Pilosocereus Byles & G.D.Rowley

Tree cactus (en)

Genus

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Cactaceae

Characteristics

Trees or shrubs, erect to ascending or reclining, usually branched in basal portion, older plants with closely parallel, erect branches forming narrow crown; trunk absent or present, 8-12+ cm diam. Roots diffuse. Stems unsegmented, green to bluish or blue-green, columnar, [0.5-]3-10 m × [2.8-]5-8 cm, glabrous; ribs 3-30, low, rounded, furrows straight [or wavy], rib crests sometimes notched between areoles [ribs strongly tuberculate in 1 Brazilian species]; areoles usually closely spaced along ribs [often confluent in flowering region], circular to elliptic, woolly; hairs usually white or tawny [to blackish] soft, to 8[-50] mm, longest on flower-producing areoles along each rib or on one side of stem in distal region; areolar glands not apparent; cortex and pith extremely mucilaginous. Spines 6-31 per areole, yellow [to brown or black], often aging gray, acicular, straight, terete, [2-]10-15(-25)[-40] × 0.25 mm, smooth; radial and central spines not distinguishable. Flowers nocturnal or crepuscular, lateral to subterminal on stems, from closely adjacent or confluent areoles, funnelform to narrowly campanulate, [2.5-]5-6[-9] × 2-5[-7] cm; flower tube straight or slightly curved; outer tepals greenish [blue, red, or purplish], margins entire or minutely denticulate; inner tepals white [pinkish to reddish], 9-26 × 7.5 mm, margins entire; ovary smooth, scales absent (or 1-2), spines absent; stigma lobes usually 8-12. Fruits dehiscent along 1 side or apparently indehiscent, red or purple [to blue-green], [spheric or] depressed-spheric [to ovoid or oblong], 20-45 × 30-50 mm, fleshy, scales and spines absent (rarely 1-2 scales); pulp color variable; floral remnant usually persistent. Seeds black or dark brown, snail-shaped, 1.2-2.6 mm, smooth, shiny; testa cells flat. x = 11.
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Pilosocereus unspecified picture

Distribution

Pilosocereus world distribution map, present in United States of America

Identifiers

LSID -
WFO ID wfo-4000029708
COL ID 6QJ6
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 627905
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Pilosocereus Pseudopilocereus

Lower taxons

Pilosocereus bohlei Pilosocereus chrysostele Pilosocereus flexibilispinus Pilosocereus machrisii Pilosocereus fulvilanatus Pilosocereus juaruensis Pilosocereus chrysacanthus Pilosocereus kanukuensis Pilosocereus azulensis Pilosocereus ulei Pilosocereus splendidus Pilosocereus parvus Pilosocereus pusillibaccatus Pilosocereus mollispinus Pilosocereus lanuginosus Pilosocereus aurilanatus Pilosocereus occultiflorus Pilosocereus moritzianus Pilosocereus pseudosuperfloccosus Pilosocereus arrabidae Pilosocereus glaucochrous Pilosocereus pentaedrophorus Pilosocereus piauhyensis Pilosocereus albisummus Pilosocereus densiareolatus Pilosocereus polygonus Pilosocereus brasiliensis Pilosocereus brooksianus Pilosocereus colombianus Pilosocereus gaumeri Pilosocereus leucocephalus Pilosocereus alensis Pilosocereus aurisetus Pilosocereus catingicola Pilosocereus floccosus Pilosocereus hermentianus Pilosocereus flavipulvinatus Pilosocereus magnificus Pilosocereus multicostatus Pilosocereus pachycladus Pilosocereus x subsimilis Pilosocereus vilaboensis Pilosocereus purpusii Pilosocereus oligolepis Pilosocereus curtisii Pilosocereus jamaicensis Pilosocereus zappiae Pilosocereus hermii Pilosocereus robinii Pilosocereus gimnensis Pilosocereus tillianus Pilosocereus catalani Pilosocereus diersianus Pilosocereus collinsii Pilosocereus millspaughii Pilosocereus quadricentralis Pilosocereus aureispinus