''Pachycereus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of large
cacti
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...
native to Central America and Mexico.
They form large
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s or small
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s up to 15 m tall, with stout stems up to 1 m in diameter. ''Pachycereus'' comes from the ancient Greek παχύς (''pachys'') meaning "thick" and the Latin ''cereus'' meaning "torch".
Taxonomy
Species
,
Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
accepted six species:
[
''P. pringlei'' is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m.][Salak, M. (2000). In search of the tallest cactus. ''Cactus and Succulent Journal'' 72 (3).]
Synonymy
These genera have been brought into synonymy
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
with ''Pachycereus'' by some sources, although , not by Plants of the World Online:[
*''Lemaireocereus'' Britton & ]Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
*''Marginatocereus'' ( Backeb.) Backeb.
Species that may be placed in ''Pachycereus'' include:
*''Pachycereus hollianus'' (F.A.C.Weber ex J.M.Coult.) Buxb. = '' Lemaireocereus hollianus''
References
External links
*
*
Flora of North America: ''Pachycereus''Cacti Guide: ''Pachycereus''photos on www.AIAPS.org
{{Authority control
Cactoideae genera
Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Flora of Arizona
Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Flora of Sonora
Taxa named by Joseph Nelson Rose
Taxa named by Nathaniel Lord Britton
Taxa named by Alwin Berger