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Psylo

Trichocereus sp. Identification Please

Question

The following specimen was acquired some time ago as a rather dried out, dehydrated stump which was potted, and after a bit of TLC they shot out a couple of pups. Presently the offshoots are almost 12 inches from stump to tip.

The person who gave it to me had sourced it from a person who simply advised that it was "San Pedro". Not enough information for my liking so I'm hoping someone can identify it for me. (I have asked this question before, but never got around to supplying photographs).

The only identification keys are confusing for me, as an amateur cacti keeper. The stump has seven ribs, while the offshoots have only five - you will observe from the first photograph that one of them morphed from six to five ribs at around the four inch point. The spines are typically three short spikes, but close observation reveals several smaller in the cluster, so overall up to seven.

My closest guess is that it's sp. pachanoi, but for the absence of 'v' shaped indentations above the areoles.

Any ideas ? Some explanations as to how you come to your conclusions would also be welcome.

Apologies for the less than perfect macro photos, my hands are a bit shaky and I have lost the quick release for my tripod. I think they are good enough for ID purposes though.

post-8419-0-57678800-1315029498_thumb.jp

post-8419-0-57678800-1315029498_thumb.jpg

post-8419-0-57678800-1315029498_thumb.jpg

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14 answers to this question

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looks like a T. scopulicola to me

Edited by Philocacti

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Hi PsyloDread, nice cactus and good pics. To be honest, this type of cactus is a little bit more difficult to ID for me because it could be a few things. It kinda looks like a Pachanoi and that was my first guess. But after closer inspections, i am inclined to say it could be a Trichocereus Riomizquensis FR865. Or maybe even the one from NMCR. It´s a variant of Trichocereus Scopulicola but with a little bit sharper ribs. But i havent seen it in nature, so maybe MS Smith can comment on that. I think he grows one. The pics i saw of Riomizquensis remind me a little bit of it. bye EG

Edited by Evil Genius

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ribs and skin texture looks similar to a scop that i have, its got that orange peel-ish look to it, mine swallowed its spines years before it got to that stage of growth though

Edited by bulls on parade

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Psylo, can you please feel the texture of the skin with your fingernail? In case of Scop or Riomizquensis is a little bit uneven...it feels like very fine grains of sand. The skin has a unique grainy texture. bye Eg

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Unusual request, but anything in the name of science !

Mine is very smooth when doing the fingernail touch. No gritty feeling whatsoever. For cross comparison (and I'm sure I looked like an idiot to my wife, walking around the house fondling different materials with my fingernail) I can best compare the feeling to that of the spine of a new, unread paperback book.

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Psylo's back!

dancingmushroom.jpg

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oh and welcome back to Psylo Bread :lol:

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Yeah it was so quiet. :lol:

Because of the cactus...not sure psylo. Scop definately are said to have that grainy texture. Not sure about Riomizquensis though. Its best we wait till Michael sees is because he´s more experienced with that one. I grow some that SS brought from their Peru Trip in 2010 but they are still way too small to say anything. bye Eg

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Thanks to all for your kind messages, including the off-forum & PM communications from several members. I know EG missed me the most. :wub:

Not sure if it's because of the young age of the offshoots, but my specimen appears to have a different shape/profile to any riomizquensis I can find within this forum and further afield via google. Whether the Ritter variation EG quoted differs again is unknown. From my inexperienced observations, the riomizquensis physical profile at the edge of each rib-tip appears 'lumpy' with a definite at the areole points, wheres mine has smoother profile lines.

Here is a silhouette photograph posted two years ago by Archaea. My specimen rarely has the same profile as this, only near the tops. But again, I'm sure many other factors come into play such as habitat, hydration etc.

post-1018-1239806975_thumb.jpgpost-1018-1239806964_thumb.jpg

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Sorry, link didn't work. Here is Archaea's photograph

post-8419-0-98273200-1315051428_thumb.jp

post-8419-0-98273200-1315051428_thumb.jpg

post-8419-0-98273200-1315051428_thumb.jpg

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Looks like the PC "pachanot" to me.

~Michael~

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i agree with Smith about this, it does appear to be pachanot

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