Trichocereus Lookalikes

Trichocereus Lookalikes

There are various columnar cacti that you can encounter. And though many look very much like Trichocereus on the first look, many of them actually aren´t. This page is about the many lookalikes that are available on the open market. Some of them are labeled “Trichocereus” and some of them aren´t. It includes many plants that were originally collected by seed collectors and field botanists who made a description without having seen the flowers. Because despite the fact that many columnar cacti can be very similar to Trichocereus in their looks, the flowers are what´s usually the biggest help to find out more about the origin of a plant.

Soehrensia

Soehrensias are very similar to Trichocereus. However, most of them stay small, have way too many ribs or a different flower. In addition to that, some of them (like Soehrensia formosa) are very broad and thick. Soehrensias were integrated into the genus Echinopsis, until DNA testing revealed that they are very different in regards to their genetic profile. Because of that, they are regarded a real genus again.

I have no idea which soehrensia this is but it´s definitely not a Trichocereus and Soehrensia comes closest.

GYMNANTHOCEREUS CHLOROCARUS

This genus is not really a genus anymore and those plants were moved into the genus Browningia. The current name of the species shown is Browningia chlorocarpa. Other former Gymnanthocerei are now called Browningia altissima (Gymnanthocereus altissimus), Browningia Pilleifera (Gymnanthocereus pilleifer). There always was taxonomic chaos surrounding those plants and very few pictures exist. The flowers are usually a lot smaller than the ones on Trichocereus and vary in many more aspects.

Origin: Huancabamba and Abra Porculla. Ritters collection Number was FR 290. This species was also called Seticereus Chlorocarpus. If you have pics of any former Gymnanthocereus species, please let me know because I´d love to have more of them on the site.

Rauhocereus

This genus is extremely interesting and I am constantly looking for new pics or seeds of Rauhocereus species. The most popular one is Rauhocereus Riosanijiensis. There are´t many sources where you can buy seeds or plants. The breeder misplant sold a couple seedgrown Rauhocereus last year but I am not sure if he will get some more.

Rauhocereus Riosaniensis – Picture: Michael Wolf

Rauhocereus Riosaniensis – Peter A. MansfeldRauhocereus Riosanienjis Palmengarten Frankfurt – Daderot

I will also add pics and descriptions of Azureocereus. Erdisia, Weberbauerocereus, Coryocactus, Lobivias Echinopsis and many more. If you have pics of a plant that would fit on this page, please write me on the Trichocereus Facebook group. I will constantly update this page.

Trichocereus Lookalikes

Psycho0 - Trichocereus Bridgesii

Psycho0 – Trichocereus Bridgesii

The clone PSYCHO0 (spoken: psychonaut) is a clone that was dedicated to the same-named SAB member, who unfortunately died at a very young age. It has always been a very popular clone that was given to many members on SAB. It´s a clone that became very common amongst the Cactus community and I am very happy that it is responsible for people remembering him ever since. Almost every year, people make a posting on his birthday to remember him.

The PSYCHO0 is a Trichocereus Bridgesii with long, strong spines that are yellow in color. The plants usually have three very strong spines, that look pretty unique, though it can sometimes look like a more typical Trichocereus Bridgesii.

Where to buy seeds or plants: The Psycho0 and it´s hybrids are mostly available through Australian collectors, though some of them rarely show up on platforms like Ebay. Whenever they do, prices can go very high and it´s definitely one of the most sought after clones around. Several breeders offer crosses with the Psycho0 every year through the SAB homepage or the Trichocereus Facebook group. If you are after this plant, you can make a posting in the group and depending on your location and the import conditions, someone usually has some available.

Copyright: lhb2444

Hybrids

Psycho0 - Trichocereus Bridgesii

Trichocereus Angelesii (NN)

Trichocereus Angelesii (NN)

This plant was originally described by Friedrich Ritter as a white flowering variety of Trichocereus Strigosus, until Kiesling publicized it under the name Trichocereus Angelesii.

The flower is white and 12-24 centimeters long. Trichocereus Angelesii is a dayflowering species. The spines, fruits and seeds are indistinguishable from Trichocereus Strigosus. They usually have 14-22 ribs  (while Trichocereus Huascha has 12-15 ribs).

The typus location is Famatima in the provence La Rioja, what makes it likely that it is synonymous with the plant Trichocereus Famatinensis, which was a commercial variety. It is closely related to the plant that Ritter called Trichocereus Callianthus. This plant was originally sold by Ritter as FR999, which was still labeled as Trichocereus Huascha back then.

Kieslings desciption gives Darwinia in Argentina as the typus location and it´s not clear wether or not those plants were actually the same.

Where to buy seeds or plants of Trichocereus Angelesii? Well, good Luck with that. If you don´t have the chance to collect them at one of the forementioned locations, you will probably not run into it very oftenly. But chances are some older growers still grow some plants raised from Ritter´s seeds.

