Cereus (plant)

Cereus are shrubby or treelike, often attaining great heights (C. hexagonus, C. lamprospermus, C. trigonodendron up to 15 m). Most stems are angled or distinctly ribbed, ribs 3–14 cm long, usually well developed and have large areoles, usually bearing spines. Cephalium is not present, Cereus mortensenii develops pseudocephalium. Flowers are large, funnelform, 9–30 cm long, usually white, sometimes pink, purple, rarely cream, yellow, greenish, and open at night. Fruits are globose to ovoid to oblong, 3–13 cm long, fleshy, naked, usually red but sometimes yellow, pulp white, pink or red. Seeds large, curved ovoid, glossy black.[4]

The name Cereus originates in a book by Tabernaemontanus published in 1625 and refers to the candle-like form of species Cereus hexagonus. It was described by Philip Miller in 1754, and included all known cacti with very elongated bodies.[5]

Flower of Cereus fernambucensis (syn. Cereus neotetragonus)

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.[6] 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.[7] Echinocereus (type Echinocereus viridiflorus) was described in 1848 by George Engelmann; the name is derived from the Greek ἐχῖνος (echinos), hedgehog or sea urchin.[8]

Britton & Rose (1919–1923) and 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.[3]

The genus Mirabella has been included within Cereus as a subgenus, C. subg. Mirabella.[9]

Species

Cereus hexagonus at Tenneti Park in Visakhapatnam

As of December 2021, Plants of the World Online accepts the following species (with the exception of C. ayisyen):[10]

• Cereus aethiops Haw.
• Cereus ayisyen[11] syn. C. haitiensis, C. serrulifloris
• Cereus bicolor Rizzini & A.Mattos
• Cereus fernambucensis Lem.
• Cereus forbesii C.F.Först.
• Cereus fricii Backeb.
• Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill.
• Cereus hildmannianus K.Schum.
• Cereus horrispinus Backeb.
• Cereus insularis Hemsl.
• Cereus jamacaru DC.
• Cereus lamprospermus K.Schum.
• Cereus lanosus (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun
• Cereus lepidotus Salm-Dyck
• Cereus mortensenii (Croizat) D.R.Hunt & N.P.Taylor
• Cereus pachyrrhizus K.Schum.
• Cereus phatnospermus K.Schum.
• Cereus pierre-braunianus Esteves
• Cereus repandus (L.) Mill.
• Cereus saddianus (Rizzini & A.Mattos) P.J.Braun
• Cereus spegazzinii F.A.C.Weber
• Cereus stenogonus K.Schum.
• Cereus trigonodendron K.Schum. ex Vaupel
• Cereus vargasianus Cárdenas
• Cereus yungasensis A.Fuentes & Quispe

Species that have formerly been accepted include:

• Cereus adelmarii, syn. of Cereus phatnospermus
• Cereus albicaulis, syn. of Mirabella albicaulis
• Cereus argentinensis, syn. of Cereus stenogonus
• Cereus braunii, syn. of Cereus trigonodendron
• Cereus cochabambensis, syn. of Cereus forbesii
• Cereus comarapanus, syn. of Cereus forbesii
• Cereus estevesii, syn. of Mirabella estevesii
• Cereus hankeanus, syn. of Cereus forbesii
• Cereus huilunchu, syn. of Cereus forbesii
• Cereus kroenleinii, syn. of Cereus phatnospermus
• Cereus mirabella, syn. of Mirabella minensis
• Cereus roseiflorus, syn. of Cereus stenogonus
• Cereus tacuaralensis, syn. of Cereus stenogonus

The range includes Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, rarely Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.[4]

Fruits and stems of Cereus repandus are edible. Its wood has been used in making furniture and for firewood, and sliced stems have been used as a soap substitute. It is also cultivated as a living fence.[12]

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

• Anderson, Edward F. (2001). The Cactus Family. Oregon: Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-498-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

• Media related to Cereus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Cereus at Wikispecies
• Columnar cacti – Cereus
• Cactiguide Cereus