Cereus
Cereus: (Mill.) A group of mostly large quick growing columnar cacti widespread in South America and also the West Indies. White or slightly reddish flowers, large and nocturnal. Cereus species are distingished by style remaining attached to the fruit for some time after the perianth has become detached. Fruit oblong, fairly large, hairless.
The name Cereus is from the Greek and Latin signifying a torch.
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Cereus aethiops: (Haw.) Argentina Mendoza to Rio Negro. Thin, somewhat tuberculate bluish stems. |
Cereus alacriportanus: (Pfeiff.) S. Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay. Bluish stems with new areoles and spines tan in color. |
Cereus chalybaeus: bought as; N. Argentina near Cordoba. Accord to Backeberg there seems to be two Cereus sp. from this area, one stout stemed and one with thinner stems, both probably have been called C. chalybaeus. |
Cereus forbesii: (O.) Argentina Catamarca, Tucuman, Jujuy, Cordoba. Bluish stems with more than one form. Some have black spines, there is a form with tan spines |
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Cereus hankeanus: (Web.) E. Bolivia |
Cereus "peruvianus" monstrose form |
Cereus "peruvianus" var./form tortuosus, spiralled ribs. |
Cereus sp. knobby monstrose form |
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Cereus validus: (Haw.) E. Bolivia to Argentina. Bluish stems with tan spines, a similar plant to C.forbesii. |
Cereus aethiops bud |
Cereus aethiops flower 23 cm long, 16 cm wide outer perianths, inner perianths cup 9 cm wide. |
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Cereus chalybaeus bud |
Cereus chalybaeus flower
Collection AWM |
Cereus chalybaeus flower front view 20 cm long, 13 cm wide outer perianths, inner perianths cup 11 cm wide. |
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Cereus chalybaeus flower side view |
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Cereus validus or forbesii form of:- partly red flower |
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Copyright Bob Ressler, no reproduction without permission of the author.
