- Pachycereus
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Pachycereus 
Baja California, Mexico Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Core eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Cactaceae Subfamily: Cactoideae Tribe: Pachycereeae Genus: Pachycereus
(A.Berger) Britton & RoseSpecies See text
Pachycereus is a genus of 9–12 species of large cacti native to Mexico and just into southern Arizona, USA. They form large shrubs or small trees up to 5–15 m or more tall, with stout stems up to 1 m diameter.
Pachycereus comes from the ancient Greek "pakhus" meaning "thick" and the Latin "cereus" meaning "torch".
- Selected species
- Pachycereus gatesii
- Pachycereus gaumeri
- Pachycereus grandis
- Pachycereus hollianus
- Pachycereus marginatus
- Pachycereus militaris
- Pachycereus pectin-aboriginum
- Pachycereus pringlei - Cardón cactus
- Pachycereus schottii - Totem cactus, senita cactus
- Pachycereus weberi
Pachycereus pringlei is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m (Salak 2000).
- Synonymy
The following genera have been brought into synonymy with Pachycereus:
- Backebergia Bravo
- Lemaireocereus Britton & Rose
- Lophocereus (A.Berger) Britton & Rose
- Marginatocereus (Backeb.) Backeb.
- Mitrocereus (Backeb.) Backeb.
- Pterocereus T.MacDoug. & Miranda
References and external links
- Salak, M. (2000). In search of the tallest cactus. Cactus and Succulent Journal 72 (3).
- (English) Flora of North America: Pachycereus
- (English) Cacti Guide: Pachycereus
- (French) photos on www.AIAPS.org
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