Yellow California is a Trichocereus hybrid from the California Group, which are classic hybrids by Hans Britsch. Other hybrids from the California complex are Orange California or FLying Saucer.

Here´s a video that I filmed a couple years ago when my wife’s grandfather passed away. He was very old, but he was a really special guy and as someone who lost both of his grandfathers very early on, I liked having someone from this older generation around to tell me barely funny jokes. I try to be very open about the things going on in my life, and this was one of the sadder moments.

While doing this, I pollinate a Wörlitz follow-up hybrid by Uwe Kahle. His breeder´s code for this cross is KA.2013.205.06 and the parents are Wörlitz x (Gröner Orange x Legon). The flower has a very strong contrast, which doesn’t even show accordingly in the video because it’s just too powerful.

This hybrid comes from an Uwe Kahle cross from 2012. The breeder´s code is KA.2012.61.09 and the parents are Takoradi x Flying Saucer. Both are excellent parents and most seedlings from this cross that I have seen looked great. Definitely a gorgeous hybrid and I´ve been making lots of crosses with this particular plant.

Takoradi x Flying Saucer Video

Takoradi x Flying Saucer Photos

This is a remarkable hybrid grown from a cross by Kakteen Vers. The breeder´s code for this cross is VR.2008.25.2 and the parents are Lobivia zecheri x Trichocereus candicans (natural hybrid, probably collected by Andreas Wessner). The natural Candicans hybrid that was used as father has a colored flower is a natural hybrid. These hybrids are really rare and particularly beautiful. To sum it up, it´s a really fantastic intergeneric hybrid between Lobivia and Trichocereus.

Tom Juul´s Giant / TJG (Trichocereus pachanoi)

The well known clone TOM JUUL´S GIANT / TJG goes back to the former butcher Tom Juul´s, who imported this plant into the United states.

Photo: Cactusaffinity.com

Tom Juul had a giant plant in his garden and after his death, cuttings of this plant were distributed by Sacred Succulents and other cactus nurseries. K. Trout wrote a great piece on the whole history of the plant in his San Pedro book.

It is sometimes listed as a separate species, but to me it is just a regional form of Trichocereus pachanoi. Yes, there are differences in regards to the flowers but in my eyes the differences are by far not big enough to list this as another species.

There are many so called TJGoids available on the market. At least a large percentage of those are Ecuadorian Pachanois. They slightly differ from the Peruvian version, but those differences are subtle and similar to what you can see on other regional forms that have quite a wide variety. Similar plants as the TJG could also be observed in Lima and Arequipa, which underlines the wide distribution that this type has
Personally, I like to call this plant TJG…and I only do that because I have a soft touch for old strains and want to keep track of those names. Otherwise, this plant is probably just another regional version of the San Pedro.
Many hybrid crosses with the TJG are available. Either by Sacred Succulents or Misplant, who used his mother plant to make some exceptional crosses. The origin of this plant is not known, but it is presumed that Juul got it from one of the UC South American Cactus Collection expeditions. It is hard to spot the clone because there are so many similar plants around. Nonetheless it is a wonderful plant that is most likely of Ecuadorian origin. The similarities between some of the Ecuadorians and this plant are very strong. That all said; it doesn´t really matter because it is one of many strains related to Trichocereus pachanoi. Most people would probably simply call it a San Pedro and that´s technically correct.

TPQC (Trichocereus pachanoi Quasi Cristata)

This interesting plant is one of the mother plants of SAB member Nitrogen. He used this plant to produces various hybrids between 2012 and now. It´s a very interesting Pachanoi that started growing like a crest after a snail attack. Nitrogen wasn´t sure if it already had the crest-genetics hidden inside and the snail attack just brought it out, or if this was a one-time mutation.

Here is what Nitrogen posted about the plant in 2012:

“The T. pachanoi “quasi-cristata” (TPQC) is a non-PC pachanoi type that grew crested after an apparent snail attack – maybe it is genetic in there somewhere and the snail attack caused it to come out, or maybe it is purely from the infection – regardless its a beautiful pachanoi though I haven’t taken good care of it these past couple years..”

 

Nitrogen´s TPC (Trichocereus cristata / crest)

Nitrogen´s TPC, not to be confused with Nitrogen´s TPM, is a mutant version of a Trichocereus peruvianus or Trichocereus pachanoi that became known in the Trichocereus community after the US breeder Nitrogen has produced quite a few hybrids involving it. This resulted in a large number of mutant offspring that Nitrogen donated during his first and second SAB seed giveaway.

Nitrogen´s Trichocereus Seed giveaway

The seeds that he harvested from this plant were given away to friends and other growers and we hope to see more TPC (Trichocereus peruvianus cristata) offspring soon.