The German seed seller Köhres has some of them in stock, but last time I tried germinating them, they seemed to be unviable. Maybe ask them about the seed if you are really interested in trying to germinate them. I still have some of the seed that I tried to germinate in 2008 or so but don´t think they were viable anymore. I kept a couple of seeds for microscopy and maybe I try germinating them soaked in Gibberellic Acid or something like that, though I am not really optimistic I would have germinations.

 

Trichocereus Angelesii (NN)

Trichocereus Pachanoi BOGAN

Trichocereus Pachanoi BOGAN

The Bogan clone has 0ne of the funniest backgrounds of all the clones that are known in the community. It all goes back to the year 2006, when the SAB Member DuG discovered a very cool type of (back then, suspected Trichocereus Macrogonus) growing in front of a house. He initially asked for a cutting (which he got) and next time he got there, he realized that the large motherplants had been hacked down by the “bogan” homeowners. And not only had they hacked them down, but they also tried to burn them. He immediately asked if he could take them with him and they were more than happy to get rid of them…because…you know, cacti don´t burn so well. Here is DuG´s original picture on SAB just to show you how they were looking back then.

Copyright DuG, have a look at the complete Thread on SAB here!

Well yeah, and the plant was passed down from DuG to many other SAB members, of which some of them still grow them today. The pics I included show a very nice Pachanoi that might be from Ecuador. Copyright Prier.

 

Trichocereus Pachanoi BOGAN

Trichocereus Deserticola / Echinopsis Deserticola

Trichocereus Deserticola / Echinopsis Deserticola

Trichocereus Deserticola is a plant with a complex and close relationship to Trichocereus Fulvianus. Trichocereus Fulvianus seems to be some kind of intermediate between Echinopsis Deserticola/Trichocereus Deserticolus and maybe Trichocereus Chilensis. Their habitats touch each other in one certain area between Paposo and El Cobre. While Trichocereus Fulvianus grows from Caldera in the north to El Cobre and Trichocereus Deserticola grows from Paposo down in the south to Tocopilla in the north.   While some taxonomists regarded Trichocereus Fulvianus to be unrelated to Trichocereus Deserticola, I cannot share that opinion. Trichocereus Deserticolus is very different than Trichocereus Fulvianus, but you can clearly see some kind of relationship.

Synonyms: Echinopsis Deserticola, Trichocereus Deserticola, Cereus Deserticola, Cereus Fulvianus, Echinopsis Fulvianus, Echinopsis Fulviana,

Origin: Chile. The location of the typus is Antofagasta. It also grows around Atacama, El cobre, Paposo, Tocopilla, etc. Trichocereus Deserticolus grows in a moister climate than Trichocereus Fulvianus, which likes to grow around the coastlines and that prefers a drier climate. Because of that, Trichocereus Deserticolus prefers to grow in the higher areas around Paposo, where it is extremely common.

Description: 

Trichocereus Deserticolus is a branched plant that does not reach the height of other Trichocereus species. It´s usually somewhere between 1-2 meters tall, but most of them are around 1 meter.

Ribs: 9-13, with very disinct furrows. This plant is somewhat similar to Trichocereus Chalaensis, which grows creeping.

The areoles are 1-2 centimeter apart of each other. Trichocereus Deserticola usually has 2-3 middle thorns and 18-24 radial thorns. Which are very thin and have a dark brown/reddish color. The epidermis of the skin shows a very weak, pale green color.

Flowers: The flowers are white and a little bit smaller than the ones on other Trichos. Size between 5 and 12 centimeters. The flowers have brown/black hairs and the fruits are round and can be eaten.

This plant is definitely somehow related to Trichocereus Chilensis, Trichocereus Fulvianus and Trichocereus Coquimbanus. 

Cultivation: Trichocereus Deserticolus should be treated just like every other Trichocereus from Chile. It does not require very much water and requires a soil that dries out very fast. I usually use purely mineral soil mixes and Trichocereus Deserticolus aka Echinopsis Deserticola likes it a lot.

Seed & live cuttings: There are almost no seeds of Trichocereus Deserticola available. Sometimes, there are small plants of Trichocereus Fulvianus on Ebay but the standard Deserticolus is really rare. Succeed has seed of Echinopsis Deserticola but I dont know if it´s this type or the Trichocereus Fulvianus type, which was included in the species Echinopsis Deserticola

Winter protection: Trichocereus Deserticola should not be kept at temperatures below -7° celsius and the plants have to be completely dry if you want to overwinter them inside. A perfect overwintering temperature is around 10° celsius, which is something around 50° Fahrenheit. They also require a bright and well ventilated area.

