Pachycereus pringlei

Taxobox
name = "Pachycereus pringlei"

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Pachycereus pringlei" in Baja California, Mexico
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Caryophyllales
familia = Cactaceae
subfamilia = Cactoideae
tribus = Pachycereeae
genus = "Pachycereus"
species = "P. pringlei"
binomial = "Pachycereus pringlei"
binomial_authority = (S.Watson) Britton & Rose

"Pachycereus pringlei" (Cardón) is a species of cactus, native to northwestern Mexico in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora.

It is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 meters (62.9 feet) (Salak 2000), with a stout trunk up to 1 m diameter bearing several erect branches. In overall appearance, it resembles the related "Carnegiea gigantea" (Saguaro, the second-tallest cactus species), but differs in the fewer ribs on the stems, in being more heavily branched from near to the base of the stem, and in the location of the blossoms.

Large stands of these magnificent cactus still exist, but many have been destroyed as fields have been cleared for cultivation in Sonora.

The fruit of this cactus was an important food for the Seri people in Sonora, who call the cactus "xaasj".

The species is named after Cyrus Pringle.

References

*cite book |last=Felger |first=Richard |coauthors=Mary B. Moser. |title=People of the desert and sea: ethnobotany of the Seri Indians |location=Tucson |year=1985 |publisher=University of Arizona Press
*Salak, M. (2000). In search of the tallest cactus. "Cactus and Succulent Journal" 72 (3).

External links

* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?417540 Germplasm Resources Information Network: "Pachycereus pringlei"]
* [http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Pachycereus&species=pringlei Cacti Guide: "Pachycereus pringlei"]

Gallery