Pachycereus

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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".

Selected species

Pachycereus pringlei is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m (Salak 2000).

Synonymy

The following genera have been brought into synonymy with Pachycereus:

  • Backebergia Bravo
  • Lemaireocereus Britton & Rose
  • Lophocereus (A.Berger) Britton & Rose
  • Marginatocereus (Backeb.) Backeb.
  • Mitrocereus (Backeb.) Backeb.
  • Pterocereus T.MacDoug. & Miranda

References and external links

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