Trichocereus glaucus - Echinopsis glauca

Trichocereus glaucus – Echinopsis glauca

Trichocereus glaucus, also known as Echinopsis glauca, is a columnar cactus from Peru. 

Trichocereus glaucus is a very interesting plant that is probably synonymous with some creeping varieties of Trichocereus peruvianus.

Origin: Peru ( Southern Peru ), Arequipa (Rio Tambo), Chile

Description: Trichocereus glaucus can get between 1,5-2 meters tall and is a creeping species that you oftenly find hanging down slopes and cliffs. This trait is very distinct in the variety Trichocereus glaucus var. pendens. The color of the skin is very glaucous and small specimens look absolutely like what was originally called Trichocereus macrogonus. However, macrogonus grows upwards while this species tends to bend over with age. New growth is very glaucous and gets even more glaucous later on.

Areoles: The areoles are dark brown to gray and are around 2,5 centimeters apart of each other. Similar to other San Pedro types, the plant has a diameter of up to 10 centimeters and the areoles are gray felted. The spines look a bit like the ones on Trichocereus cuzcoensis and are gray or brown. Trichocereus glaucus has 6-9 ribs, 3-6 middle spines and 8-11 radial spines. The middle spines are 5-10 centimeters and the radial spines 1-2 centimeters long.  New spine growth is black to brown and turn gray with age.

Flowers: White, just like almost every other San Pedro cactus. The diameter is very variable and usually is between 15-22 centimeters. Trichocereus glaucus is a night-flowering species with green, round fruits. But the hairy flowers usually stay open until the next morning.

Fruit: Round, green, and 3 centimeters thick.

Location of the type: Lower part of the Rio Tambo in the department Arequipa.

Trichocereus glaucus is very similar to Trichocereus chalaensis and grows in a similar way. The plant was discovered by botanist Friedrich Ritter and his collection number is FR270. I gave away some seed of this plant a couple years in a row and I am looking forward to post more pics of them in the near future.

Seed & live cutting sources: I gave away seeds of Trichocereus glaucus a couple of years in a row and apart from that, I only know a couple more seed sources. Sacred Succulents has them every now and then & Köhres used to have some in stock too though I am not sure what type they will be. Trichocereus glaucus aka Echinopsis glauca is extremely rare and most plants on the market will probably come labeled as „Trichocereus peruvianus“ or „Trichocereus macrogonus“.

Cultivation: Trichocereus glaucus is a very resilient grower and likes to be watered well in summer. In winter, they should be kept as dry as possible at around 10° Celsius. Seed germinates very well and the plant is usually very tough. That´s also caused by its drought tolerance, which is very typical for Chilean plants. The plant will probably tolerate between -5° to -7° Celsius over very short time, but I would not stress it and this also depends on many other factors, like general health and dryness. I would recommend keeping at no lower than 10° Celsius in winter.

Varieties: Trichocereus glaucus var. pendens. This variety does only grow creeping down cliffs and small hills. This type only grows at one location in Chile and is extremely rare. This local population is in the south of Arica, Camarca in Chile. Backeberg suggested that this would be his Trichocereus Uyumpaensis, which is a creeping type of San Pedro too, but Friedrich Ritter vehemently disagreed with that.

Below: Trichocereus Glaucus – Fotos: Auxin

It forms shrubs with a size of 1 – 2 meters and often several meters in diameter, sprouting mainly from shoots that lay sideways on the ground. This plant rarely pups from the top or upper parts. The shoots are 5 – 8 inches thick, erect, later lying in the lower parts, the new shoot blue-green, later gray-green.

Ribs: 7-9, very broad, obtuse, 7.5 to 13 mm high, 15-25 mm wide, notched, with transverse furrows that do not reach down to the separating grooves of the ribs,

Areoles: grey felted, 1/2-3/4 inches in diameter, 1to 2 inches free removal, let down by the humps in the notches

Spines: In the new shoot black to brown, becoming gray, straight, rigid

Marginal spines: 7-10, directed laterally, the lower and lateral 8 to 15 mm long, coarse needle-shaped, somewhat flattened, the upper the upper stronger and not sharply separated from the Central spines.

