Cereus (plant)

Cereus are shrubby or treelike, often attaining great heights (C. hexagonus, C. lamprospermus, C. trigonodendron, C. ingens up to 15 metres or 49 feet).^[6][7] Most stems are angled or distinctly ribbed, ribs 3–14 centimetres (1+1⁄4–5+1⁄2 inches) long, usually well developed and have large areoles, usually bearing spines. Cephalium is not present; C. mortensenii develops pseudocephalium. The flowers are large, funnelform, 9–30 cm (3+1⁄2–11+3⁄4 in) long, usually white, sometimes pink, purple, rarely cream, yellow, greenish, and open at night. The fruits are globose to ovoid to oblong, 3–13 cm (1+1⁄4–5 in) long, fleshy, naked, usually red but sometimes yellow, pulp white, pink or red. The seeds are large, curved ovoid, glossy black.^[6]

The name Cereus originates in a book by Tabernaemontanus published in 1625 and refers to the candle-like form of species C. hexagonus. It was described by Philip Miller in 1754, and included all known cacti with very elongated bodies.^[8]

Ludwig Pfeiffer in 1838 distinguished Cephalocereus (type Cephalocereus senilis); the name is derived from the Greek κεφᾶλή (cephalē; 'head') thus headed cereus, referring to the hairy pseudocephalium.^[9] Charles Lemaire described Pilocereus in 1839, now renamed as Pilosocereus. The name Pilocereus is derived from the Greek πῖλος (pilos), felted, hairy, thus hairy cereus, similar to the Latin pilosus, from which the name Pilosocereus was derived.^[10] Echinocereus (type Echinocereus viridiflorus) was described in 1848 by George Engelmann; the name is derived from the Greek ἐχῖνος (echinos; 'hedgehog' or 'sea urchin').^[11]

Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose (1919–1923) as well as Alwin Berger (1929) continued to divide Cereus into many genera. The 33 or so species that remain in the Cereus group are largely plants that have not been moved out of the genus rather than plants that have been included because they fit the description of Cereus. This inclusion-by-lack-of-exclusion makes for a very messy and unsatisfactory grouping.^[5]

Some sources include the genus Mirabella Cereus as a subgenus, C. subg. Mirabella.^[12]

Species

As of April 2025^[update], Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:^[1]

More information Subgenus, Image ...

Subgenus	Image	Scientific name	Distribution
Mirabella		Cereus albicaulis (Britton & Rose) Luetzelb.	North-east Brazil
		Cereus alex-bragae (P.J.Braun & Esteves) M.Köhler	Goiás, Brazil
		Cereus mirabella N.P.Taylor	Brazil
Oblongicarpi		Cereus fricii Backeb.	Colombia, Venezuela
		Cereus horrispinus Backeb.	Colombia, Venezuela
		Cereus mortensenii (Croizat) D.R.Hunt & N.P.Taylor	Venezuela
		Cereus repandus (L.) Mill.	Aruba, Colombia, Venezuela, Venezuela
		Cereus serruliflorus Haw.	Haiti
Ebneria		Cereus aethiops Haw.	Argentina to Uruguay
		Cereus phatnospermus K.Schum.	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
		Cereus saddianus (Rizzini & A.Mattos) P.J.Braun	Mato Grosso, Brazil
		Cereus spegazzinii F.A.C.Weber	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
Cereus		Cereus bicolor Rizzini & A.Mattos	Brazil
		Cereus fernambucensis Lem.	Brazil
		Cereus forbesii C.F.Först.	Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay
		Cereus gerardi N.P.Taylor	Tocantins, Brazil
		Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill.	Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
		Cereus hildmannianus K.Schum.	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
		Cereus ingens N.P.Taylor & M.Machado	Bahia, Minas Gerais
		Cereus insularis Hemsl.	Brazil (Pernambuco)
		Cereus jamacaru DC.	Brazil
		Cereus lamprospermus K.Schum.	Bolivia, Paraguay
		Cereus lanosus (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun	Brazil, Paraguay
		Cereus lepidotus Salm-Dyck	Colombia, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela
		Cereus pachyrrhizus K.Schum.	Paraguay
		Cereus pierre-braunianus Esteves	Brazil (NE Goiás)
		Cereus stenogonus K.Schum.	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
		Cereus trigonodendron K.Schum. ex Vaupel	Bolivia, Brazil, Peru
		Cereus vargasianus Cárdenas	Peru
		Cereus yungasensis A.Fuentes & Quispe	Bolivia

Close

The range includes Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia; more rarely it can be found in Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.^[6] Certain species are also invasive in South Africa^[13]

The fruits and stems of C. repandus are edible,^[14] as is the fruit of many species in the genus; some perhaps have a laxative effect.^[15] The wood has been used in making furniture and for firewood, and sliced stems have been used as a soap substitute.^[14] The stems can be broken open for their pulp, a source of water.^[15] The plant is also cultivated as a living fence.^[14]

• 
  Charles Lemaire, Iconographie descriptive des cactées, 1841 – 7.
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  Cereus hildmannianus subsp. uruguayanus in shrub formation, Uruguay
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  High plants of Cereus jamacaru
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  Nocturnal flowers of Cereus jamacaru
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  Stems are segmented annually
• 
  Cereus forbesii
• 
  Fruits in cultivation
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  Edible fruits of Cereus repandus
• 
  Different monstrose forms
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  Flower bud of Cereus fernambucensis subsp. fernambucensis