Trichocereus Tarijensis

 Trichocereus Tarijensis

New Name: Echinopsis Tarijensis + ssp. herzogiana, ssp. tarijensis and ssp. totorensis

Trichocereus Tarijensis is large closely related to the bigger Trichos like Trichocereus Bertramineus and Trichocereus Poco. It is most likely synonymous with trichocereus totorensis, bertramineus and poco.

The location of the typus is Tarija in Bolivia and it grows throughout southwest and south bolivia, parts if Argentina and the Andes.

Synonyms: Trichocereus Poco, Helianthocereus Poco, cereus Tarijensis, Lobivia Formosa ssp. tarijensis, Trichocereus Herzogiana, Helianthocereus Herzogiana, Helianthocereus Tarijensis, Trichocereus totorensis, Helianthocereus Totorensis.

Typically, Trichocereus Tarijensis has 15-25 ribs, can get up to 40 centimeters in diameter with many 1-10 centimeters long spines. Spines yellowish in color. 1-5 Middle thorns and up to 45 radial thorns. The spines are usually long and are pointing downwards, what gives Trichocereus Tarijensis a great protection against anything trying to touch it. The diameter can reach a stunning 40-50 centimeters. Young specimens are very similar to Trichocereus Pasacana, but are a lot more spiny, especially later on.

Flowers: Red to pink to milky white and over 10 centimeters in lenght. Green fruits, up to 5 centimeters in lenght. 3 centimeters in diameter. There is great variation within the look of the flowers and while some can be more rose-colored, some others look more reddish.

And also the rest of the plant can be greatly variable, which is the reason that this species caused a lot of confusion due to numerous descriptions of plants that somehow seem to belong into the same complex. A lot of the species inside Backeberg´s genus „Helianthocereus“ belong into the Tarijensis group, that now consists of a handful of subspecies, instead of varieties. That is a fine but very important difference and I tend to agree that this is exactly the right way to classify this group of impressive giants that can be found all over the Andes.

Pic: Prier

Trichocereus Poco, which is probably synonymous with Trichocereus Tarijensis

Trichocereus Poco, which is probably synonymous with Trichocereus Tarijensis

This is a herbarium specimen, Copyright: Ben Kamm, Sacredsucculents.com

Victorio_Angelelli

Jujuy- by Marian ocecowski QuebradaDeHumahuaca

by Evasaco Jardin_Botanico_de_Altura-Tilcara-Jujuy

Young specimen of Trichocereus Poco. You can perfectly see the similarity to Trichocereus Pasacana and Terscheckii. The plant is a lot more spiny though and that´s exactly how you can differentiate it.

This plant was labeled Trichocereus Herzogianus ssp. Totorensis. It is also the same plant called Trichocereus Totorensis, Helianthocereus Totorensis or the new name Trichocereus Tarijensis ssp. Totorensis.

Trichocereus Tarijensis

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 Terscheckii (Echinopsis Terscheckii)

Trichocereus Terscheckii  (Echinopsis Terscheckii Parmentier ex Pfeiffer)

Origin: The species Trichocereus Terscheckii contains a very wide variety of plants, of which some are very close to Trichocereus Pasacana (Echinopsis Pasacana). Trichocereus Terscheckii grows around the south of Bolivia, North Argentina (Catamarca, Tucuman, La Rioja, Jujuy, San Juan, Salta) and there are countless intermediates between Trichocereus Terscheckii, Trichocereus atacamensis, Trichocereus Pasacana and Trichocereus Validus. The latter is probably just one of those intermediate forms of Trichocereus Terscheckii anyway. Besides, the plant that was called Trichocereus Werdermannianus is actually an Intermediate form between Trichocereus Taquimbalensis and Trichocereus Terscheckii, though it is closer related to Taquimbalensis than Terscheckii. Overall, this is a very complex and highly controversial group of plants and only DNA testing can pin down the family tree that is hidden inside those beautiful tree-like plants. Personally, I think that all those Andean Trichocereus are members of a very variable group of plants that should all be merged. I will now add the description of Trichocereus Terscheckii, though there certainly are other forms of this plant that might be a little bit atypical. This is normal, because everywhere different species grow together, there will be natural hybrids and intermediate forms. I am not here to fix the mess that went down in the taxonomy of those plants in the past 100 years. I like those plants and I will use this page to portray the botanical variety that this species can have.

Synonyms: Echinopsis Terscheckii, Cereus Terscheckii, Pilosocereus Terscheckii, Cereus fulvispinus, Trichocereus Validus, Echinopsis Valida, Trichocereus Werdermannianus, Cereus werdermannianus, Echinopsis Werdermannianus, Cereus Validissimus. Besides, some forms of Trichocereus Pasacana and Trichocereus Tarijensis are synonymous with Trichocereus Terscheckii too.

Varieties: Trichocereus Terscheckiioides, Trichocereus Terscheckii var. Montanus,

Cultivation: Trichocereus Terscheckii is an amazing plant in culture. They grow very slow compared to other Trichos and don’t require a lot of water. I usually try to give them as much free root run as possible, what is important for their ability to flower. Their growth rate depends on many things, like how they are grown, hoch much water & fertilizer they get, and so on. Plants in habitat grow very slow and sometimes take 50 years to reach a good size because they get very little water and nutrients. Their mature form is totally different to what they look like as seedlings.

