Pilosocereus

Pilosocereus
Pilosocereus catingicola
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Cereeae
Subtribe: Cereinae
Genus:
Byles & G.D.Rowley[1]
Type species
Pilosocereus leucocephalus
(Poselg.) Byles & G.D.Rowley[2]
Species

See text

Approximate distribution[1]
Synonyms
  • Pilocereus sensu K.Schum. non Lem.[2]
  • Pseudopilocereus Buxb.[1]

Pilosocereus (from Latin, "hairy cereus") is a genus of cactus native to the Neotropics. Tree cactus is a common name for Pilosocereus species.[3] The genus Pseudopilocereus is a synonym of this genus.[1] For many years, the illegitimate name Pilocereus was used for this genus, although properly a synonym for Cephalocereus.[4] The subdivision of the genus has varied very widely, resulting in very different numbers of species being accepted.

The commonly cultivated Pilosocereus pachycladus (syn. Pilosocereus azureus) is a blue cactus with hairy areoles that emit golden spines.

Description

Species of the genus Pilosocereus are columnar cacti with a shrubby or tree-like habit. Some may be up to 7 m (23 ft) tall. They may be unbranched, or have a dense mass of branches. The stems vary widely in the number of ribs and spines. The areoles may have long or short hairs, sometimes with more silky hairs on flowering areoles than on non-flowering ones. A few species have a pseudocephalium. The flowers usually open at night and may smell strongly of garlic. The fruits have white, red-purple or other-colored pulp when ripe.[5][6]

Taxonomy

The taxonomic history of the genus name Pilosocereus is somewhat complicated. In 1838, Charles Antoine Lemaire created a section within the genus Cereus, C. sect. Cephalophori, based on Cereus senilis and C. columna-trajani. In the same year, Ludwig Pfeiffer published the genus name Cephalocereus, also based on Cereus senilis. In 1839, Lemaire raised his Cereus sect. Cephalophori to a genus under the name Pilocereus, presumably unaware of Pfeiffer's earlier name. Since both Cephalocereus and Pilocereus are based on the same type (i.e. Cereus senilis), the later of the two names is superfluous, and so must be rejected under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICNafp).[4] In 1894, Karl Moritz Schumann decided that Lemaire's Cereus sect. Cephalophori needed to be split into two genera, rather than treated as one genus. He retained Pfeiffer's Cephalocereus, and attempted to use Pilocereus for the other.[7] Schumann removed from Pilocereus both of the species originally designated by Lemaire; however, this is not allowed by the ICNafp which requires that a name is permanently attached to its type, so Pilocereus sensu Schumann is equally illegitimate.[4]

Subsequently, the genus name Pilocereus was widely used and several attempts were made to legitimize it. One possible solution would have been to conserve Schumann's name against Lemaire's. However, a proposal to do so was not accepted by the 1954 International Botanical Congress.[4] In 1957, Ronald Stewart Byles and Gordon Rowley provided a solution by publishing Pilosocereus with the type species Pilocereus leucocephalus (which thus became Pilosocereus leucocephalus). They also provided names in Pilosocereus for all the species then placed in Pilocereus.[8]

The number of species recognized within the genus has varied very considerably. Taking the Caribbean and northern Andes as an example, Britton and Rose accepted 18 species in their 1920 treatment (which used the genus Cephalocereus). Many later authors followed this approach when Cephalocereus was split and the relevant species placed in what is now Pilosocereus. Alternatively, treatments in the late 1990s and early 2000s used much more broadly circumscribed species, resulting in many fewer being recognized, for example as few as two or three replaced the 18 of Britton and Rose. A 2019 review of Pilosocereus in the Caribbean and northern Andes returned to a larger number of species with narrower circumscriptions.[6] A 2020 molecular phylogenetic study of the genus resulted in three species being moved to a new genus Xiquexique to maintain the monophyly of Pilosocereus, which the authors considered to have 42 species placed in two subgenera, Pilosocereus subg. Pilosocereus and Pilosocereus subg. Gounellea.[5] As of July 2025, Plants of the World Online accepted 56 species, including a natural hybrid.[1]

Species

As of July 2025, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[1]