Central spines: 3-6, very spread apart, subulate in the middle, but usually closer to the top edge and almost in the position of an edge of spine, below 1.5 mm thick

Flower: Not far from the apex, 13 to 19 centimeters long, fragrant, opening in the evening, the morning still open,

Ovary: Green with fleshy green, narrowly triangular, 2-5 mm long, pointed scales and large scales raised bases. The flowers are covered with brown/black hairs.

Partition against the nectar chamber 3-4 mm thick, tube-shaped, 13 to 23 mm long, to the stylus 1to 2 mm wide, brownish, almost openly, with nectar

Tubes: In addition funnel shaped, 40-65 mm long, the top 2 to 3 cm wide, pale green interior, exterior gray-green, with triangular points, 7.5 to 10 mm long, dark green scales and tufts of hair as on the ovary.

Stamens: white, greenish below, insertions missing on the top 2 to 3 centimeters of the tube to a ring on the hem, pouch pale brown, approximately at half height petals standing

Stylus: pale green, white or pale brownish above, 10 to 11 cm in length, with 14 to 18 mm fall on the 13-16 spread pale yellow stigma lobes, between the pouches or outstanding.



Deutsche Original Beschreibung:

Büsche von 1 meter bis 2 meter höhe und oft mehreren metern Durchmesser, sprossend hauptsächlich unten von liegenden Trieben, weniger oben sprossend. Triebe 5 bis 8 Zentimeter dick, aufrecht, später in den unteren Teilen liegend, im Neutrieb blaugrün, später mehr graugrün.
Rippen: 7-9, sehr breit, stumpf, 7,5 bis 13 mm hoch, 15 bis 25 mm breit, gekerbt, mit Querfurchen, die nicht bis zu den Trennfurchen der Rippen hinabreichen,
Areolen: Graufilzig, 1/2-3/4 Zentimeter Durchmesser, 1bis 2 Zentimeter freie Entfernung, , von den Höckern in die Kerben hinabreichend
Stacheln: Im Neutrieb schwarz bis braun, , vergrauend, gerade, starr
Randstacheln: 7 bis 10, seitlich gerichtet, die unteren und seitlichen 8 bis 15 mm lang, derb nadelförmig, etwas abgeflacht, die oberen die Oberen stärker und nicht scharf von den Mittelstacheln gesondert.
Mittelstacheln: 3 bis 6, sehr gespreizt, pfriemlich in der Mitte, aber meist näher dem oberen Rand und fast in der Stellung eines Randstachels, unten 1,5 mm dick
Blüte: Nicht weit weg vom Scheitel, 13 bis 19 zentimeter lang, duftend, abends öffnend, morgens noch offen,  
Fruchtknoten: Grün mit fleischigen grünen, schmal dreieckigen, 2-5 mm langen spitzen Schuppen und großen erhabenen Schuppenbasen. Mit starken schwarzen oder braunschwarzen Wollhaaren.
Trennwand gegen die Nektarkammer 3-4 mm dick, diese tubisch, 13 bis 23 mm lang,um den Griffel 1bis 2 mm weit, bräunlich, fast offen, mit Nektar

Röhren: Darüber trichterig, 40 bis 65 mm lang, oben 2 bis 3 cm weit, innen blaß grünlich , außen graugrün, mit dreieckigen Spitzen, 7,5 bis 10 mm langen dunkelgrünen Schuppen und Haarbüscheln wie auf dem Fruchtknoten.
Staubfäden: weiß, unten grünlich, Insertionen fehlen auf den obersten 2 bis 3 Zentimetern der Röhre, bis auf einen Ring auf dem Saum, Beutel blassbraun, etwa bei halber Petalen Höhe stehend
Griffel: blassgrün, oben weiß oder blass bräunlich, 10 bis 11 cm lang, wovon 14 bis 18 mm auf die 13-16 gespreizten blaßgelben Narbenäste  fallen, zwischen den Beuteln oder sie überragend.



