(Photograph = Stenocereus gummosus in flower, Christian Defferrard)
Introduction
Stenocereus contains mostly columnar cacti, but several break that rule and one actually grows along the ground like a vine (S. eruca). One species of Stenocereus grows in the United States, S. thurberi.
The Details
Anderson (2001) wrote that there are 17 species of Stenocereus. Other authors placed some of the species into other genera. So, perhaps there are there are fewer than 17 species. However, some botanists have reported there are 23 species.
Setnocereus has a complicated taxonomic history, which makes sense for a genus that grows from South America to southern Arizona and into the Caribbean. Various names have been applied to plants in the genus including Rathbunia, Cereus, Pachycereus, Lemaireocereus and Isolaterocereus.
Stenocereus spines are usually thick and stubborn. Some of the larger columnar types are huge, reach 40 to 50-ft tall in the wild. The flowers are pale and suggest bat pollination.
Additional Reading: Domestication of Stenocereus pruinosus
