BK08601.1 Trichocereus sp. Isla del Sol, Bolivia

BK08601.1 Trichocereus sp. Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Now, this is one of the most interesting Trichocereus species that were visited during the Sacred Succulents Field Trips! This was from the 2008 Field Trip and it is definitely related to Trichocereus Cuzcoensis. It also reminds me a little bit of Trichocereus Knuthianus, which also belongs to the Cuzcoensis complex and has similar, ragged areoles. Unfortunately, I lack any substantial information on this plant, other than that it grows on the Isla Del Sol in Bolivia.

Sacred Succulents gave away seed of this amazing species in 2008, but I do not know of anyone who raised some of them so far. If you happen to own this type, please let me know because it´s on my most-wanted list and I urgently need more pics of seed grown plants. The Isla Del Sol is an area that can be found in the souther part of the Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It´s a wonderful area that is filled with ancient ruins and that screams “History”. I do not know if those plants were intentionally planted there or if they just evolved, but it´s definitely one of the coolest Trichocereus species out there.

Someone in our Trichocereus Facebook group recently reported of someone who offered to sell a cutting of this type. But so far, I haven´t heard of anyone actively selling them. I am looking for seed of this type.

Copyright: Ben Kamm, Sacredsucculents.com

BK08601.1 Trichocereus sp. Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Freaks, Cristates & Monstroses

Freaks, Cristates & Monstroses

On this page, I will show a whole lot of pics of interesting Mutants.

In front, you can see the Trichocereus Bridgesii Monstrosa. Or Penis plant. This type has a very weird growth habit and produces small, penis-like pups that self-terminate and pup again after a while. There are two different types. One that only grows little pups and another one that can grow like a larger column, without producing these little “sausages”.

Trichocereus Brigesii Monstrose Penis Plant TBM

This one was sold as Trichocereus Bridgesii Inermis. It is basically the same type as the TBM.

This was sold as Trichocereus Peruvianus Monstrosa. It is grown in black plastic particles, which might sound like a good idea, but I feel like it´s not really something you should do because it´s not able to store nutrients. And god knows what other chemicals are in that plastic.

This is a very nice Trichocereus Bridgesii Monstrosa. It is similar to a type that Sacred Succulents encountered on one of their Field Trips to Peru

The pics above were donated from Philocacti! It´s an amzing type and I am very happy to share those pics with you!

The following pics are from Philocacti too. I know it´s a monstrose Lophophora and is kinda off-topic but considering how rare and cool it is, I am happy to have it on the site. There are a couple more pics of this plant in the gallery below.

Trichocereus Pachanoi Monstrosa

Trichocereus Santiaguensis Monstrosa. Trichocereus Santiaguensis is a synonym for Trichocereus Spachianus.

Trichocereus Pachanoi Monstrosa – Could be the Altmans or the CCC clone but I am not sure.

This is an awesome Trichocereus Peruvianus Hybrid, variegated

This is a variegated Matucana. Just for the lulz.

This is a Trichocereus Spachianus or Grandiflorus Crest

Crested Trichocereus Terscheckii. Labeled Candicans.

Trichocereus Bridgesii – Melty Crest – Seems like Trichocereus Bridgesii produces some of the most amazing mutants. So it´s always worth the try mass sowing them in order to get interesting seedlings.

Sorry for the messed up watermark. Still havent found a decent watermark software.

 

Some more NON-Trichocereus Mutants & Monstroses

Mammillaria Bocasana CV Fred

Cultivation of Mutants: Most of these mutated or variegated cacti have very similar needs as their normal equivalents. Some of them might be more vulnerable to rot if the plant is a little bit weak. Especially with old seed or bad crosses, you can sometimes have plants that are genetically inferior to other cacti and tend to have all kinds of diseases. But apart from that, Crests, variegates or Monstrosas are usually not any worse than normal specimens. Because of that, it´s really sad to see that some growers tend to put them on the compost because they don´t want to have bad genetics in their collections. Not that this can´t also be the case, but I know plenty of collectors who pay a lot of money for mutants and appreciate them as much or even more as standard plants.

Now, some mutants tend to have trouble getting to flower, but that´s definitely not the case with every one of them. Maybe some of them are a little slower but you oftenly see crested plants in nature, that produce pretty normal flowers. I guess it always comes down to the genetic health of the plant. And that can be totally different from plant to plant. I guess we all know those variegated Gymnocalyciums that can´t survive if not grafted on something else. And personally, that´s where I draw the line because I don´t want to keep on grafting a plant that isn´t able to survive on it´s own. But yeah, everyone has his own likes and dislikes and if you have a cool mutant that you´d like to see on this page, please let me know or post it in our Trichocereus Facebook Group!