Very interesting Plant and very similar to what some would label Trichocereus Macrogonus.

Trichocereus glaucus - Echinopsis glauca

Gnosis / Gnostic Garden Clone (Trichocereus cuzcoensis)

Gnosis / Gnostic Garden Clone (Trichocereus cuzcoensis)

This type was originally sold by the European seed shop GNOSTIC GARDEN, who are no longer in business. It should actually read GNOSTIC GARDEN CLONE, but the typo somehow stuck and it was called GNOSIS instead. Maybe we should go back to the original spelling of the name. But due to the fact that this clone was sold as GNOSIS for many years now, it´s probably best to keep everything as it is now.

GNOSTIC GARDEN delivered this clone to a large number of smaller shops, who imported it into Australia in the late 90s or 2000s. The Gnosis Garden Clone became of the most common „Peruvianus“ clones in Australia. And that´s remarkable because it actually is a Trichocereus cuzcoensis ;). The Cuzcoensis/Peruvianus labeling makes me think that this one probably originated from Knize, who is (BY FAR) the biggest source for different types from the Tr. cuzcoensis group  and it´s very likely that Gnostic Garden got their stock from Knize; either directly or indirectly through the hands of another retailer or wholesaler. The wide distribution makes this clone one of the most common strains in Australia. It has massive long spines with rounded spine bases and a typical Cuzcoensis appearance. Due to the fact that Knize has offered all kinds of types from the Cuzcoensis group over the past 50 years, it´s probably not possible to pin this clone down to a certain KK number.

The GNOSIS GARDEN CLONE (GNOSTIC GARDEN) was also sold by the SAB nursery and can be bought from them.

Pic: MUTANT

 

Gnosis / Gnostic Garden Clone (Trichocereus cuzcoensis)

Omar (Trichocereus)

Omar (Trichocereus / Echinopsis)

Omar is a Trichocereus clone from Australia.

OMAR is a Trichocereus pachanoi clone that was most likely brought into circlulation by the former SAB members REV or Gomaos. The plant was also offered by the SAB shop, where it was sold alongside a similar hybrid called ALF. That leaves room for speculation and it´s possible that both plants (OMAR & ALF) were grown from the same seed pod or at least, were representatives of the same regional type. I personally have trouble looking at OMAR without seen anything but the well known PC Pachanoi „clone“, which is probably Friedrich  Ritter´s TRICHOCEREUS RIOMIZQUENSIS from Bolivia. This PC (short for predominate cultivar, as it is the most common type of Pachanoi throughout North America) is widely distributed all over Australia as well.

OMAR has the same yellowish look that almost all Tr. riomizquensis had in common. Besides, the areoles and the small stump spines are really typical. And on top of that, it has the same type of flower.

Again, I did not have the chance to observe this plant over the course of a few years, but what I´ve seen on some of the pics looks a lot like the predominate cultivar.


https://trichocereus.net/omar-trichocereus-echinopsis-pc-predominant-cultivar

Trichocereus taquimbalensis / Echinopsis tacaq. subsp. taquimbalensis

Trichocereus taquimbalensis / Echinopsis tacaq. subsp. taquimbalensis

Current name: Echinopsis tacaquirensis ssp. taquimbalensis

Synonyms: Trichocereus tacaquirensis, Trichocereus werdermannianus, Helianthocereus werdermannianus, Echinopsis taquimbalensis, Echinopsis tacaquirensis, Echinopsis tacaquirensis ssp. taquimbalensis, Echinopsis tacaquirensis ssp. tacaquirensis, Trichocereus taquimbalensis var. wilkae