This plant was so mutated that even its flowers looked abnormal somehow. It´s very rare that mutated cacti are even able to produce flowers. And not only did this one flower, but also in the most spectacular way.

As you can see on the pics, the plant can grow crested and monstrose at the same time. In 2012, Nitrogen used a pollen mix of Tom Juuls Giant, SS02 and a SS02 hybrid with Trichocereus pachanoi to pollinate this plant.

Where to get a cutting of Nitrogen´s TPC?

There are many different types of TPC. It´s an abbreviation that simply  means “Trichocereus peruvianus cristata”. However, this particular TPC is very rare and can only be found in Nitrogen´s garden, and in the collection of US breeder Misplant.

Nitrogen distributed all seeds he got from his TPC among the community for free, which is why they should be traded actively among fellow growers . If you own one of them, please consider taking cuttings and making them available. Because that´s what the purpose behind Nitrogen´s 2012 giveaway was all about.
If you want to see more photos of Nitrogen´s TPC, make sure to check out our Trichocereus & Echinopsis growers Facebook group.

If you enjoyed this article, check out some of our other Trichocereus Database articles here, here or here.

TBM – Trichocereus bridgesii Clone A + Clone B / Penis Plant aka Penis Cactus

The so-called TBM (short for Trichocereus bridgesii monstrosa) is a Trichocereus clone that produces some very typical spineless growth that gave it its name “Penis Plant”.  It forms small & penis-like pups that look like green sausages (or a really small penis) that pup repeatedly over and over again. The fact that the new pups tend to have a small insertion in the middle reinforce this impression.

There are two clones that we know of this well know monstrose:

TBM CLONE A / Trichocereus bridgesii monstrosa Clone A

This version grows like a classic columnar cactus and grows upright columns. This version does not terminate its growth over and over again, and produces regular spines very sporadically. It is almost spineless and forms some blue/green stems with 2-4 flat ribs. In very rare cases, it produces yellow spines that demonstrate that this plant is actually a Trichocereus bridgesii, also known as Echinopsis lageniformis. This type is always mixed up with the smaller version of the penis cactus, Trichocereus bridgesii monstrosa clone B. The columnar version is  much more rare than the smaller TBM Clone B.

TBM CLONE B: Trichocereus bridgesii monstrosa / Echinopsis lageniformis Clone B

This clone has between 2 and 5 ribs and produces some strong spines that are very visible, even on small plants. The pups reach 3″ to 6″ before they terminate their growth and produce a new pup on top of it. This version  is also referred to as TBM Clone 2.

Curt Backeberg claimed to be the source for at least one of the two TBM in his book DIE CACTACEAE. I have no reason to doubt his explanation, as he had the infrastructure to make this plant one of the most common monstroses that it is today.

Where to buy a TBM Clone A or Clone B?

CLONE B is widely available and can be found in cactus collections all over the world. You often come across TBM that are for sale on marketplace sites or classified ads. In Australia, CLONE B is very common while CLONE A is extremely hard to find. There are a handful of growers who got their hands on a Clone A, but almost all plants on the Australian market are Clone B.

Synonyms:

Trichocereus bridgesii Inermis, Frauenglück, TBM, Clone 1, Clone 2, Echinopsis lageniformis monstrosa,

Check out some of our other articles, for example on Trichocereus validus or Trichocereus pachanoi.

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Nitrogen: TPM (Trichocereus peruvianus Monstrose)

This plant comes from a SAB member called Nitrogen. He earned himself a great reputation by producing some of the most kickass San Pedro hybrids in the past 10 years. Some of his mother plants are the TPM, the TPC or the TPQC.

The TPM constantly switches between monstrose and non-monstrose growth, what gives it a truly unique look. This type of TPM is one of a kind, as it is known to pass down the monstrose gene to its F1 offspring. From all the seeds I´ve grown, I had a 50% mutation rate. And since it is rare that mutants produce mutant offspring, it´s definitely an amazing plant.
Nitrogen produced numerous hybrids with this plant, of which I´ll show some of them here.

In 2012, Nitrogen used this plant for the following crosses:

TPM x N1
TPM x (SS02 x pachanoi v. “Mel/vin”)
Mel/vin x TPM
Psycho0 x TPM
TPQC x TPM

TPM x N1 – Pic: Philocacti

Trichocereus ‘Yowie’ (Echinopsis)

Yowie is an Australian Trichocereus clone that came from the Fields collected. It probably came to Australia during one of the first expeditions by Harry Blossfeld, who funded his trips by selling plants to cactus collectors.