Freaks, Cristates & Monstroses

Los Gentiles (Trichocereus Peruvianus)

Los Gentiles (Trichocereus Peruvianus)

The Los Gentiles Peruvianus is mostly known through the California based Nursery Sacred Succulents, who has been offering crosses with this type for years. It is a frosted blue Peruvianus in the sense of Trichocereus Macrogonus and the color of the spines varies between Gold and reddish brown.

Most of the spines have black tips and the ribs indicate a distant relationship with Trichocereus Cuzcoensis. It definitely is an interesting type and I will add further info about it later on.

What I can already say is that it is very similar to the Trichocereus Peruvianus from the Area around Matucana and it´s possible that this is where this type originally came from.

Where to buy seeds or plants of the LOS GENTILES type: The LOS GENTILES San Pedro is rare, but sometimes available through Sacred Succulents or private growers who give away cuttings. There are a few local populations that look very much like the LOS GENTILES type. The history of this type ( I intentionally say “type” and not “clone”) is that there was an Ethnobotanist who lived with a Quechua family who occupied the land for always and forever. They allegedly grow their crops, including the cacti, exactly like the Quechuan did thousands of years ago. Now, I am not sure if that´s just folklore, a nice fairy tale or the truth but it sure as hell is a hell of a story.

The LOS GENTILES is NOT the same type as the ICAROS DNA San Pedros and it´s an amazingly interesting type. I wrote “type” instead of “clone”, simply because there are numerous plants that were raised from the seed with that label…and not just one single clone that was constantly propagated by cuttings. Sacred Succulents are pretty much the only source for this type of Trichocereus. Well, apart from the people who bought them there.

The LOS GENTILES type is extremely fascinating and I am really inclined to believe that it´s a plant, that has been bred like that for hundreds, if not thousands of years. And even if that´s not the case, it still is a fantastic San Pedro with a deep blue epidermis and strong spines that have written “Dangerous” all over them.

Pics by Noah Reams

 

Pic by Stillman

Los Gentiles (Trichocereus Peruvianus)

Nothink - Trichocereus Pachanoi

NOTHINK – Trichocereus Pachanoi

This clone is one of the lesser known clones and I only have this one picture of it. In addition to that, I am not aware of anyone actively breeding with the NOTHINK clone. Because of that, I am not sure if I should leave it in the database. I´ve added it because it´s a really cool type but it´s important to me that those clones are actually in circulation and people are actively breeding with them. It doesn´t help anybody to show plants that are so extremely rare that they are basically not available to the Trichocereus grower community.

Personally, I think this clone looks amazing and reminds me of those Ecuadorian Pachanois. It´s really fat and I´d love to see more pics of it and everyone who owns this clone is invited to let me know, so I can a.) add some more pics to this page and b.) know that the clone is still included in the database for a reason.

I could not witness the flower or the fruits on the NOTHINK clone. This picture comes from Stillman and I am very thankful about him sending it in!

 

Nothink - Trichocereus Pachanoi

Rosei 1- Trichocereus Peruvianus

Rosei 1 – Trichocereus Peruvianus

Both Rosei 1 and Rosei 2 are among the most popular clones in the Trichocereus grower community. Just like so many great plants, they originated from the Fields collection in Victoria. The name was used in very old cactus literature to label a certain, very blue types of San Pedro. This name was mostly applied to the same plants that were later called “Trichocereus Macrogonus”. Which is another old name that is no longer in function. The name Trichocereus Rosei was never an officially described species and that´s why the Rosei 1 and Rosei 2 can only be called “commercial varieties” of simply a local form of Trichocereus Peruvianus. It´s not clear where the Rosei 1+ Rosei 2 seed came from but based on the fact that they both originated from the Fields collection, chances are that they grew out of the same seed bag.

Despite the fact that Rosei 1 and Rosei 2 are actually clones, you can find very similar Peruvianus specimens in nature. In particular, one of the types that occur in Matucana is very similar and chances are, that Rosei 1 and Rosei 2 originally came from that area too.

But because of the countless “planted” populations that can be found throughout the habitats, you can sometimes encounter similar plants at different locations too. So we probably won’t be able to find out where exactly they came from, but I´ll have a look at old cactus catalogues to see if there might be some old seed lists that include the collection sites.

According to people who visited the Fields family, those plants originally came from South America. But since that´s really a very big area, that´s not really helping. It is said thatRosei 1 has shorter spines than Rosei 2 and usually has a more glaucous/blue epidermis. But because the environment can have a huge influence on the look of a plant, I am not entirely sure about what´s normal for this clone and what not.

This is a Hybrid between Rosei 1 x Open

Another plant from a ROSEI 1 x OPEN cross

Rosei 1 x Pachanoi

 

Rosei 1- Trichocereus Peruvianus