Leucostele terscheckii

Leucostele terscheckii, commonly known as the cardon grande cactus or Argentine saguaro, is a large cactus native to South America and popular in cultivation.[2]

Leucostele terscheckii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Leucostele
Species:
L. terscheckii
Binomial name
Leucostele terscheckii
(Pfeiff.) Schlumpb.
Synonyms
  • Cereus terscheckii Parm. ex Pfeiff.
  • Echinopsis terscheckii var. montana (Backeb.) K.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley
  • Pilocereus terschenckii (Parm. ex Pfeiff.) Rumpler ex Pfeiff.
  • Trichocereus terscheckii (Parm. ex Pfeiff.) Britton & Rose
  • Leucostele terscheckii (Parm.) Friedrich & G.D.Rowley

Description

It is a columnar, branching cactus that can grow over 7.6 metres (25 ft) tall. Its branches are about 25 cm (9.8 in) in diameter with 8 to 14 ribs. Branches are cylindrical, fleshy, light green. The branches are 10-20 cm in diameter, with 8-14 blunt ribs. It has large brownish areoles about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) apart with 8 to 15 yellowish spines, 8.3–10 cm (3.3–3.9 in) long, a central one, sometimes absent, and 8-15 radial. The nocturnal funnel-shaped white flowers can grow up to 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) long and 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) wide. Pericarp and flower tube with dense white or brown axillary hairs. The round or oblong blue fruits are about 1.3 cm (0.51 in) in diameter and contain black to brown, oval seeds approximately 0.76 mm (0.030 in) long.[3]

  • Spines
    Spines
  • Flowers
    Flowers
  • Growth
    Growth
  • Buds
    Buds
  • Crested plant
    Crested plant

Native distribution

It is native to several provinces including Jujuy, Tucumán, La Rioja, San Juan, Catamarca and Salta provinces in northwestern Argentina, and is the eponymous cactus of Los Cardones National Park in Salta Province. Range continues to the western slopes of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia department of Tarija, and Ecuador. It is found growing on dry slopes of the Andean foothills at altitudes of 500 to 1500 meters.

Taxonomy

This species was first describe as Cereus terscheckii by Ludwig Georg Karl Pfeiffer was published in 1837. Heimo Friedrich and Gordon Douglas Rowley placed the species in the genus Echinopsis in 1974.[3]

Alkaloids

Leucostele terscheckii contains > 0.005-0.025% mescaline[4] in fresh cactus and 0.01%-2.375%[5] mescaline in dry weight.

References
  1. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  2. "Cardon Grande (Echinopsis terscheckii)". Desert-tropicals.com. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  3. Rowley, Gordon (1978). Reunion of the Genus Echinopsis. Vol. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Succulents. New York: Crown Publishing. ISBN 978-0-517-53309-3.
  4. "Partial List of Alkaloids in Trichocereus Cacti". Thenook.org. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  5. Forbidden Fruit Archives Archived 2005-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
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