2800 m) (Abb. 1059—1060, Tafel 76). Britton u. Rose bilden mit ihrer Fig. 197 einenbaumartigaufrechten Cereus ab, Rauh dagegen einen hängenden; ichselbstfand die Art anfangs ± aufrecht, dann überliegend bisniederliegend. Es kommenbei Matucana aber auch Exemplare des aufrechten T. santaensisvor, den Britton u. Rose wohlnicht als besondere Art erkannten. Die Identifizierung dieser Art mit Tr. macrogonus (Kkde., 20. 1941) kann ich nicht aufrechterhalten.
Friedrich Ritter´s Description
T R I C H O C E R E U S (BERGER) RICCOBONO 1909 TRICHOCEREUS PACHANOI BR. & R. 1920 The Cactaceae, Bd. 2, S. 134 und TRICHOCEREUS PACHANOI FORMA PERUVIANUS RITT. comb. nov. syn. TRICHOCEREUS PERUVIANUS BR. & R. 1920 The Cactaceae, Bd. 2, S. 136 Für TRICHOCER. PACHANOI geben BR. & R. als Typusort an CUENCA, Ecuador, für TRICHOCER. PERUVIANUS MATUCANA, Peru. In Wahrheit liegtnur eine Art vor. ROSE war jedenfalls ungenügend orientiert Über die große Variationsbreitedieser Art in Bestachlung und Areolengröße. Man kann TRICHOCER. PERUVIANUS nur als eine Form der PACHANOI ansehen, die entweder allein oder mit letzterer an gleichen Stellen wächst von Ecuador bis Mittelperu, und zwar mit Übergangsformen in einander. Für die Form PACHANOI sind typisch Ar. von 3-5 mm Dm., feine Rst. vonwenigen mm Länge und meist nur 1 Mst. von wenigen mm bis zu etwa 2 cm Länge. Oft fehlen die St. völlig, oder sie sind nur an jüngeren Pflanzen vorhanden undfehlen an älteren Köpfen. Formen, welche Ar. von etwa 5 bis nahezu 10 mm Dm. haben und stärkere St., von denen der mittlere meist über 2 cm Länge hat und selten bis über 10 cm Länge erreichen kann, wird man als FORMA PERUVIANUS bezeichnen. Die Zahl der St. kannbei beiden Formen bis auf etwa 10 gehen, die Anordnung der St. und das Größenverhältnis zwischenRst. zuMst. ist bei beiden Formen dasselbe, Mst. sind nur einer vorhanden, seltener 2-3. Die St. beider Formen sind nur unterschieden durch Länge und Dicke; es mag also vielleicht für beide Formen nur je ein Allel eines einzigen Gen vorliegen, so daß eine Weiterführung des Namens PERUVIANUS als forma wohl nur aus Tradition zu rechtfertigen ist, wegen der Zweiteilung der Art durch Br. & R., denn solche Erbformen pflegt man an sich nicht taxonomisch zu benennen. Da eine genaue Bl.-Beschreibung nie erfolgte, gebe ich hier eine solche von einer Bl. (mit Foto) eines Exemplars östlich von SAMNE, Prov. OTUSCO, Depart. La Libertad, wo beide Formen mit Übergängen zusammen wachsen. Bl. seitlich, nicht sehr weit unter dem Triescheitel, ziemlich waagerecht vom Trieb abstehend, 21 cm lang, mit einer Weite zwischen den äußersten Krbl. vonca 20 cm. Über dem Frkn. ist die Rö. leicht nach oben gebogen, während die Öffnung der Rö. wieder leicht nach unten gebogenist. Frkn. 22 mm lang und dick, grün, gehöckert, mit schmalen grünen Schuppen von unten 1 mm bis oben ca 4 mm Länge und mit reichlichen schwarzbraunen Wollhaaren. N.-K. 23 mm lang, aber nur etwa 5 mm weit um den Gr., blaß bräunlich, mit etwas Nektar. Rö. darüber 8 cm lang, Öffnung 4,5 mm weit, mit 6 mm (unten) bis 25 mm (oben) langen graugrünen Schuppen und schwarzen, 15-25 mm langen Wollbüscheln. Stbf. blaßgrün, nach den Enden hellgelb, der Rö. aufliegend, 8-10 cm lang, die des Saumes 4,5 cm lang, Insertionslücke 4 cm lang unter dem Saum, Beutel brauncreme, 2,5 mm lang, 1 mm breit, Pollen weiß. Gr. blaßgrün, 19,5 cm lang, wovon 3 cm auf die 15 hellgelben, überragenden Narbenlappen kommen. Innere Krbl. weiß, 9-10 cm lang, 3,5-4 cm breit, bei etwa 2/3 Länge am breitesten, oben gerundet mit aufgesetzter hellgelber Spitze; äußere Krbl. 8-11 cm lang, 14-18 mm breit, fast von unten ab zugespitzt, nach unten hellgrün, nach den Enden rotbraun, stark nach außen gebogen. Einige Samenangaben siehe unter TRICHOCER. KNUTHIANUS. Nr. FR 567 (Form PACHANOI) und Nr. FR 155 (Form PERUVIANUS). Abb. 1186.