Description: They start off as a typical, columnar cactus but grow more branched later on in the life and sometimes get a couple of additional “arms”. Trichocereus Terscheckii can reach a size of 10-15 meters and a diameter of up to 60 centimeters.

Ribs: 8-15

Areoles: Approx. 2 centimeters in diameter and up to 3-4 centimeters apart from each other.

Spines: 10-16 spines, yellow and up to 10 centimeters long

Flower: White, 15-22 centimeters long, 14 centimeters wide, petals up to 8 centimeters. Tube covered with brown, wooly hair. The variety Trichocereus Montanus was said to be less branchy and grew more like a typical columnar. Besides it had a larger diameter. I personally do not accept any varieties because I think that this is just a crazily variable species.

Trichocereus Terscheckii and Frost: Trichocereus Terscheckii is quite cold hardy and even survives in some areas in the United States. Personally, I would recommend a minumum average temperature of 10° celsius/50 Fahrenheit, but they are known to survive short night frosts without a problem. However, temperatures should never go below -9°/15.8 Fahrenheit. It is also important to keep away rain and moisture during the cold months, because the rain is probably a bigger problem that the cold temperatures. Those plants can stand the cold, but as soon as it´s cold and wet, it´s starting to get dangerous.

Trichocereus Terscheckii from Seed: This species is very easy from seed. It requires the same conditions than other Trichocereus species, but keeping the seed cold over night can help to break up the dormancy. The seed is usually viable for many years and I am sure you can get some germinations as long as the seed does not get older than 10 years. But best germination rates usually are within the first year. Make sure not to sow out too many of them at once, because they become quite fat and need enough space.

Trichocereus Terscheckii Seed & live cutting sources: This plant sometimes shows up on Ebay as live cuttings, plants or seeds. Many seed sources are selling old seed, so make sure to ask about the age of the seed. The best seed is usually from the growers who have a plant in their garden and give away seed. But there are some commercial sellers, including Köhres, who sell seed. Havent tested their Terscheckii seed lately but I tested it years ago, and it was ok.

 

Pic: Peter A. Manfeld

 

Pic: Pangopaso

Trichocereus Terscheckii (Echinopsis Terscheckii)

Trichocereus Poco (Echinopsis Tarijensis)

Trichocereus Poco (Echinopsis Tarijensis ssp. tarijensis)

Synonyms: Trichocereus Poco, Echinopsis Poco, Helianthocereus poco, Trichocereus tarijensis var. poco, Trichocereus narvaecensis, Trichocereus poco var. fricianus, Trichocereus Totorillanus

Taxonomic Background: These days, Trichocereus Poco has been integrated into the species Echinopsis Tarijensis aka Trichocereus Tarijensis though there are minor differences between the two. However, the fact that the species is extremely variable makes this a somewhat acceptable decision. Backeberg tried to keep it separate from Tarijensis and used the name “Helianthocereus poco” for the tarijensis-type Trichocerei from the southern highlands of Bolivia. But his description did not say anything the mature form of this species, which looks totally different to it´s juvenile forms.

Description: Trichocereus Poco aka Echinopsis tarijensis var. poco grows like a tree and has between 16-20 needle-like spines per areole in his juvenile form. The adult form has 30-50 stump bristle-spines that are usually bent and twisted. Trichocereus Poco starts shapeshifting into its adult form around a size of 50-70 centimeters while Trichocereus Tarijensis has to get a little higher (1-2 meters) to start looking as its adult form.

Ribs: 20-32.

Flower: A mix between orange and red. 10-15 centimeters long, white with a little touch of rose on top, stylus white to red, filaments bright green (lower part) to white (upper part). There also are variations of the flower in colors like white, pink, beige, peach, etc.

Origin: Trichocereus Poco grows in Bolivia and Argentina.

Cultivation: Trichocereus Poco should not receive too much water and requires a good drainage to stay healthy. Species with such a thick spination should be kept drier than other species. The temperatures should never get lower than -5° celsius, though it probably tolerates short time night frosts of down to -9° celsius. But that is really not something that you would want to try because it already starts getting rot problems at around 0° celsius. So keep it dry, overwinter it at a bright and well ventilated area with temperatures around 10° celsius/50° Fahrenheit. If you live in a country with very mild winters, you might be able to get it over the winter by giving it additional frost protection, like a roofing and a purely mineral soil.

Seed & live cuttings sources: There are really not many sources for some seed of Trichocereus poco and most I know came from Köhres. There also are some live specimens on sites like eBay or Amazon sometimes and they make an amazing showroom plant.

Germination: They should be treated like seeds of Trichocereus Tarijensis or Trichocereus Terscheckii. Temperatures between 25° -29° celsius will be sufficient to make the magic happening. Make sure to give it a cactus soil that dries out very fast and only water every now and then after the old water has drained up. Light helps to induce the germination process, so maybe try adding a LED or HPS lamp to your sowing setup and you will get higher germination rates.

Trichocereus Poco (Echinopsis Tarijensis)