| 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 & Rose |
| Species | |
|
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".
Pachycereus pringlei is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m (Salak 2000).
The following genera have been brought into synonymy with Pachycereus: