BK10511.1 Trichocereus vollianus, between Arani & Rodeo, Cochabamba, Bolivia

BK10511.1 Trichocereus vollianus, between Arani & Rodeo, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Copyright: Ben Kamm, Sacredsucculents.com

This is a very interesting plant and there arent so many descriptions available about it. This plant was encountered during the 2010 field trip. I am not sure if the ID is correct but I´ll add the description now and maybe we can get to the bottom of it. This plant has a lot of similarities to Trichocereus Lamprochlorus, which grows in Cochabamba in Bolivia too. The original description of this plant came from Backeberg in his book KAKTUS-ABC. The original typus location was said to be Arque in Cochabamba. The shoots have a maximum diameter of up to 10 centimeters, approximately 13 ribs and a very bright green yellow color. The epidermis of this plant has similarities to Trichocereus Spachianus, which has a very bright green color too. The ribs are 7 mm broad and are up to 5 mm high. The areoles are approx. 2-2,5 cm apart from each other. The plant has 7-12 radial spines and very fine and thin spines that can get up to 7 mm long. There usually is only one middle spine which can reach a lenght of 2,5 cm. All spines are yellow colored (Backeberg used the term “Amber”).

Flowers: The flowers of Trichocereus Vollianus are white and up to 12 cm long. However, I assume that the flowers depend greatly on the health of the plant and larger flowers wouldnt come as a surprise to me.

Fruit: Green and very hairy.

How to keep it apart from Trichocereus Spachianus?: Trichocereus Vollianus is very similar to Trichocereus Spachianus but thicker, even more shiny and has a brighter green epidermis. Backeberg also mentioned that they work very well as a grafting stock.

There also was a Trichocereus Vollianus var. Rubrispinus with reddish spines, which would probably be regarded as nothing but a local form under modern taxonomy. I encountered populations that had all kinds of forms growing together and this kind of stuff isnt really enough to justify a new species. I own a plant that I suspect to be Trichocereus Vollianus and I will post some pics of it soon.

Where to get seeds of Trichocereus Vollianus?: Well, it´s definitely a rare species. Sacred Succulents collected some seeds and gave them away under the name mentioned above but apart from that, there are very few sources that provide VIABLE seed. I still have some Seeds from Köhres but couldnt get them to germinate. Succeed had them every now and then and it´s worth a try to ask Sacred Succulents because they probably grew some from the seeds they collected. You could also make a posting in our Trichocereus Facebook group because I know of some people who were able to get some seeds back when they were sold by Sacred Succulents. Definitely an interesting plant!

BK10511.1 Trichocereus vollianus, between Arani & Rodeo, Cochabamba, Bolivia

BK10511.1 Trichocereus vollianus, between Arani & Rodeo, Cochabamba, Bolivia

BK10511.1 Trichocereus vollianus, between Arani & Rodeo, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Copyright: Ben Kamm, Sacredsucculents.com

This is a very interesting plant and there arent so many descriptions available about it. This plant was encountered during the 2010 field trip. I am not sure if the ID is correct but I´ll add the description now and maybe we can get to the bottom of it. This plant has a lot of similarities to Trichocereus Lamprochlorus, which grows in Cochabamba in Bolivia too. The original description of this plant came from Backeberg in his book KAKTUS-ABC. The original typus location was said to be Arque in Cochabamba. The shoots have a maximum diameter of up to 10 centimeters, approximately 13 ribs and a very bright green yellow color. The epidermis of this plant has similarities to Trichocereus Spachianus, which has a very bright green color too. The ribs are 7 mm broad and are up to 5 mm high. The areoles are approx. 2-2,5 cm apart from each other. The plant has 7-12 radial spines and very fine and thin spines that can get up to 7 mm long. There usually is only one middle spine which can reach a lenght of 2,5 cm. All spines are yellow colored (Backeberg used the term “Amber”).

Flowers: The flowers of Trichocereus Vollianus are white and up to 12 cm long. However, I assume that the flowers depend greatly on the health of the plant and larger flowers wouldnt come as a surprise to me.

Fruit: Green and very hairy.

How to keep it apart from Trichocereus Spachianus?: Trichocereus Vollianus is very similar to Trichocereus Spachianus but thicker, even more shiny and has a brighter green epidermis. Backeberg also mentioned that they work very well as a grafting stock.

There also was a Trichocereus Vollianus var. Rubrispinus with reddish spines, which would probably be regarded as nothing but a local form under modern taxonomy. I encountered populations that had all kinds of forms growing together and this kind of stuff isnt really enough to justify a new species. I own a plant that I suspect to be Trichocereus Vollianus and I will post some pics of it soon.

Where to get seeds of Trichocereus Vollianus?: Well, it´s definitely a rare species. Sacred Succulents collected some seeds and gave them away under the name mentioned above but apart from that, there are very few sources that provide VIABLE seed. I still have some Seeds from Köhres but couldnt get them to germinate. Succeed had them every now and then and it´s worth a try to ask Sacred Succulents because they probably grew some from the seeds they collected. You could also make a posting in our Trichocereus Facebook group because I know of some people who were able to get some seeds back when they were sold by Sacred Succulents. Definitely an interesting plant!

