How rare is a 4 Wind Trichocereus Bridgesii or Pachanoi

[Starward]

How rare is a 4 Wind Trichocereus Bridgesii or Pachanoi?

A year ago, I was wanting to add a 4 Wind Trichocereus Bridgesii or Pachanoi to my collection after reading.
 

Quote

"Four-ribbed cacti...are considered to be very rare and very lucky...to have special properties because they correspond to the 'four winds' and the 'four roads,' supernatural powers associated with the cardinal points" -Douglas Sharon (Taken from Plants of the Gods, 2nd ed., 2001).

 

Quote

Huachuma is called the “Cactus of the Four Winds”. The number four is very sacred to the indigenous cosmology of the Andes, as well as to many people and cultures all around the world. It is associated with the four directions, the winds or spirits that each direction houses, and that are always called upon during ceremony. The Incan empire was also divided into four regions of earth. From Cusco, a sacred city and the heart of the empire, a road departed in each direction (). The four-ribbed Huachuma is seen as the most sacred and magical of the cacti. These are very rare, and finding one is an auspicious act.

 

https://drugs-forum.com/threads/san-pedro-an-introduction-to-the-cactus-of-four-winds.70797/

Now I find myself suddenly the caretaker of at least five 4 Wind Trichocereus Bridgesii or Pachanoi.

Which makes me wonder are they really that rare or have I just gotten extremely lucky?

Edited May 4 by Starward

[saguaro]

I think they are quite common, although it seems to be the exception rather than the norm for most varieties. Maybe 1/25 or so have 4 ribs.

 

A plant with >4 ribs which is cut will often throw 4-ribbed branches. Likewise 4-ribbed plants can often throw >4-ribbed branches.

 

 

 

[Starward]

Just did another count and I have 6 four ribs and I have about 200 cacti so that works out to 0.03% or 0.75/25.

 

So @saguaro estimate of 1/25 is not to far off.

 

 

[fyzygy]

It's far more common among scopulicola varieties, in my collection. Less consistently, I will occasionally find bridgesii (and hybrids) with 4-ribbed columns. I don't think I've seen a 4-ribbed pachanoi or peruvianus. Some plants exhibit this tendency from seedling stage. Others seem to be just freak occurrences. SayN sent me a 4-ribbed Eileen pup that quickly reverted to 5. 

 

A westerner would be hard pressed to explain the "special" medicinal properties of a 4-ribbed structure. "Placebo" effect? 

[Starward]

Most of mine are bridgesii and one is a pachanoi.

 

For me its about the difference in plant morphology that I appreciate. No interest in consuming them.

[Starward]

13 hours ago, fyzygy said:

A westerner would be hard pressed to explain the "special" medicinal properties of a 4-ribbed structure. "Placebo" effect? 

 

Trapped inside a dualistic materialist construct.

Edited May 5 by Starward

[Wood Chuck]

Do younger ones tend to gain an  extra rib as they get older, say 5 or 6 years old.

[Starward]

11 hours ago, Wood Chuck said:

Do younger ones tend to gain an  extra rib as they get older, say 5 or 6 years old.

 

Could be possible, all the ones I have are all young seedlings or pups. They all started as five or six rib versions and then morphed into a four rib iteration. It is reasonable that they could revert to a higher rib count in time.

 

An image search failed to turn up any large full grown 4 rib examples, which is interesting all are small less then 1/4 meter samples

Edited May 8 by Starward

[Starward]

I have been thinking the better way to answer the “Four Wind” question is to be more specific in the questions being asked.

Are Four Wind Scops common? Yes.
Are Four Wind Bridgesii common? Somewhat.
Are Four Wind Pachanois common? No.