Trichocereus Deserticola / Echinopsis Deserticola

Trichocereus Deserticola / Echinopsis Deserticola

Trichocereus Deserticola is a plant with a complex and close relationship to Trichocereus Fulvianus. Trichocereus Fulvianus seems to be some kind of intermediate between Echinopsis Deserticola/Trichocereus Deserticolus and maybe Trichocereus Chilensis. Their habitats touch each other in one certain area between Paposo and El Cobre. While Trichocereus Fulvianus grows from Caldera in the north to El Cobre and Trichocereus Deserticola grows from Paposo down in the south to Tocopilla in the north.   While some taxonomists regarded Trichocereus Fulvianus to be unrelated to Trichocereus Deserticola, I cannot share that opinion. Trichocereus Deserticolus is very different than Trichocereus Fulvianus, but you can clearly see some kind of relationship.

Synonyms: Echinopsis Deserticola, Trichocereus Deserticola, Cereus Deserticola, Cereus Fulvianus, Echinopsis Fulvianus, Echinopsis Fulviana,

Origin: Chile. The location of the typus is Antofagasta. It also grows around Atacama, El cobre, Paposo, Tocopilla, etc. Trichocereus Deserticolus grows in a moister climate than Trichocereus Fulvianus, which likes to grow around the coastlines and that prefers a drier climate. Because of that, Trichocereus Deserticolus prefers to grow in the higher areas around Paposo, where it is extremely common.

Description: 

Trichocereus Deserticolus is a branched plant that does not reach the height of other Trichocereus species. It´s usually somewhere between 1-2 meters tall, but most of them are around 1 meter.

Ribs: 9-13, with very disinct furrows. This plant is somewhat similar to Trichocereus Chalaensis, which grows creeping.

The areoles are 1-2 centimeter apart of each other. Trichocereus Deserticola usually has 2-3 middle thorns and 18-24 radial thorns. Which are very thin and have a dark brown/reddish color. The epidermis of the skin shows a very weak, pale green color.

Flowers: The flowers are white and a little bit smaller than the ones on other Trichos. Size between 5 and 12 centimeters. The flowers have brown/black hairs and the fruits are round and can be eaten.

This plant is definitely somehow related to Trichocereus Chilensis, Trichocereus Fulvianus and Trichocereus Coquimbanus. 

Cultivation: Trichocereus Deserticolus should be treated just like every other Trichocereus from Chile. It does not require very much water and requires a soil that dries out very fast. I usually use purely mineral soil mixes and Trichocereus Deserticolus aka Echinopsis Deserticola likes it a lot.

Seed & live cuttings: There are almost no seeds of Trichocereus Deserticola available. Sometimes, there are small plants of Trichocereus Fulvianus on Ebay but the standard Deserticolus is really rare. Succeed has seed of Echinopsis Deserticola but I dont know if it´s this type or the Trichocereus Fulvianus type, which was included in the species Echinopsis Deserticola

Winter protection: Trichocereus Deserticola should not be kept at temperatures below -7° celsius and the plants have to be completely dry if you want to overwinter them inside. A perfect overwintering temperature is around 10° celsius, which is something around 50° Fahrenheit. They also require a bright and well ventilated area.

 

by Michael Wolf

By Leonora Enking

Trichocereus Deserticola / Echinopsis Deserticola