BK10511.1 Trichocereus vollianus, between Arani & Rodeo, Cochabamba, Bolivia

ICARO DNA (Trichocereus Peruvianus)

ICARO DNA (Trichocereus Peruvianus)

Alright, it´s time to work some more on this page. The ICARO DNA is not actually a clone. It´s a seed seller that is known for selling seeds of this amazing type. Those plants look very much like Trichocereus Peruvianus from Matucana and I am pretty sure that this is where their plant is originally from. Matucana Peruvianus have dark red spines and are among the most beautiful Trichocereus types I know. Personally, it´s my absolute favorite. There also is a clone that was grown from this type of seed but most of the plants available on the market with that name are actually not cloned material but grown from seed. I hope to show you some more pics of this great type in the near future. If you happen to have some more plants grown from this, please let me know or send me some pics.

These picture were donated by Prier. Thank you very much!

Plants that look like this were oftenly labeled as Trichocereus Macrogonus and chances are that you bought some of these labeled as such. Their growth requirements are identical to the ones from other Tr. Peruvianus and they should actually be pretty hardy and grow into very impressing plants. The ones in these pics were grown in Australia, where this type sometimes shows up in collections. It´s really rare and if you are looking for one, you could try making a post in our Trichocereus Facebook group where it shows up every now and then.

ICARO DNA (Trichocereus Peruvianus)

Trichocereus Shaferi (Echinopsis Shaferi)

Trichocereus Shaferi (Echinopsis Shaferi)

There are more than one plant that are available under that name on the open market. I bought a plant labeled as Trichocereus Shaferi that looks remarkable like a Trichocereus Spachianus.

The name “Shaferi” goes back to the 1920s, when Britton and Rose came up with their description that lacked a lot of details. However, there were some more descriptions by Ritter, Backeberg and Rauh/Werdermannianus that went more into detail.

Trichocereus Shaferi pups from the base and reaches a size between 1-1,5 meters. The plant grows partially lying or leaning over and has between 15 and 20 ribs. Britton and Rose gave an average number of 12 ribs, which is dramatically different from the data that were given in later descriptions. The maximum diameter is 5-12 centimeters and the color is a gray/dark green, which you can very well see on the pictures that were provided by Trout. The ribs are 0,5-1 centimeters high and there are substantial furrows .

The Areoles on Trichocereus Shaferi are white felted and 1-6 mm in diameter and up to 1,2 centimeters apart of each other.

Spines: The spines of Trichocereus Shaferi are yellow, very fine and needle-like with a slightly dark-brown spine tip. It has 7-10 radial spines (up to 1 cm long) and 1-3 middle spines (1-2 cm).

Flower: Very round flower. White. Trichocereus Shaferi flowers from the upper part/apex and Britton and Rose gave a size of 15-18 cm.

Fruit: The fruit has a whole lot of very dominant white hairs, as you can beautifully see on the second picture. The edible fruit is round and 3-5 cm in diameter. Green in color with reddish/green scales.

Origin: Ritter encountered this plant near Leon near Jujuy at around 1500-1800 meters growing on rocky slopes. Britton and Rose gave San Lorenzo in the provence Salta at 1800 meters as the location of the typus. Ritter considered his collection in jujuy to be a regional variety but didnt really follow up on it. His collection name was FR41 and there is a large number of seeds that gotten into the collections of cactus fans all around the world.

Where to buy seeds and plants of Trichocereus Shaferi? Well, it´s rare and you might come across them on eBay. Like I already mentioned before, I bought a large plant that might be correctly labeled but has a lot of similarities to Trichocereus Spachianus. The plants on the pics have a lot of ribs and look very unique. Some seed stores and cactus nurseries have them in stock every once in a while but I never really looked for it and cant say how good the available seed is. I also dont know if theres even viable seed on the market. I am sure there are some collectors that offer seeds from their collections sometimes but it´s probably a little bit hard to. If I´d be looking for this type, I´d write emails to Kakteen Haage, Kakteen Uhlig, Succeed, Sacred Succulents and hope for the best. You can also try making a post in our Trichocereus Facebook group but I´ve never really encountered one there. But it cant hurt to ask.

 

Trichocereus Shaferi (Echinopsis Shaferi)

Rod (Trichocereus Pachanoi)

Rod (Trichocereus Pachanoi)

The Australian SAB Clone ROD is a rather rare Ecuadorian Pachanoi clone. Optically, it looks very much like a standard Pachanoi. Unfortunately, we do not have flower pics of an open flower, so please feel free to send us some if you happen to have some!

This type comes from the typus location of Trichocereus Pachanoi, Ecuador. You can recognize Ecuadorian Pachs by the bright green epidermis and the unique areole shape. “Rod” has very strong V-notches above the areoles. Old growth can have a dark blue/green color (as seen on the pic here) while some young growth is typically grass green.

Flowers: The flowers are white. On the pic below, you can see the interesting white hairs that are covering the flower buds. Unfortunately I could not measure the flowers and the plant but I will hopefully add this kind of info later on.

Origin of Rod: Unfortinately I am not entirely sure from where in Ecuador this interesting Trichocereus Pachanoi came from. It MIGHT be similar to the type known as KK339, which was collected near the Chan Chan Valley but that´s just a wild guess as it is one of the most common Pachanois from Ecuador out there.

It was probably named after a SAB member who originally brought this clone into cultivation and passed it around among the other members.

Where to buy seeds or plants of Rod? Well, the type is rare and if you happen to come across it, it´s probably a plant that originally came from the SAB nursery or a member who got it from there. It´s rare to come by seed but fortunately a grower I know just posted his 2015 seed list on the SAB forum which contained some crosses with Rod. So if you are looking for this type, you can ask the SAB member Interbeing.

 

Rod (Trichocereus Pachanoi)

Zeus - Trichocereus Pachanoi

Zeus – Trichocereus Pachanoi

Parents: unknown. The plant looks very much like an Ecuadorian type of Trichocereus Pachanoi though.

Species: Trichocereus Pachanoi or something between Pachanoi & Peruvianus

Origin of the Plant: The ZEUS clone is a rare clone that´s been slowly introduced into the collections of some SAB members. It´s originally from Egypt and was brought into circulation by the SAB member Philocacti. Approximately 14 years ago, the ZEUS clone was one of the very few Trichocereus species that Philocacti was able to find in Egypt. There aren´t many Trichocereus species around there and this was one of the four Trichocereus species that he came across. The other ones were a Trichocereus taquimbalensis, a Trichocereus Cuzcoensis and a Melted wax version of Trichocereus bridgesii.

In the past years, Philocacti sent a few cuttings to people overseas and now there is a good number of breeders who are actively breeding with it. Though there currently are only very few cuttings available, it´s very likely that we´ll see this plant a lot more in the near future. If you are interested in the ZEUS Trichocereus clone, I´d suggest you to make a posting on the SAB forum or our Trichocereus Facebook Group! You can also try to ask the member Philocacti directly, though I do not know if he currently has any more of them available. There currently are no seeds available of this type, but I will try to get some as soon as anyone of our breeders succeeds in crossing it with some other clones.

Reason for naming the Clone: The ZEUS clone was named after Philocacti´s wonderful dog, who lived with him for 13 years and alwas was his best friend & safe keeper in very hard times. And when I say “hard times”, I really mean that. I guess it´s safe to say that without the emotional support of his dog, Philo might not be here today. I am usually pretty hesistant to name clones, but in this case I feel like it´s totally appropiate to do so because there is a lot of personal history attached to the name. In addition, the plant is a very recognizable Ecuadorian Pachanoi that deserves to be named. Well yeah, I really hope that this clone will become a very widespread one, because there is a lot of positive karma attached to it.

The Zeus clone has some very distinct V-Notches. The color of it´s epidermis changes between a dark green to a very glaucous blue. It usually has very short spines and the older growth can be entirely spiness. I´ll add more info about the measurements as soon as we were able to measure the spines, the distance between the areoles, the diameter of the areoles and the number of spines per areole.

I currently do not know how the flower looks but I´ll add that info later too.

Zeus - Trichocereus Pachanoi

BK08611.5 Trichocereus pachanoi, Parque de las Leyendas, Lima, Peru

BK08611.5 Trichocereus pachanoi, Parque de las Leyendas, Lima, Peru

Another Trichocereus Pachanoi from the PARQUE DE LAS LEYENDAS in Lima Peru! Same Location, different Plant.

Pic by Ben Kamm, sacredsucculents.com! This is a very Scop-like Plant and also very similar to the cultivar called Super Pedro!

 

And this is a plant that was grown from the Sacred Succulents Field Trip seed. Copyright: Stillman.

The very long spines are really interesting because they are nothing like the almost spineless appearance of the mother plant. Nonetheless, it´s actually quite common for old plants to be pretty spineless. It´s also interesting because the plant has very few ribs and a large distance between the areoles.

Where to buy seeds or plants of the BK08611.5?: Well, the plant was visited during a field trip and Sacred Succulents sold seeds coming from that plant for a while. So far, the plant shown in the picture above is the only plant I´ve seen so far and it´s definitely very spiny if you compare it with the almost spineless mother plant. Every now and then, someone (mostly from the USA & Australia) is giving away a cutting of this type in our Trichocereus Facebook group, because there were quite a few people who were able to get their hands on seeds. If you are looking for this type, I´d recommend you to send a message to Sacredsucculents.com, because it´s possible they still have some available. Apart from that, you need a lot of luck to find one of them on the open market. But even if you shouldn’t manage to get one, you can get a Trichocereus Cordobensis/Super Pedro, which is a very similar type that´s known from Australia. I sometimes have seeds available and if you are interested in getting some, let me know.

BK08611.5 Trichocereus pachanoi, Parque de las Leyendas, Lima, Peru