Videos of Trichocereus peruvianus / Echinopsis peruviana
How to differentiate between Trichocereus peruvianus and Trichocereus pachanoi
Beautiful Trichocereus peruvianus / Echinopsis peruviana Video
Check out our main plant database pages for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
I wanted to clarify some things about the PC Trichocereus clone and the differences to classic Trichocereus pachanoi. What it is, where it probably is from and what it isnt. The name is one of the most overused names in the history of Trichocereus culture. I personally hate it and spent days discussing the whole situation with friends or interested people in the Trichocereus Facebook group. If you hear the word PC in a Trichocereus group, JUST RUN. Log off, go outside and be in your garden. Still, if you actually wonder what those guys are actually talking about, I am happy to shed some light on this issue. Please keep in mind that I hate to use the name of this cultivar, strain or whatever you might want to call it and I will only mention this one time and one time only.
What does PC Trichocereus stands for? It originally means PREDOMINATE CULTIVAR. However, PREDOMINANT CULTIVAR would probably be more appropriate.
Photo: moonunitbotanica.com / PC Trichocereus in Australia
PC Trichocereus in a garden. Photo: Forest & Kim Starr
Now what is it really and is this all BS?
No one knows for sure and DNA testing needs to be done. That´s pretty much my main argument and people love to misinterpret this article. PC Trichocereus pachanoi (sic) is a clone, but there also are other plants grown from seeds that are probably coming from the same site this clone is coming from too. In California and parts of the USA, this clone is really common around parks, schools or gardens. The exact origin of PC Pachanoi (like many call it) is unclear. However, it is very similar to a collection made by Friedrich Ritter, which he later described as Trichocereus riomizquensis. Since there are so few photos available this will be hard to verify. In my opinion the PC Trichocereus clone needs DNA testing and everything else is speculation. Personally, I don´t give a shit. This is not my clone, and I did not have any connection with the naming of it. The person who somewhat described it was Michael S. Smith on the SAB forum. His opinion about PC was that it was VERY similar to Ritter´s population from Rio Mizque and the seed grown plants from NMCR. The photos of those can be find on SAB, so make sure to check them out. If he still thinks that I do not know.
Two things are certain about PC Trichocereus. One, it is VERY similar to spineless or short spine versions of Trichocereus bridgesii. Two, it is so different from actual Trichocereus pachanoi that every Noob can easily identify it after a few months of reading. There must be a reason for the fact that it is so different to classic Trichocereus pachanoi. Whether it is a hybrid or a short spined form of Trichocereus bridgesii is impossible to verify without DNA testing. And one thing should be clear by now; I the author don´t care enough to investigate. Anyone that wants to jump face forward into the subject and fund a DNA test be my guest. More power to you my friend. Just know that the discussion around this clone will always be on Kindergarten level, no matter what the outcome is. It is the Trichocereus version of “but her emails”. Facts or actual knowledge do not matter and too many people who have no experience with the lesser known Trichocereus species love to shout their opinion at anyone that doesn’t agree.
Now that we got that out of the way, here are some more infos and a more thorough description of PC and similar plants.
Trichocereus riomizqzensis FR865
This is the original photo from Ritter´s book. Do you see the white hairs on the flower and the way the areoles look? Like, the sawtooth ribs and the absent spines? Well, keep in mind. You will need it later. Ritters official collection name of this plant was Trichocereus riomizquensis FR856 and they originally comes from Chyllas. Again, there is no way of knowing for sure, but PC and Ritter´s Trichocereus riomizquensis are very similar. Please don´t use Sacred Succulents pics for making the argument that they look different because there are also Trichocereus bridgesii growing at the whole area and it is very likely that at least some of the plants collected back then actually fall into Trichocereus bridgesii. Ritter´s plant was almost spineless and the newer Sacred Succulents plants are a lot spinier. This species simply needs DNA testing to establish a baseline and find out if Trichocereus riomizquensis isn´t actually just a form of Trichocereus bridgesii. Since there are many spineless versions of Trichocereus bridgesii, this might very well be the case.