 

by Michael Wolf

By Leonora Enking

Trichocereus Deserticola / Echinopsis Deserticola

Trichocereus Cephalomacrostibas (Nomen Nudum)

Trichocereus Cephalomacrostibas (Nomen Nudum)

The flower alone shows that this plant is not a Trichocereus. It is probably a Rauhocereus or a Haageocereus. I will add more info about this plant soon.

The “species” which is no longer accepted was described by Backeberg and Werdermann in the book NEUE KAKTEEN, which is German for NEW CACTI. The book was released in 1931. The original description was about a cereus cephalomacrostibas. The plant grow in groups that reach a size of 1,5 – 2 meters and the pups have a maximum diameter of 8-12 Centimeters. The areoles are very close to each other, which is even more obvious on older plants later on. The areoles are between 1-2 centimeters and the plant is very spiny. It has up to 20 small radial spines and between 1-3 middle spines that can be up to 14 Zentimeters long. The spines are dark brown to red brown (old growth gray)

Origin: South peru, near Mollendo.

Pics in this Post: Copyright Trout

Please note that there also is a plant called KK1421 Trichocereus Cephalomacrostias that has nothing to do with this plant. It shows a Peruvianus or Cuzcoensis and why  Knize labeled it like that can only be answered by him.

 

 

Trichocereus Cephalomacrostibas (Nomen Nudum)

Trichocereus Strigosus

Trichocereus Strigosus

Synonyms: Cereus Strigonus, Echinopsis Strigonus, Cereus Myriophyllus, Trichocereus Strigonus,

This plant grows in direct neighborhood with Trichocereus Candicans and was cataloged by Gilles in 1833. But back then, the plant was not described until 1834 when Salm-Dyck took the effort to write a complete description. Trichocereus Strigosus and Trichocereus Candicans both grow around Mendoza. The original name was Cereus Myriophyllus (Gilles) but it was changed to Trichocereus Strigosus because it was based on a nomen nudum and that´s why Salm-Dyck´s description has priority over the older name Cereus Myriophyllus.

Flower: Up to 20 centimeters large, white. Trichocereus Strigosus is a night flowering species. It also is self-sterile, what means that you need pollen from another donor to produce seeds. Please not that there is a white form of Trichocereus Strigosus.The white flowering variety of this plant grows at around 1600 meters altitude. The plant is pupping from the base and only reaches around 60-65 centimeters in height.

Ribs: Trichocereus Strigonus has 15-20 ribs and the shoots have a maximum diameter of 5-8 centimeters.

The Areoles are white/beige felted and reach a maximum diameter of 5mm. Every areole are approximately 3-6 mm apart from each other.

Spines: Yellow, very thin and fine spines, up to 3 centimeters long, 10-15 radial spines and 2-5 middle spines that can get up to 5,5 centimeters long. The plant has very long and fierce spines.

In addition, there are some other forms/varieties. One of them was originally known as Trichocereus Strigonus var. Flaviflorus and only occurs in Famatina, Province La Rioja in Argentina. This type has a yellow flower and is day flowering. The flowers are between 12-14 centimeters large. The yellow flowering variety grows a couple hundred meters below the white flowering one. In addition, the yellow flower is shorter.

Cultivation: The species is very rare in cultivation, though it sometimes shows up in cactus collections all around the world. The plant should be kept relatively dry, though it can be watered in the summer when it´s pretty hot. As it grows in the neighborhood of Trichocereus Candicans, it requires similar conditions. Trichocereus Strigonus likes getting a fair amount of sun light but shouldn´t be baked in full sun all day long. They usually grow in semi-shade and can form amazing clusters.

Seed & live cutting sources: Trichocereus Strigonus is very far, but seed sellers have it in stock every now and then. I bought seed from Köhres a couple of years before and I am pretty sure that Kakteen Haage or Uhlig will have some of them every now and then too. The plants are really rare on ebay but it sometimes happens that they show up as Trichocereus sp. Without the flower, it´s definitely a hard to ID species.

Winter protection and frost tolerance: Trichocereus Strigonus is able to take a light amount of frost but everything lower than -5° celsius is dangerous and can lead to permanent damage or death. Plants need to be kept completely dry if the temperatures drop below 10° celsius/50° Fahrenheit and it´s best to keep them in a bright, well ventilated area. The minimum average temperature is 10° celsius.

Seed germination: The seed germinates very easy, if it´s actually fresh. Especially with those rarer Trichos, there are problems regarding the viability of the seeds. I think Succeed has them in stock too and if possible, ask the seller in advance if he knows how old the seed is. That´s a good rule of thumb anyway and these days, I do it for all my seed orders.

“Echinopsis strigosa” by Ryan Somma

Vela de la Virgen, Trichocereus strigosa, La Rioja desert – Picture “Echinopsis strigosa by Dick Culbert –

“Echinopsis strigosa” by Ryan Somma – Echinopsis strigosa

 

 

Trichocereus Strigosus