Species ID?

[Guest UV1]

I bought this $5 cactus at the supermarket, and like all supermarket cacti I've seen it's full description is "CACTUS" which is't real helpfull.

Would anyone have an idea what species it is or family it may belong to?

[Guest Ramon]

My first guess woukd be Trichocereus spachianus.

These seem to be somewhat common. I have bought three.

However in your picture the aeroles seem to be futher appart then in my specimens.

Also my largest specimen is about 15 cm tall and 4cm wide.

Guessing that the difference in spines might be due to different growing speed. Your picture looks bigger then 15cm.

My one has pup or branch coming out of the ground. If your specimen exhibits branching as well I would be reasonable happy with it being Trichocereus spachianus.

[Guest UV1]

Thanks very much, I just did a search on that species name and from the pics it sure looks like that's the one. It doesn't have a pup yet.

Do you have any information on it's speed of growth and maximum height. I"m hopefull they're a fast grower as the label read "Cactus - Succulent 12cm, yet when I bought it, it was 19cm.

Do you have any recomendations for an attractive large growing column cactus,, fast grower prefered?

[This message has been edited by UV1 (edited 26 September 2000).]

[Guest Ramon]

The tag that came with mine says

Trichocereus species

1.5m to 2.1m High. Branching from base. Large white flowers. Good Drainage. Sunny position. Frost Resistant.

I suspect that this is a generic tag they use for all members of Trichocereus they produce.

A book which I have mentions that it gets to 30cm's. I think that this is a mistake as I have seeb pictures of specimens bigger then 30cm's.

In making a recommendation of a cacti I have stuck to specimens I have due to the fact that these are more widely available.

1) Trichocereus scopulicolis

This is very similar to San Pedro but has smaller or no spines. Fast growing and also has ethnobotanical potential.

if you want a heavily spined example maybe a member of Pachycereus or Cereus family. Although I think that maybe the Pachycereus are slower growing then Trichocereus.

I have taken some photos today. I shall upload after I get back from development.

[Guest reville]

hey did i hear scop?Do you know where to find one?Im keen to find one because of a comment by torsten that the 4 ribbed pachanoi my be a

pach/scop hybrid, i would like to test this hypothesis.

[Guest Ramon]

I bought mine at Hardware house.

I had seen it there for about three months but had avoided buying it because it cost $45.

I shall post a picture of it soon and people can decide if its worth $45

[Guest wira]

In my opinion that is NOT spachianus in your picture, but it is a Trichocereus of some sort, I have one very similar if not the same species, and I also don't know just what it is. My guess is due to its morphology it probably not going to contain mescaline in any appreciable amount, if at all, but hopefully that won't be the only reason you're growing it

[Torsten]

I have three species that look like this, and only one of them is spachianus. This could be one, but the areoles seem just that little bit different to give enough doubt. I think one of my other similar ones is Haagecereus sp.

If the flower is hairy, then it is a Trich. If not, then it is not.

The foursides cacti have nothing really to do with species, but more with the potsize the plant (cutting) is grown in. I am not sure where I was supposed to have made that comment about scopolicolus, but the fact that it is a scop does not make it foursided. Although, it seems that I get a lot more foursided scops than pachanoi.

I have plenty of scop here, as I was sold heaps that was misrepresented as pachanoi :-(

[Ed Dunkel]

"I have plenty of scop here, as I was sold heaps that was misrepresented as pachanoi :-("

How does one tel the difference between T.pachanoi and T.scopolicolus?

I want to verify that my T.pachanoi was bought as a real pachanoi in case I missed something.

E D

[This message has been edited by Ed Dunkel (edited 27 September 2000).]

[Guest wira]

If you're already sure it's not something else, then there's one simple way I now use to tell them apart quickly and with minimum fuss... though I don't know if this would apply in all cases, there's probably some in between. Anyway...

Look at the profile of the stem/branch and observe the flow of the outer edge of the ribs, between areoles. With pachanoi, there is an upward curve, so that it seems to be supporting the areole on top of it. With scopulicolus, there is a downward curve, so that it seems to overhang the areole below it. Did that make sense? Although it's so simple to look at, I find it hard to describe this sort of thing simply

[Torsten]

The scopolicolus pachanoi problem has become a real pain. Many nurseries misrepresent them, as there seems to be an ample supply of scop, but not much pachanoi (stop eating it!! )

I will be putting up a few pages in the near future which will show the differences easily by comparing pictures of typical specimen and their particular features.

[M S Smith]

Tr. scopulicola has a non-glaucous dark green skin which is rough in texture. Tr. pachanoi has a glaucous covering with many variations in coloring from glaucuos blue-green to yellowish green and a waxy texure. Tr. scopulicola nearly absent, being about 1/3 the length of Tr. pachanoi and generally has more spines that Tr. pachanoi. Tr. scopulicola has 5 to 6 ribs while Tr. pachanoi has usually 5 to 8 ribs. Tr. scopulicolas ribs are more rounded and the tip is more "club-like." It is also said to grow at moderate speed in comparison to Tr. pachanoi.

Personally I have never had difficulty in distinguishing the two plants apart. Just look at spines and skin and it's fairly easy.

Michael