The original site is the Rio Mizque and we and my friends from Sacred Succulents visited the original site a couple of times. It is extremely similar to Trichocereus pachanoi, but differs in substantial points like the hairs on the flowers and the overall rib structure. Though it is common belief that the San Pedro cactus aka Trichocereus pachanoi grows in Bolivia, all the San Pedro related plants we ever came across IN THE WILD either belonged to Trichocereus bridgesii or Trichocereus scopulicola. That also applies to the regional type from the Rio Mizque. I have all kinds of photos of those plants on the pages about Trichocereus riomizquensis and I don´t want to repeat this information here again. This is a long-spined version of this but there also are a lot of short-spined ones on that site. I seen them. Just like this PC Trichocereus, they have 6-7 ribs, those weird areoles and golden spines without swollen spine bases. Overall, they are just a short-spined version of Trichocereus bridgesii. In addition to the short spined versions, there are also MANY versions with longer spines at this site and they are basically indistinguishable from Trichocereus bridgesii. In my opinion they probably ARE Trichocereus bridgesii varieties. People often like to compare the Ritter clone FR865 (look at the photos again) to spiny Trichocereus bridgesii that Sacred Succulents collected and labeled Trichocereus bridgesii during their field trip. Again, some of those probably were treated as local populations of Trichocereus bridgesii, so it´s kinda unfair to make a comparison between the spineless plant that was originally described as Trichocereus riomizquensis to basically a random local population of Trichocereus bridgesii. All of these plants CLEARLY belong to Trichocereus bridgesii in the greater context (even the spineless collection), but Ritter´s plant was clearly not the same clone or type of plant as the spiny Bridgesoids that also grow in that area. That plant is clearly photographed in his original photo, and the fact that it looks nothing like some of the spiny collections from the area should instantly end all comparisons. There are spineless AND spiny versions of Trichocereus peruvianus, so it shouldn´t come as a surprise that it might be similar with Trichocereus riomizquensis.
Drought Resistance and Hardiness
Let me just say that one thing that all Bolivian Trichocereus species have in common is their drought resistance. They literally live in a hot desert and are a lot more resistant to drought than Trichocereus pachanoi or some of the other Peruvian San Pedros. And that’s where I want to draw the line directly to this Californian clone. Clones & cultivars are not humbug or bullshit….cultivars exist in EVERY field of commercial cultivation and everyone who tells you different is a fool. One such cultivar is the infamous PREDOMINANT CULTIVAR, which is extremely drought resistant and manages to thrive in the California climate too. This clone is so present in that area that it´s probably the most common Trichocereus. We tested it numerous times…almost none of those Californian plants were able to mate with each other…simply because they were genetically identical and cuttings of each other. I seen whole nurseries filled up with PC because they are so damn easy to grow. They just cut them in small pieces and stick them into the ground. And after five years, they sell it for 30-100 bucks. All those plants share the same flower characteristics and are closer to Trichocereus bridgesii than they are to Trichocereus pachanoi. They are covered with white hairs, which is absolutely typical for Trichocereus bridgesii. I know a Bolivian Trichocereus species when I see one…and this Trichocereus PC is one without a doubt.
The flowers of PC Trichocereus:
Do you see all those white hairs? Good, because it’s important to differentiate between certain Trichocereus species. Trichocereus pachanoi tends to have black or brown hairs, while this one has whitish hairs on top of a black or brown base. And that’s typical for some Bolivian San Pedro strains, e.g Trichocereus scopulicola.
One common argument that I often hear from people with an agenda is that the white hairs on PC Trichocereus and Trichocereus scopulicola are just white because they are stained by the sun. I find that argument insulting, simply because there are so many photos that prove that there is a visible tendency for whiter(!) hairs on some Bolivian species when the buds/flowers are originally formed. OF COURSE THE SUN BLEACHES THE HAIRS ON THE FLOWERS OF ALL TRICHOCEREUS SPECIES. The sun bleaches everything including the hairs of all living things if you expose them to it, but it should be pretty obvious that there are wild differences in hair coloration in the genus Trichocereus when they are originally formed. Later on, the hair color of all species is under constant attack by the strong sunlight and bleached until only the brown or black wool below remains. Most of these flowers have hairs and wool (usually around the scales on the flowers), and both are two different things. If you look at the photos it becomes clear that there´s brown wool coming out in between the scales (only a few mm long) of both PC and Trichocereus scopulicola, and the substantially longer whitish hairs (up to a couple cm long).
