Trichocereus Shaferi (Echinopsis Shaferi)

Trichocereus Shaferi (Echinopsis Shaferi)

There are more than one plant that are available under that name on the open market. I bought a plant labeled as Trichocereus Shaferi that looks remarkable like a Trichocereus Spachianus.

The name “Shaferi” goes back to the 1920s, when Britton and Rose came up with their description that lacked a lot of details. However, there were some more descriptions by Ritter, Backeberg and Rauh/Werdermannianus that went more into detail.

Trichocereus Shaferi pups from the base and reaches a size between 1-1,5 meters. The plant grows partially lying or leaning over and has between 15 and 20 ribs. Britton and Rose gave an average number of 12 ribs, which is dramatically different from the data that were given in later descriptions. The maximum diameter is 5-12 centimeters and the color is a gray/dark green, which you can very well see on the pictures that were provided by Trout. The ribs are 0,5-1 centimeters high and there are substantial furrows .

The Areoles on Trichocereus Shaferi are white felted and 1-6 mm in diameter and up to 1,2 centimeters apart of each other.

Spines: The spines of Trichocereus Shaferi are yellow, very fine and needle-like with a slightly dark-brown spine tip. It has 7-10 radial spines (up to 1 cm long) and 1-3 middle spines (1-2 cm).

Flower: Very round flower. White. Trichocereus Shaferi flowers from the upper part/apex and Britton and Rose gave a size of 15-18 cm.

Fruit: The fruit has a whole lot of very dominant white hairs, as you can beautifully see on the second picture. The edible fruit is round and 3-5 cm in diameter. Green in color with reddish/green scales.

Origin: Ritter encountered this plant near Leon near Jujuy at around 1500-1800 meters growing on rocky slopes. Britton and Rose gave San Lorenzo in the provence Salta at 1800 meters as the location of the typus. Ritter considered his collection in jujuy to be a regional variety but didnt really follow up on it. His collection name was FR41 and there is a large number of seeds that gotten into the collections of cactus fans all around the world.

Where to buy seeds and plants of Trichocereus Shaferi? Well, it´s rare and you might come across them on eBay. Like I already mentioned before, I bought a large plant that might be correctly labeled but has a lot of similarities to Trichocereus Spachianus. The plants on the pics have a lot of ribs and look very unique. Some seed stores and cactus nurseries have them in stock every once in a while but I never really looked for it and cant say how good the available seed is. I also dont know if theres even viable seed on the market. I am sure there are some collectors that offer seeds from their collections sometimes but it´s probably a little bit hard to. If I´d be looking for this type, I´d write emails to Kakteen Haage, Kakteen Uhlig, Succeed, Sacred Succulents and hope for the best. You can also try making a post in our Trichocereus Facebook group but I´ve never really encountered one there. But it cant hurt to ask.

 

Trichocereus Shaferi (Echinopsis Shaferi)

Trichocereus Smrzianus

Trichocereus Smrzianus – Echinopsis Smrzianus Backeberg

Backeberg described this plant in his KAKTUS ABC, a book that was not really widely available. Besides the species is highly controversial because this plant is probably synonymous with some forms of Soehrensia.

Synonyms: Trichocereus Smrziana, Soehrensia Smrziana, Soehrensia Smrzianus, Echinopsis Smrzianus

Origin: Argentina, Salta

Description: Grows alone or in groups of larger clusters. It has a large, round body and reaches a maximum diameter of 2 meters and can get up to 60-70 centimeters tall. The plant is extremely variable and can grow like a clustering cactus or in a columnar way, very similar to Trichocereus Spachianus. It has between 10-15 ribs and only grows at one locaction at the location of the typus. That makes this cactus extremely rare, though it is generally available and sometimes shows up in cactus collections. The fact that the plant has so many ribs, makes it distinguishable from plants like Trichocereus Candicans or Spachianus. The bigger the plants get, the broader the ribs are, what gives it a very typical Soehrensia look and it´s definitely closer to Soehrensia than to Trichocereus.

Spines: The very thin spines are usually yellow to white. Plants can have between 8-15 spines on one areole but Trichocereus Smrzianus is extremely variable, what makes it so hard to ID. However, the fact that it only grows on one location in Chachipampa should make the id pretty easy. It has betwen 1-4 middle spines that are up to 3 centimeters long.

Flowers: Trichocereus Smrzianus flowers white. The plant flowers from the upper part of the body, what you can see on the featured image very well. The flowers get between 10-20 centimeters long and look very similar to the ones on Trichocereus Tarijensis.

Fruit: Trichocereus Smrzianus has a round, green fruit that is between 2-5 centimeters in diameter and taste very nicely. The name is a really bad example of how a name should not be. Not sure how it is in your language but in mine, it sounds like you get a seizure while biting your tongue off.

The taxonomic status of the genus Soehrensia was very inconsistent and taxonomists have moved them back and forth from Trichocereus to Echinopsis a couple times now. After the merger with Echinopsis, taxonomy went full circle and re-declared Soehrensia as an accepted genus and it seems like it might stay like that. However, the plant is definitely close to Trichocereus Tarijensis and it´s definitely possible that Trichocereus Smrzianus is just a natural hybrid between Trichocereus Tarijensis and another plant from it´s direct neighborhood.