Yowie is a very cool and popular Trichocereus with a unique spination that consists of two parallel Spines per Areole. It also has very pronounced ribs and looks very much like an Ecuadorian Trichocereus pachanoi. Now let me add some information about where this clone came from.

This clone originated in Yarrawonga Victoria. The SAB member Marsha (who was previously known by the username “Yowie” led PD to the Fields collection, where the mother plant of this clone grew.  The clone is easily recognized by the pair of spines, that makes it very different from other clones that belong to this species. However, similar plants can be found all across Australia (and the world), so it´s not really sure if it is actually a clone or just represents a local type.  I know similar (and almost identical) Pachanois, especially from Ecuador and it may be very well possible that they are not genetically identical to the Yowie clone. If you encounter similar plants, you can just test it by trying to breed it with a verified Yowie. If you are not sure about the ID of your plant, feel free to post in on SAB or our Trichocereus Facebook Group!

Pic: Prier

Pic: Gus Freeman

If you enjoyed this article about the Trichocereus clone Yowie, have a look at our other articles on Trichocereus species. For example Trichocereus chiloensis, Trichocereus deserticolus or the PC Trichocereus clone. 

We also have a kickass Tricho group on Facebook and you are welcome to join us: https://facebook.com/groups/trichocereus

Trichocereus ‘Zeus’ (Echinopsis)

Parents: unknown. Zeus looks very much like an Ecuadorian Trichocereus.

Origin of the Plant: The ZEUS clone is a rare clone that spread throughout the collections thanks to SAB members like Aplantis and Misplant. It´s originally from Egypt and was brought into circulation by SAB member Philocacti. Philocacti found the clone 14 years ago in Egypt. There aren´t many Trichocereus to be found there, which is why it was a lucky accident that he even found it. The other ones that Philocacti was able to find were a Trichocereus taquimbalensis, a Trichocereus cuzcoensis and a Melted wax version of Trichocereus bridgesii.

In the past years, Philocacti sent a few cuttings to people overseas and this has lead to a good number of breeders who are actively breeding with it. Though there currently are only very few cuttings available, it´s very likely that we´ll see this plant a lot more in the near future. If you are interested in the ZEUS Trichocereus clone, I´d suggest you to make a posting on the SAB forum or our Trichocereus Facebook Group! You can also try to ask the member Philocacti directly though I do not know if he currently has any more of them available. There currently are no seeds available of this type, but I will try to get some as soon as anyone of our breeders succeeds in crossing it with some other clones.

The Reason for naming the Clone: The ZEUS clone was named after Philocacti´s dog, who lived with him for 13 years and always was his best friend & safe keeper in very hard times. And when I say “hard times”, I really mean that. I guess it´s safe to say that without the emotional support of his dog, Philo might not be here today. I am usually rather hesitant to name clones, but in this case it´s very appropriate to do so because there is a lot of personal history attached to the name. In addition, the plant is a very recognizable Ecuadorian Pachanoi that deserves to be named. Well yeah, I really hope that this clone will become a very widespread one, because there is a lot of positive karma attached to it.

The Zeus clone has some very distinct V-Notches. The color of its epidermis changes between a dark green to a very glaucous blue. It usually has very short spines and the older growth can be almost spineless. I´ll add more info about the measurements as soon as we were able to measure the spines, the distance between the areoles, the diameter of the areoles and the number of spines per areole.

I currently do not know how the flower looks but I´ll add that info later too.

Terscheckiinot (Peruvianus/Cuzcoensis)

This plant is from the breeder Shruman and I lack any substantial Information on the plant. I once got seed but unfortunately, the viability was not great so I did not get any adult plants from it. I would love to know more about it but currently, this pic is the only one I have and if anyone has this clone, please let me know and I´ll add some more pics or a description.

On the first look, I am inclinded to think that it is actually a Trichocereus Werdermannianus, which is most likely related to Trichocereus Taquimbalensis. The more I look at it, the more I think that this plant definitely shares some characteristics with Trichocereus Werdermannianus, such as the pale blue epidermis and the spination. If I see this correctly, its spines have a knobby base and a light touch of red, which would make it even more likely that it´s a Werdermannianus.
Nonetheless, I will keep it as Trichocereus cv. Terscheckiinot because thats the name it was given from Shruman. And I agree it definitely isnt a Trichocereus Terscheckii.

Buy seeds or plants: Just like I mentioned before, the only known source for this plant is Shruman. He sold or traded away seed of it but that was at least 2-3 years ago. Nonetheless, if you are interested in this type, you can make a post in the Trichocereus Facebook Group and maybe someone can help you.  The pic came from Prier and I´ll ask him if he knows more about it.