Ritter wrote in his book that Trichocereus riomizquensis is closer to Trichocereus scopulicola than it is to Trichocereus bridgesii. I think this speaks volumes, and it clears up why people often have a hard time differentiating bloated Trichocereus scopulicola and PC Trichocereus.
A flower bud of PC Trichocereus
A flower bud of Trichocereus scopulicola.
Those two photos of PC Trichocereus are from Misplant.net! Check out their seeds because they are amazing. Well, just compare the photos and see for yourself. The top photo is the flower bud of this PC Trichocereus and the lower one is a bud on a Trichocereus scopulicola. They are at different stages in their development, but I am sure you see the similarity in the important parts. And the same applies to the flower on Trichocereus bridgesii, which is another Bolivian Trichocereus.
Scop from Misplant.net
ID Chaos on Forums and Facebook Groups
Alright, now that we have this out of the way let me just say that discussions about PC are very common on message boards and Facebook groups. Like it is with most other things in life, people who do not have enough experience just love to identify stuff even though they should probably not. PC is among the most misidentified plants on Trichocereus groups. And this is not because it is so difficult to identify. Like I said, even a noob can identify it, IF he knows what to look for. Due to the fact that people use PC for many classic Trichocereus pachanoi, there is total chaos around what actually constitutes a PC Trichocereus or not. In pretty much every ID request involving Trichocereus pachanoi, there are people that will call it a PC. If something has spines, there´s a good chance someone will label it PC. If you know what to look for, this clone is one of the easiest ones to identify though.
Is the PREDOMINANT CULTIVAR A CLONE?
Yes, but there are also people that made crosses with it and grew offspring of it. The majority of the plants in the States is clone, but I know that there´s also a lot of offspring that´s making the rounds. Misplant alone made hundreds of crosses with this clone, and I´m sure he wasn´t the only one. All cuttings taken from the main PC clone are genetically identical.
What about sister plants / seedlings grown from the same fruit?
Regardless what it is, it is very likely that there were other plants from the same population or fruit. If it is actually Ritter´s plant from Rio Mizque in Bolivia, there are probably thousands of other seedlings grown from his seeds. It doesn´t change the fact that the majority of PCs around are one clone, but it just underlines that there might be more plants from the genetic proximity. I doubt you can differentiate the actual PC from its offspring or closely related sister plants. I´ve seen lots of seedgrown PC hybrids and they pretty much looked like the famous parent. It is a very dominant clone and in almost all crosses with it the classic PC traits came through.
Short Spined Trichocereus bridgesii from Bolivia
Here are some Bolivian T.bridgesii and Trichocereus riomizquensis with very short spines. They are still part of Trichocereus bridgesii in a wider sense, but you can see that there is a clear similarity to the PREDOMINATE CULTIVAR. Same rib structure with sawtooth ribs, correct hair color, almost no spines, same skin structure, same golden spines (unlike gray or brown on T.pachanoi) etc. Imagine them with long golden spines and you have a Trichocereus bridgesii,
Well, okay. I want to come to and end but it´s important to make a very good point. YES, there are many San Pedros that are extremely similar to this clone. Not all of them are the same and I am sure there´s a fair amount that has absolutely nothing to do with this one. But it is absolutely proven that there IS a common clone in the USA and it is easily distinguished from typical Trichocereus pachanoi. There must be a reason for it.
Nurseries wanna make money and will replicate everything they have a market for. And those Bolivian Trichos or similar plants (as in PC ) are tough like hell. You literally stick them in the ground and they grow. And that played a part in the fact that this Trichocereus strain became wildly common in some parts of the USA.
Alright, I want to sum this up. Everyone is a bit in the right here. The way this plant is discussed recently is out of control. And some people tend to forget that there is a huge number of plants that are really similar to this PC Trichocereus…and they are coming from the habitats. In Peru, there are similar plants and I just posted the examples that you can find in Bolivia as well. But that doesn´t mean that those plants were just invented by cookoo internet theoreticians. They were collected, sold and commercially cultivated. This plant does probably NOT come from Backeberg, which is another theory that was discussed heavily.
This is a nice Pic that shows the difference between Fed and Unfed PC Trichocereus
Flowers of Trichocereus PC
Photos of PC Trichocereus
Check out our main plant database page for Trichocereus pachanoi aka Echinopsis pachanoi here:
So here´s another video from the 2020 season, while I …
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Photo by Michelle Killen, culture plant in the United States
Photo: Jason Hollinger 