Trichocereus taquimbalensis is a pretty common cactus from Bolivia and can be found in collections throughout the world. There is large confusion around this plant because many of them come mislabeled as Trichocereus Werdermannianus. I have no idea if this confusion is caused by seed collectors or maybe because Backeberg´s Trichocereus Werdermannianus but the fact that Backeberg actually knew Taquimbalensis indicates that his Werdermannianus is rather some kind of Intermediate between Trichocereus Terscheckii and Trichocereus Taquimbalensis and the root of the error lies in seed collectors not being able to tell the both apart. Please note that Trichocereus Werdermannianus has definitely similarity to Trichocereus Taquimbalensis so it´s very likely it is related to that species.

Authentic Trichocereus Taquimbalensis has a bright green waxy epidermis and a number of rounded spines with a swollen base. They grow up to 2,50 meters tall and reach a diameter of 15 centimeters. Mature specimens have 8-9 Ribs with Areoles that are 1,5 centimeters apart. Areoles are Round to elliptic in shape and stand out up to 1 centimeter. Areoles are also white felted with 8-13 radial spines and up to 2 centimeters tall. One downward pointing middle spine that is up to 7 centimeters long and with thickening knobs at the base. Spines at first bright brown and later gray.

Flower: The flower is up to 23 centimeters long, ovaries 2,2 centimeters in diameter, with white and brown hairs and brown sepals that are up to 10 centimeters long. The Flowers are white. Trichocereus taquimbalensis is a day-flowering species.

Origin: Bolivia, provence Tarata, Department Cochabamba near Taquimbala, 2800 meters.

There is a variety var. WILKAE which was found by some women named Wilkae and it has more rounded spines and have four middle spines. This variety grows around Tupiza, which is a good distance away from the location of the type.

The modern taxonomy combines Trichocereus taquimbalensis and tacaquirensis and calls it Trichocereus tacaquirensis, with which I do not agree. Trichocereus tacaquirensis has a lot more spines, which are needlelike and the plant looks more like a tarijensis than a taquimbalensis. Basically 99% of all the plants labeled as Trichocereus tacaquirensis turned out to be some kind of Trichocereus taquimbalensis. While Trichocereus tacaquirensis is an extremely rare local variety of Tr. taquimbalensisis, the latter is extremely common and if any one of them should be a subspecies, it should definitely be Tr. tacaquirensis.

On google, there is a huge number of plants with the wrong label to be found as well, so every plant labeled tacaquirensis should be regarded with skepticism. So far, I cannot remember coming across Trichocereus tacaquirensis on the open market as a plant. Trichocereus taquimbalensis, on the other hand is very common.

I will now add some pics from backeberg in which he showed the differences between Trichocereus taquimbalensis and tacaquirensis. I agree that they are definitely related but since they are so easy to differentiate, I feel like it´s not legitimate to lump them both together.

Seed & Live Cutting Sources: I currently have a very limited amount of seeds available, but I do not have them in my shop yet.  I also have some fresh seeds of Trichocereus tacaquirensis, and I am really happy I got some. If you are interested in some of my seeds, feel free to join my rare Seeds and Plants Newsletter.

Propagation: By seed or cuttings. But I actually had problems rooting this species and most cuttings I took did not survive. But that may only be true for the clone that I had and I heard about other growers having no problems rooting it.

Frost and Winter protection: Trichocereus taquimbalensis is a typical, cold hardy Trichocereus and can tolerate temperatures down to -5° celsius for very short periods of time. But I would absolutely not recommend keeping it at such low temperatures and it always depends on the general constitution of the plant. Besides, it has to be completely dry and  I would recommend to keep it at temps of approximately 10° celius of you overwinter them inside. Wet soil is a killer and should be absolutely avoided.

Cultivation: Trichocereus taquimbalensis does not like full sun and I usually grow them in partial shade. It likes a little bit sun over the course of the day, but it tends to get sunburns pretty easily. If it get´s a severe sunburn, it can die pretty quickly. I only water them when it´s hot and only as much as it can take up within one day. They don’t like wet feet, but that´s something that is valid for most Trichocereus species. I stop watering them around the end of the summer and keep it dry over the winter.

