Trichocereus Blog: Trichocereus Litoralis

Trichocereus Litoralis – Echinopsis Chilensis var. Litoralis

This beautiful Trichocereus is definitely closely related to Trichocereus Chilensis and the current taxonomy placed it as a variety to it. Trichocereus Litoralis always was a problematic species because there are so many intermediate forms between Trichocereus Chilensis and Trichocereus Litoralis that it is extremely difficult to draw the line somewhere. While some taxonomists included it in Trichocereus Chilensis (Chiloensis my butt), some others were strongly against it. Personally, I think that the whole group of plants surrounding Trichocereus Chilensis is very variable and we should simply respect that plants can be related to each other and at the same time, look a little bit different. The species is also very closely related to Trichocereus Skottsbergii, which I also regard as a variety of Trichocereus Chilensis.

Origin: Chile. Growing mostly around the coast. Coquimbo

Synonyms: Echinopsis Litoralis, Cereus Litoralis, Trichocereus Chilensis var. litoralis

The location of the typus is in Zapallar, north of Valparaiso near the coast of chile. The species is widely distributed all across the coast up to Los Vilos. The many radial spines are needle-like, while the middle spines are pretty strong and thick and up to 3 cm long. It has 9-28 radial spines and 3-6 middle spines.

Trichocereus Chilensis usually doesnt get bigger than 1-2 meters. It has a very dark green color and and a maximum diameter of 10-15 centimeters.

Ribs: 15-22, areoles approximately 1-2 centimeters apart of each other.

Flowers: Trichocereus Litoralis has a white flower, which is extremely similar to the one on Trichocereus Chilensis. The flowers are up to 15 centimeters long, which is on the lower end of the scale for Trichocerei.

Fruit: Round, dark green. Up to 5 Centimeters in diameter

Where to buy seeds and cuttings of Trichocereus Litoralis: That´s actually a good question. There are a couple of specialized seed stores who have them in stock. I bought some seeds from Uhlig Kakteen once (and never sown them out) and it´s also available from Succeed sometimes. Every now and then, a plant shows up on eBay but it actually rater rare. If you are looking for a cutting, it might be worth the try to make a request in our Trichocereus Facebook Group, though it´s actually one of the species that I´ve seen very rarely. Still, it might be worth the try because we´re marching towards the 1000 members mark and one of them might be able to help you!

Have a look at this beautiful picture of Trichocereus Litoralis growing along the coast line in Chile.

The flower of Trichocereus Litoralis is extremely beautiful and can be used in hybrid breeding. Unfortunately, those plants take very long until they reach adulthood.

Trichocereus Litoralis - Echinopsis Chilensis var. Litoralis

Trichocereus Nigripilis / Trichocereus Spinibarbis

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the name of this Chilean Trichocereus. According to Ritter, the plant was synonymous with a plant called Cereus Spinibarbis Otto. That´s why he described it as Trichocereus Spinibarbis. These days, Trichocereus Nigripilis is not an accepted name anymore. The name was re-classified as Echinopsis Spinibarbis, but because of the chaotic situation surrounding the name, it would probably be best if it would be declared as invalid.

Now, what is Trichocereus Nigripilis? Well, those plants come from the large complex surrounding Trichocereus Coquimbanus and Trichocereus Chilensis. In Coquimbo, there are a couple of intermediates and different forms growing together and this is one of them. But the whole description of the plant called Cereus Spinibarbis Otto was already crappy to begin with because it lacked almost everything a reliable description should have. There neither were flowers nor fruits included in the description, what makes this a pain in the butt. The plants are very spiny and look like you´d expect a intermediate between Trichocereus Coquimbanus and Trichocereus Chilensis to look like. Trichocereus Nigripilis (or Echinopsis Spinibarbus) is similarly close to Trichocereus Chilensis, as Trichocereus Litoralis. Both are intermediary forms of Trichocereus Chilensis. The history of Trichocereus Nigripilis is really long and you have to dig through all kinds of different descriptions. And I already mentioned why they are pretty flawed to begin with. The original description of Cereus Spinibarbis Otto came from Förster in 1846. This description was also reprinted in Labourets book in 1853.

Trichocereus Nigripilis has a grass green body and new shoots are approximately 4-5 centimeters thick. It has nine ribs and curved areoles with very distinct separating grooves. It has large, oval areoles that are white felted. The spines are yellow, straight, strong and have a black tip, what is responsible for the name “Nigripilis”. The areoles are 1-2 centimeters long and are only a couple mm apart of each other.

Trichocereus Nigripilis has 8-10 radial spines and 2-4 middle spines, which are thick and up to 2,5 centimeters long.

Origin: Coquimbo. 30 Kilometers north of La Serena near the coast.

Salm-Dyck wrote about this plant, that the epidermis is dull and has a sandy/grainy texture. Unfortunately, I lack any plants to confirm this. If you grow one, please let me know because I am fairly interested in this plant and need better pics.

The plant that was described by Britton & Rose as Cereus Spinibarbis was a different plant and does not belong here. They described a Eulychnia.

Trichocereus Nigripilis forms large & multi-branched groups. New shoots emerge from the base and start growing upwards until later when they tend to bend over and growing almost creeping.

Ribs: 8-10. The plants growing in the northern areas around Huasco and Totoral tend to have more ribs than the ones in other areas. In these cases, the number is between 10-15 ribs. The plants in the original habitats usually have stronger spines and more ribs than the ones in collections.

Trichocereus Nigripilis is VERY similar to Trichocereus Coquimbanus. The differences in the flower are: The flower of Trichocereus Nigripilis always emerges from the top part/apex, is 8-11 cm long and usually very wide open. The tube is 25-36 mm long, the top part 20-30mm wide and white on the inside. The stamens are white, 15-23 mm long. The stylus is whitish, 42-70 mm long.

Backeberg gave Quebrada Honda as Typus location (which is roughly 30 km north of La Serena). Friedrich Ritters Collection number was FR536.

Where to buy seeds or plants of Trichocereus Nigripilis?: Well, this cactus is rare and will usually not come labeled as this. But since Knize sold a large amount of them labeled as KK1425 Trichocereus Nigripilus but I, unfortunately, lack any pics of the plant. Chances are that the color pics on this page show KK1425 but that´s just a guess. Apart from that, the plant is rare and will probably come labeled as Trichocereus Chilensis or Trichocereus Coquimbanus. As you can see, the b/w pics show some extremely spiny plants while Knizes “presumed” KK1425 shows something that is more like a Chilensis. The KK1425 was collected at Coquimbo, Chile at 1000 meters altitude.

Varieties: All I know is that there was/is a variety called Trichocereus Nigripilis var. nigris. At the moment, I do not have any more info but I will add some later.