{"id":1087,"date":"2026-04-26T22:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T03:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/?p=1087"},"modified":"2026-04-26T22:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T03:29:11","slug":"its-echinopsis-now-not-trichocereus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opuntiads.com\/oblog\/its-echinopsis-now-not-trichocereus\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Echinopsis Now, not Trichocereus"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photograph: Trichocereus pascana, Lleonora\u00a0Enking)<\/sup><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

In modern treatments, the tall, columnar South American cacti long known as Trichocereus<\/em> are placed within a broader Echinopsis<\/em>. That change reflects evidence that the \u201chedgehog\u201d and \u201ctorch\u201d types intergrade more than old books suggested. For everyday use, this means plants labeled Trichocereus pachanoi<\/em>, T. peruvianus<\/em>, or T. bridgesii<\/em> are correctly Echinopsis pachanoi<\/em>, E. peruviana<\/em>, and E. lageniformis<\/em>\u2014and so on.<\/p>\n

Why the change<\/h3>\n

Earlier authors split \u201cglobose Echinopsis<\/em>\u201d from \u201ccolumnar Trichocereus<\/em>\u201d based on form, ribbing, and flowers. However, broader comparisons showed those characters overlap, and many species are closely allied. Bringing the columnar species into Echinopsis<\/em> keeps related plants together and avoids artificial boundaries.<\/p>\n

What \u201cTrichocereus<\/em>\u201d still tells you<\/h4>\n

Although Trichocereus<\/em> is no longer the accepted genus, the word remains useful shorthand in horticulture:<\/p>\n