This first Pic shows Trichocereus Tacaquirensis

Tr. tacaquirensis has many needlelike spines and a much higher spine count than Trichocereus taquimbalensis. Besides, it´s hardly possible to differentiate between middle and radial spines, which is something that is very easy with Tr. taquimbalensis. The whole plant looks more like some kind of a Tr. tarijensis and has a very different appearance than Tr. taquimbalensis. That said, they definitely are related.

Pic 2 shows the complete plant:

And last but not least, pic 3 shows a detailed comparison between the two varieties of taquimbalensis, oreocereus maximus and tacaquirensis.

a1. trichocereus taquimbalensis typus (top left)

a2. bottom left trichocereus taquimbalensis v. wilkae

b. oreocereus maxiumus

c. tacaquirensis

Note how many spines tacaquirensis has? You hardly come across them on the open market though i have seed. If anyone has the option to grow this one with free root run, I am happy to send some seed. It´s a huge spiny monster and moving it is not an option. It makes absolutely no sense to grow this one and move it and out in summer.

 The difference between Trichocereus taquimalensis and Trichocereus tacaquirensis

And this plant is actually a very typical Trichocereus taquimbalensis! I will also add new Pictures to this Gallery too because it is actually a small specimen.

 

Trichocereus taquimbalensis / Echinopsis tacaq. subsp. taquimbalensis

Trichocereus Candicans (Echinopsis)

Trichocereus Candicans (Echinopsis candicans)

Current name: Echinopsis Candicans (Gillies ex Salm-Dyck)

Synonyms: Cereus Candicans, Echinocactus candicans, Echinocereus Candicans, Echinopsis Candicans, Helianthocereus candicans, Trichocereus Pseudocandicans, Trichocereus Tenuispinus, Echinopsis candicans var. Tenuispinus, Cereus candicans spinosior, Trichocereus Neolamprochlorus, Trichocereus Gladiatus, Trichocereus candicans var. Gladiatus, Trichocereus Rubriflorus, Echinocactus dumelianus, Cereus Candicans var. spinisior, Helianthocereus pseudocandicans and some forms of Trichocereus Lamprochlorus

First of all, this species is a mess. There are totally different types of plants floating around in the collection and I am not even counting the hybrids yet. There were numerous taxonomists in the past 100 years messing around with Trichocereus Candicans and I am not really happy with the current taxonomy either. There originally were a couple of different subspecies like Trichocereus Candicans & Trichocereus Pseudocandicans + the closely related species Trichocereus Lamprochlorus + Neolamprochlorus. Today, Trichocereus Lamprochlorus was divided from Trichocereus Candicans…and for good reasons. Because of that, I will concentrate on the plants that are definitely authentic candicans on this page.

Trichocereus Candicans is a small and compact columnar cactus that builds clusters and grows approximately 75 centimeters tall- The plant usually has a yellowish skin color and grows in clusters up to 3 meters wide. The columns are 8-15 Centimeters thick and have between 9 and 11 Ribs. Areoles are pretty big and white felted and up to 2 centimeters apart of each other. Trichocereus Candicans has 10-12 Radial Spines that are up to 4 centimeters long and 4 middle spines that are up to 8 centimeters long.

Flower: Most candicans have white flowers, but this is a species that is highly hybridized in nature and i´ve seen various populations that had all kinds of flower colors and everyone of them was more beautiful as the other. And they had all kinds of flowers…yellow, red, white, you name it! Regularly, the flower is white and reaches a size of up to 20 centimeters  (and some varieties even more). The flowers have a very nice smell and attract all kinds of insects. Because of its excellent flower, Trichocereus Candicans is a perfect plant for hybrid breeding. The flower looks amazing and accepts pollen of most other Trichocereus, including the San Pedro cacti. Because of that, it´s a great candidate to breed colored flowers into the whole San pedro group.