Emőke Dénes Echinopsis_smrziana_-_Kew_Gardens

Oslo Sukkulentforening Soehrensia_smrziana

by Michael Wolf Echinopsis smrziana

Trichocereus Smrzianus

Trichocereus Spachianus (Echinopsis Spachiana Lemaire)

Trichocereus Spachianus (Echinopsis Spachiana Lemaire)

Synonyms: Trichocereus Shaferi, Trichocereus Santiaguensis, Cereus Spachianus, Echinocereus Spachianus, Cereus Santiaguensis, Echinopsis Santiaguensis, Trichocereus Manguinii, Trichocereus Trichosus, Trichocereus Spachianodus

The history of Trichocereus Spachianus is very confusion and most taxonomists have their own opinion on how the plant originally came from and which subspecies or varieties are synonymous with it. The original plant described by Lemaire as Cereus Spachianus in 1840 was said to originally come from Mexico and differed substantially from what we know as Trichocereus Spachianus. Ten years later in 1850, Salm-Dyck described the Trichocereus Spachianus as we know it today. Salm-Dycks plant is the modern Trichocereus Spachianus. And according to his description, it has around 8 Ribs, a rib height of 10mm and an areole distance of 20 mm.  Both descriptions lacked Flower descriptions, but there is what Lemaire´s plant looked like according to the description: 10-15 ribs, rib height of 5 mm and an areole distance of 6-10 mm.  The origin of Trichocereus Spachianus is still not known, but there are some types in nature that are very similar to almost identical. Trichocereus Santiaguensis grows around Santiago de Estero is the one that I suspected to be the original plant that was described as our modern Trichocereus Spachianus. Besides, there is another population of a plant that was described as Trichocereus Shaferi, which is probably synonymous too. Trichocereus Shaferi grows in Jujuy near Leon. Another very similar Tricho grows in Bolivia and is called Trichocereus tenuispinus.

Trichocereus Spachanius Description

Up to 2 meters tall and pupping from the base. Pups grow upwards and parallel to the main column. 10 – 15 Ribs and areoles approx. 1 centimeter apart. With yellow wool. 8-10 radial spines (0,6 bis 1 cm long) and 1 strong middle spine.

Flower: The flower of Trichocereus Spachianus is white and up to 20 centimeters large. The Flowers don´t smell and the wild varieties are very unlike the ones in cultivation. Trichocereus Spachianus is a night-flowering species, but the flowers stay open until late in the day.

Origin: Argentinia(around Mendoza), in San Juan, La Rioja and San Luis. Jujuy (1500-1800 meters)

Trichocereus Spachianus is a very tough and resistant cactus that can be used for all kinds of purposes, including as Grafting stock, fencing plant or for Hybrid cultivation. The flowers are very large and there are some amazing hybrids that involve Trichocereus Spachianus. It is one of the best grafting stocks because it accepts many hosts. There are all kinds of plants that are synonymous with Trichocereus Spachianus and none of the older species names like Trichocreus Santiaguensis or Trichocereus Shaferi are valid today. Trichocereus Spachianus is also called “Golden Torch” or “Golden Torch Cactus“.

Cultivation: Trichocereus Spachianus is very frost resistant, but temperatures shouldnt go below -5° to -10° celsius and it greatly depends on the general health of the plant and the dryness of the substrate if the plant suffers any damage. It has to be kept completely dry over winter and the bets temperature to overwinter it inside is at around 10° Celsius and with sufficient fresh air.

Seed & live cuttings sources: There are many sources for Trichocereus Spachianus, including seed from various private sellers or commercial shops like Köhres, Misplant or SAB. Besides there are cuttings available from shops like Ebay and Amazon.

Varieties: There really aren´t that many accepted varieties of Trichocereus Spachianus available. But there are a couple of regional varieties like Trichocereus Shaferi, Trichocereus Santiaguensis or Trichocereus Spachianoides, which was a very similar plant that was probably synonymous and was collected and sold by Friedrich Ritter. The plant had the collection number FR980 and was collected in 1960/61.

Soil requirements: Trichocereus Spachianus should be given a purely mineral soil mix that dries out very fast because it tends to suffer from rot if it is grown in seed with too much humous. You can use pumice, sand or any other mineral substrate. They like to get fertilizer on a regular basis. But I would recommend to water them only when it´s hot. No water on rainy or cold days and only water as soon as the soil has completely dried up! Trichocereus Spachianus likes to be grown in partial shade but can also tolerate being grown in full sun. On the pics, you see that the plants are usually sown in full sun and they like it a lot. The flower is very large and beautiful, but the species needs to reach a certain size before it can flower.

by Alan levine Echinopsis

by Dru Bloomfield Echinopsis_spachianaby Gavin Anderson Echinopsis_spachiana

by Ikiwaner Echinopsis

by z2amiller Echinopsis_spachianaby z2amiller Echinopsis_spachiana

  Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz Echinopsis_spachianaSoehrensia_spachiana by Elia Scudiero

by Raphael Quinet Echinopsis_spachiana

On the right side, there is TRICHOCEREUS SANTIAGUENSIS. That is a very rare variety of Trichocereus Spachianus.

This is what Friedrich Ritter wrote about Trichocereus Spachianus. Please note that this is out-of-Date Cactus Taxonomy and i only add it to provide some Insight in Ritters Opinion about the Plant.

 

Trichocereus Spachianus (Echinopsis Spachiana Lemaire)