Organ pipe cactus

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Organ pipe cactus
Organ pipe cactus.jpg

Organ pipe cactus ( Stenocereus thurberi )

Systematics
Order : Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family : Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily : Cactoideae
Tribe : Pachycereeae
Genre : Stenocereus
Type : Organ pipe cactus
Scientific name
Stenocereus thurberi
( Engelm. ) Buxb.

The organ pipe cactus ( Stenocereus thurberi ) is a species of plant in the genus Stenocereus from the cactus family (Cactaceae). The specific epithet thurberi honors George Thurber (1821–1890), the first collector of the species. Common names are “Mehuelé”, “Órgano Marismeña”, “Organ Pipe Cactus” and “Pitayo Dulce”. The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is named after the species .

description

The organ pipe cactus grows in a large shrub to tree shape with numerous columnar branches. It is usually without a distinct trunk and reaches heights of between 1 and 8 meters. The otherwise upright, green shoots , arching at the base, have a diameter of 5 to 20 centimeters. Its ribs are 12 to 19 inches high. Of the 1 to 3 grayish to blackish central thorns , the lowest is 2 to 5 centimeters long. The 7 to 9 radial spines are grayish and up to 1 centimeter long.

The white or light pink funnel-shaped flowers appear in the upper part of the shoots. They are 4 to 8 inches long and open at night but stay open until the following day. The spherical, red fruits are 3 to 7.5 centimeters in diameter, are edible and contain red flesh.

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

The organ pipe cactus is common in the US state of Arizona and the Mexican states of Sonora , Baja California , Baja California Sur and Sinaloa at altitudes from 0 to 1,470 m.

It was first described as Cereus thurberi in 1854 by George Engelmann . There are two subspecies:

  • Stenocereus thurberi subsp. thurberi
  • Stenocereus thurberi subsp. littoralis

The subspecies littoralis is much smaller with stature heights of less than 3 meters. Their rungs only reach a diameter between 5 and 7 centimeters. It is only found on the southern tip of Baja California Sur .

Since the first description, the species has been placed in a number of genera, so that numerous synonyms have emerged. Karl Theodor Rümpler placed it in 1885 in the now no longer recognized genus Pilocereus ( Pilocereus thurberi ). Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose assigned them to their genus Lemaireocereus ( Lemaireocereus thurberi ) in 1920 . Curt Backeberg established the genus Marshallocereus in 1951 and classified the species as Marshallocereus thurberi there. Paul V. Heath made the last attempt to classify the species in 1992 with the recombination Rathbunia thurberi .

The currently recognized classification of the species in the genus Stenocereus was made in 1961 by Franz Buxbaum .

In the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN , the species is listed as " Least Concern (LC) ". H. listed as not endangered.

use

blossom

The Seri , a group of local people living in the Mexican state of Sonora , harvest the fruits of the organ pipe cactus. The trunks are used medicinally. Its woody ribs are used as a building material and its bark as a boat seal.

proof

literature

  • Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 604-605 .
  • Curt Backeberg : Die Cactaceae: Handbuch der Kakteenkunde . 2nd Edition. tape IV . Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart New York 1984, ISBN 3-437-30383-X , p. 2161 .
  • NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . tape II . The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1920, p. 97 ff .

Individual evidence

  1. Marshallocereus thurberi (Engelm.) Backebg. In: Walther Haage : cacti from A to Z . 3. Edition. Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Heidelberg 1986, p. 438, ISBN 3-494-01142-7
  2. George Engelmann: Further Notes on Ceretus giganteus of Southeastern California, with a short account of another allied species of Sonora . In; American Journal of Science and Arts . Series 2, Volume 17, New Haven 1854, p. 234 (online) .
  3. Theodor Rümpler : Carl Friedrich Förster's Handbuch der Cacteenkunde in its entirety: Or, the most successful, cultural information based on the latest experiences. Processed according to the current state of science and increased by the genera and newly introduced species established since 1846 . Wöller, 1886, p. 689 ( online ).
  4. ^ Cactus and Succulent Journal . Volume 23, Los Angeles 1951, p. 121
  5. ^ Calyx . Volume 2, No. 3, 1992, p. 103
  6. Stenocereus thurberi in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Posted by: Burquez Montijo, A. & Felger, RS, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Glandulicereus thurberi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files