Pilosocereus colombianus

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Pilosocereus colombianus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Pilosocereus
Species:
P. colombianus
Binomial name
Pilosocereus colombianus
(Rose) Byles & G.D. Rowley
Synonyms[1]
  • Cephalocereus colombianus Rose
  • Cephalocereus tweedyanus Britton & Rose
  • Cereus colombianus (Rose) Vaupel
  • Cereus tweedyanus (Britton & Rose) Werderm.
  • Pilocereus tweedyanus (Britton & Rose) Backeb.
  • Pilosocereus colombianus subsp. tuberculosus (Rauh & Backeb.) Lodé
  • Pilosocereus colombianus subsp. tweedyanus (Britton & Rose) Lodé
  • Pilosocereus gironensis Rauh & Backeb. ex Byles & G.D.Rowley
  • Pilosocereus lanuginosus subsp. colombianus (Rose) Guiggi
  • Pilosocereus tuberculosus Rauh & Backeb.
  • Pilosocereus tweedyanus (Britton & Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley

Pilosocereus colombianus is a species of cactus (family Cactaceae) native to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It was first described in 1909.[1]

Description

[edit]

Pilosocereus colombianus has bluish to grayish green stems. Its branches are ascending, sometimes strictly upright, and have 6–12 ribs. The areoles have rigid spines up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long that are dark red or brown when fresh. The areoles have silky hairs up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long, in dense tufts on flowering areoles, less dense on non-flowering ones. The flowers are 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long with purplish outer segments (tepals) and white inner segments. The fruit is purple.[2]

Taxonomy

[edit]

The species was first described by Joseph Nelson Rose in 1909 as Cephalocereus colombianus and transferred to the genus Pilosocereus in 1957.[3] The dark spines and purple fruits are considered to differentiate this species from others in the genus, in particular from P. lanuginosus.[2] It has also been treated as a subspecies of P. lanuginosus, P. lanuginosus subsp. colombianus.[1][4]

Distribution

[edit]

Pilosocereus colombianus is found in Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia, and the provinces of Azuay, El Oro, Guayas, Loja, Manabí, and Santa Elena Provinces of Ecuador.[5][2] It is also found in Peru.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Pilosocereus colombianus (Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  2. ^ a b c Franck, Alan R.; Barrios, Duniel; Campbell, Keron C. St. E.; Lange, James; Peguero, Brígido; Santiago-Valentín, Eugenio; Rigerszki, Zoltán; Haakonsson, Jane; Gann, George D.; Cinea, William; Howe, Natalie M. M.; St. John, James; Moreno, Juan Sebastián; Clark, Cynthia A. (2019-07-23). "Revision of Pilosocereus (Cactaceae) in the Caribbean and northern Andean region". Phytotaxa. 411 (3). Magnolia Press: 129–182. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.411.3.1. ISSN 1179-3163.
  3. ^ "Pilosocereus colombianus (Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  4. ^ Guiggi, Alessandro (2010). "The Revised Taxonomy of Pilosocereus lanuginosus (Linnaeus) Byles et Rowley (Cactoideae-Cereeae from North-western South-America" (PDF). Cactology. 2: 12. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  5. ^ "Pilosocereus colombianus". Tropicos. Retrieved 2021-03-31.