''Stenocereus'' ( Gk. ''stenos'', narrow, L. ''cereus'', candle) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of columnar or tree-like

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

from the Baja California Peninsula and other parts of

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

and the ABC islands of the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-w ...

. The genus has been enlarged by the addition of species from several other

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

. A close relative is the peculiar chinoa or chende cactus, ''

Polaskia chende ''Polaskia chende'' is a succulent cactus native to a small area of mountains of northern Oaxaca and southern Puebla, Mexico. It grows in xerophytic A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a specie ...

''.

Description

The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are mostly borne near the

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex, ...

of the stems and mostly nocturnal. They are considered easy to grow and generally grow slowly. ''

Stenocereus thurberi ''Stenocereus thurberi'', the organ pipe cactus, is a species of cactus native to Mexico and the United States. The species is found in rocky desert. Two subspecies are recognized based on their distribution and height. The Organ Pipe Cactus Nati ...

'' (the organ pipe cactus) is a well-known member of this

and is widely distributed in

and northern Mexico. The fruit is similar to a

dragon fruit A pitaya () or pitahaya () is the fruit of several different cactus species indigenous to the Americas. Pitaya usually refers to fruit of the genus ''Stenocereus'', while pitahaya or dragon fruit refers to fruit of the genus ''Selenicereus'' ...

. Those of ''

Stenocereus gummosus ''Stenocereus gummosus'' is a flowering plant in the family Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophy ...

'', acidic and very refreshing, are highly favored by the Seris of northwestern Mexico who call the cactus ''ziix is ccapxl'' - "thing whose fruit is sour". It is commonly known in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

as ''pitaya agria'', or by the English translation Sour Pitaya. '' S. griseus'' (

Dagger Cactus ''Stenocereus griseus'', also known as the Mexican organ pipe, dagger cactus, pitaya, and pitayo de mayo, is a species of cactus. Description This tree-like cactus can grow up to 9 m tall, with stems up to 12 cm in diameter. Depending on t ...

) fruits, locally known as ''iguaraya'', are relished by the

Wayuu The Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) are an Amerindian ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northernmost part of Colombia and northwest Venezuela. The Wayuu language is part of the Maipuran (Arawak) language family. Geography ...

from the La Guajira Peninsula of Colombia.Villalobos ''et al.'' (2007) ''Stenocereus'' are often used as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s in hot and arid regions, and as noted above, some species can double as a fruit crop. The interior of ''Stenocereus'' trunks often grows to form tough, cane-like stakes suitable for certain kinds of construction. The

use those of Dagger Cactus for building

wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...

walls, a technique they call ''yotojoro'', after their name for the cactus wood "canes".

Species

File:Sguaro1.jpg, Close-up of organpipe cactus ('' S. thurberi'') spines File:Fruto de Stenocereus queretaroensis.jpg, Fruit of ''

Stenocereus queretaroensis ''Stenocereus queretaroensis'' is a species of cactus from Mexico, including the state of Querétaro. It is cultivated for its fruit., pp. 647 Plants are tall, up to , with a central trunk followed by many upturned branches, producing a candelab ...

'' prepared for eating File:Stenocereus gummosus Huntington Desert Garden.jpg, ''

'' at the

Huntington Desert Garden The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, ...

Footnotes

References

*Anderson, Edward F. (2001): ''The Cactus Family'' *Felger, Richard & Moser, Mary B. (1985): ''People of the desert and sea: ethnobotany of the Seri Indians''. University of Arizona Press, Tucson *Innes, C. & Wall, B. (1995): ''Cacti, Succulents and Bromaliads''. Cassell & The Royal Horticultural Society. * Villalobos, Soraya; Vargas, Orlando & Melo, Sandra (2007): Uso, manejo y conservacion de ''"yosú", Stenocereus griseus'' (Cactaceae) en la Alta Guajira colombiana sage, Management and Conservation of ''yosú, Stenocereus griseus'' (Cactaceae), in the Upper Guajira, Colombia panish with English abstract''Acta Biológica Colombiana'' 12(1): 99–112
PDF fulltext

External links

*
cactiguide.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q133435 Cactoideae genera Cacti of North America Taxa named by Alwin Berger Taxa named by Vincenzo Riccobono