Trichocereus Candicans is Night flowering. Besides, it is self-sterile, what means that you need pollen from another donor to produce seeds.

Origin: Argentina. Around Mendoza and Cordoba. San Juan, Catamarca, La Rioja.

Just like I already mentioned, the species is very variable and is also close to Trichocereus Lamprochlorus. There are intermediates that show traits of both species and it´s nearly impossible to give a definite ID. There are natural hybrids between Trichocereus Candicans x Trichocereus Huascha and Trichocereus Candicans x Trichocereus Strigosa.

CITES: Trichocereus Candicans is in Cites APPENDIX II.

Varieties & Cultivars: Trichocereus Candicans var. Gladiatus (with very large flowers), Trichocereus Candicans var. Robustior, Trichocereus Candicans var. Rubriflorus, Trichocereus Candicans Gröner Hybrids (which is a hybrid between Candicans x Pseudolobivia, which flowers very early on), Trichocereus Candicans var. Tenuispinus, Cantora hybrids (which is a cross between Trichocereus Candicans and Echinopsis Toralapana), and so on.

Trichocereus Candicans is a very good species for grafting or hybrid culture. There are certain hybrids with extremely beautiful flowers called CANTORA. Those hybrids are one part Trichocereus Candicans and one part Echinopsis Toralapana.

Many taxonomists call Trichocereus Candicans an extremely variable species. And while I agree with that, it´s also caused by the chaos that was caused by the large amount of different types that were all merged into this huge species “Trichocereus Candicans”.  Because there are so many different types available on the market, there are countless atypical plants that grow more columnar than standard Candicans´or that have very short spines instead of the long spines that most Candicans are known for.

Cultivation: Trichocereus Candicans is very easy in cultivation. It is an excellent grafting stock that is known for its great frost tolerance, but the plant is so beautiful that you can also grow it just because it looks cool. Especially the colored flower hybrids around La Rioja are amazing and I can only recommend you this amazing cactus. The plant takes many years until it flowers but there are some hybrids called Groener Candicans that are basically the result of an open pollination between Candicans and Pseudolobivia, which flower very early on within the first five years. Those hybrids were named after the grower who raised and distributed them. If you can get those hybrids, you wont regret it. But they are rare. Trichocereus Candicans should only be watered when it´s hot. Because of that, the plant does not get any water in between October and April. In europe, you can overwinter them in a bright place with lots of fresh air at a temperature of approximately 10° celsius. That´s the minimum average temperature and they do not need any water until the temperatures are starting to rise again.

Cultivation from Seed: Trichocereus Candicans is very easy from seed and requires the same treatment as any other Trichocereus. They are really frost resistant and can withstand short night frosts of down to -8° Celsius/17.5° Fahrenheit. The minimum average temperature is around 10° celsius/50° Fahrenheit. The seeds will start germinating at temperatures between 24-30° celsius and require very little water to germinate. They are relatively uncomplicated to grow but I had the best experiences with a soil that was purely mineral.

 Propagation: The plant is propagated by live Cuttings and seed.

Seed & live cutting sources: Trichocereus candicans is available through various commercial sources, including classic nurseries or stores like Amazon or ebay. There are quite a couple of commercial seed sources, including large seed wholesaler like Köhres, Kakteen Haage and other smaller shops. Trichocereus Candicans is not really rare but most plants on the market are actually mislabeled. It´s one of those Trichos that people tend to overlook, probably also because the taxonomic literature was making a huge chaos out of it to begin with. Besides, there are so many hybrids and all of them can look different.

Trichocereus Candicans var. Robustior – Huntington Botanical Garden by Richard Hipp

Trichocereus Candicans var. Robustior on the left and the very rare Trichocereus Santiaguensis on the right!

Trichocereus Candicans (Echinopsis)