Trichocereus thelegonus / Echinopsis thelegona Friedrich & Rowley

Trichocereus thelegonus / Echinopsis thelegona Friedrich & Rowley

Pic: Noah Reams

Origin: Argentina, Tucumán, Salta, 5500-1100 meters altitude

Synonyms: Trichocereus thelegona, Trichocereus thelegonus, Echinopsis thelegonus, Echinopsis thelegona, Cereus thelegona, Cereus thelegonus

Trichocereus thelegonus is a branchy & creeping cactus that only produces a handful of shoots. It can reach a maximal height of approximately 2.2 meters and can get up to 10 centimeters in diameter. But that´s only the case on very old plants and most of them get 6 – 8 cm in diameter. The plant has 12-13 ribs and is characterized by its very dominant areoles that sit in top of some extremely hexagonal warts. It´s look is very typical and once you got used to the plant, it´s very hard to overlook or misidentify it.

Trichocerus thelegonus has rounded areoles and yellow to dark/brown spines. There also are regional types that rather have a reddish spine color instead of the brown one. Old growth tends to change its color to a more blackish tone, similar to how it can be observed on Trichocereus cuzcoensis. That said, both are really not very similar and this interesting plant from Argentina rather resembles a hanging basket cactus, than a classic columnar. Tr. thelegonus / Echinopsis thelegona usually has one and, in some very rare cases, two middle spines and between 5-8 radial spines that can reach up to 2,5 centimeters in length.

FLOWER: Trichocereus thelegonus is a night flowering species, with flowers than can stay open until the early morning. The flower is white and gets up to 22 centimeters long and I measured a staggering 17 centimeters in diameter.

Apart from the size, the flower is very beautiful and has a wonderful scent!

Fruits: The fruits of Trichocereus thelegonus are round and have reddish brown hairs. The fruits are reddish and can reach 6 centimeters in diameter. It does not produce as many seeds as other plants from the same genus. Trichocereus thelegonus / Echinopsis thelegona is self-sterile and it needs pollen from other plants to produce seed.

Crested or Monstrose type: There also is a crested clone of this plant that is extremely cool and resembles a monstrose Cereus. I´ve been lookingf or this crest for years, but wasn´t able to find one yet. Luckily, there are some pics from a Botanical garden:

Buy seeds or cuttings of Trichocereus thelegonus: This type is kinda rare, but I sometimes get viable seeds of Trichocereus thelegonus. The problem isn´t that there aren´t any seeds available; but most of the ones that were, did not germinate. I am working on putting the type in my shop and if you want to be up to date about my fresh seeds, please subscribe to my newsletter at: trichocereus.net/newsletter.

 

Echinopsis Thelegona Cristata by Daderot

by Emoke denes Echinopsis_thelegona

bernard loison Echinopsis_thelegona

by Dick Cullbert

Pics: Noah Reams

Pics: Noah Reams

Trichocereus thelegonus / Echinopsis thelegona Friedrich & Rowley

YOWIE (Trichocereus Pachanoi)

YOWIE (Trichocereus Pachanoi) – Named Clone Database

Yowie is a very cool and popular Trichocereus Pachanoi with a unique Spination that consists of two parallel Spines per Areole. It also has very pronounced ribs and looks very much like an Ecuadorian Pachanoi. Now let me add some information about where this clone came from.

The Yowie clone originated in Yarrawonga Victoria. The SAB member Marsha (who was previously known by the username „Yowie“ led PD to the property where the mother plant of this clone grew. This clone is also part of the Fields collection, where many amazing clones came from. The clone is easily recognized by the pair of spines, that makes it very different from other Pachanois. However, similar plants can be found all across Australia (and the world), so it´s not really sure if Yowie is actually a clone or just represents a local type. I know similar (and almost identical) Pachanois, especially from Ecuador and it may be very well possible that they are not genetically identical to the Yowie clone. If you encounter similar plants, you can just test it by trying to breed it with a verified Yowie. If you are not sure about the ID of your plant, feel free to post in on SAB or our Trichocereus Facebook Group!

Where to buy Yowie seeds or plants?: This clone is really rare and only shows up every now and then on sales in the SAB forum or our Facebook group. I am currently not aware of any breeders that actively breed with it though there are some cuttings available every now and then. Those hybrids originated in Australia (which has very strict import and export laws), what makes them very rare throughout other parts of the world. For everyone who owns or is looking for some Yowies, I would recommend making a posting in the group or the SAB forum.

Pic: Prier

Pic: Gus Freeman

YOWIE Trichocereus Clone Echinopsis pachanoi Trichocereus clone Echinopsis pachanoi

YOWIE (Trichocereus Pachanoi)

YOWIE (Trichocereus Pachanoi) – Named Clone Database

Yowie is a very cool and popular Trichocereus Pachanoi with a unique Spination that consists of two parallel Spines per Areole. It also has very pronounced ribs and looks very much like an Ecuadorian Pachanoi. Now let me add some information about where this clone came from.

The Yowie clone originated in Yarrawonga Victoria. The SAB member Marsha (who was previously known by the username “Yowie” led PD to the property where the mother plant of this clone grew. This clone is also part of the Fields collection, where many amazing clones came from. The clone is easily recognized by the pair of spines, that makes it very different from other Pachanois. However, similar plants can be found all across Australia (and the world), so it´s not really sure if Yowie is actually a clone or just represents a local type. I know similar (and almost identical) Pachanois, especially from Ecuador and it may be very well possible that they are not genetically identical to the Yowie clone. If you encounter similar plants, you can just test it by trying to breed it with a verified Yowie. If you are not sure about the ID of your plant, feel free to post in on SAB or our Trichocereus Facebook Group!

Where to buy Yowie seeds or plants?: This clone is really rare and only shows up every now and then on sales in the SAB forum or our Facebook group. I am currently not aware of any breeders that actively breed with it though there are some cuttings available every now and then. Those hybrids originated in Australia (which has very strict import and export laws), what makes them very rare throughout other parts of the world. For everyone who owns or is looking for some Yowies, I would recommend making a posting in the group or the SAB forum.

YOWIE (Trichocereus Pachanoi)