Image Scientific name Distribution
Pilosocereus albisummus P.J.Braun & Esteves Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus alensis (F.A.C.Weber ex Rol.-Goss.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Western Mexico
Pilosocereus armatus (Otto ex Pfeiff.) A.R.Franck Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
Pilosocereus arrabidae (Steud.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Brazil
Pilosocereus aureispinus (Buining & Brederoo) F.Ritter Brazil
Pilosocereus aurisetus (Werderm.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus azulensis N.P.Taylor & Zappi Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus brasiliensis (Britton & Rose) Backeb. East Brazil
Pilosocereus brauniorum (Esteves) N.P.Taylor & Zappi Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus brevispinus Hoxey & Gdaniec Central Hispaniola
Pilosocereus brooksianus (Britton & Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley Southeast Cuba
Pilosocereus catalani (Riccob.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Unknown, possibly Brazil
Pilosocereus catimbauensis (N.P.Taylor & Albuq.-Lima) N.P.Taylor & Albuq.-Lima Pernambuco, Brazil
Pilosocereus catingicola (Gürke) Byles & G.D.Rowley Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Paraíba, Bahia.
Pilosocereus chrysacanthus (F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Mexico and Honduras
Pilosocereus chrysostele (Vaupel) Byles & G.D.Rowley Brazil
Pilosocereus collinsii (Britton & Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley Oaxaca, Mexico
Pilosocereus colombianus (Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley Colombia, Ecuador
Pilosocereus curtisii (Otto) A.R.Franck The Lesser Antilles and the British Virgin Islands
Pilosocereus densiareolatus F.Ritter East Brazil
Pilosocereus diersianus (Esteves) P.J.Braun Tocantins and Goiás
Pilosocereus excelsus Hoxey & Gdaniec East Dominican Republic
Pilosocereus flavipulvinatus (Buining & Brederoo) F.Ritter Northern Brazil
Pilosocereus flexibilispinus P.J.Braun & Esteves Central Brazil
Pilosocereus floccosus Byles & G.D.Rowley East Brazil
Pilosocereus fulvilanatus (Buining & Brederoo) F.Ritter Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus gaumeri (Britton & Rose) Backeb. Southeast Mexico
Pilosocereus glaucochrous (Werderm.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Northeast Brazil
Pilosocereus jamaicensis Proctor Cayman Islands, Jamaica
Pilosocereus juaruensis (Buining & Brederoo) P.J.Braun Central Brazil, Northeast Paraguay
Pilosocereus kanukuensis (Alexander) Leuenb. Kanuku mountains, Venezuela
Pilosocereus lanuginosus (L.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Netherlands Antilles
Pilosocereus leucocephalus (Poselg.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Mexico, Honduras
Pilosocereus machrisii (E.Y.Dawson) Backeb. Brazil
Pilosocereus magnificus (Buining & Brederoo) F.Ritter ex D.R.Hunt Southeast Brazil
Pilosocereus millspaughii (Britton) Byles & G.D.Rowley Florida (Locally extinct), The Antilles
Pilosocereus mollispinus P.J.Braun & Esteves Goias, Brazil
Pilosocereus moritzianus (Otto ex Pfeiff.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Lesser Antilles, Northern Venezuela
Pilosocereus multicostatus F.Ritter Southeast Brazil
Pilosocereus occultiflorus P.J.Braun & Esteves Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus oligolepis (Vaupel) Byles & G.D.Rowley Guyana, Brazil, possibly Venezuela
Pilosocereus pachycladus F.Ritter Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus parvus (Diers & Esteves) P.J.Braun Central Brazil
Pilosocereus pentaedrophorus (Labour.) Byles & G.D.Rowley East Brazil
Pilosocereus piauhyensis (Gürke) Byles & G.D.Rowley Piaui, Brazil
Pilosocereus polygonus (Lam.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Central Hispaniola
Pilosocereus × pseudosuperfloccosus P.J.Braun & Esteves Bahia, Brazil
Pilosocereus purpusii (Britton & Rose) Byles & G.D.Rowley Zacatecas, Mexico
Pilosocereus pusillibaccatus P.J.Braun & Esteves North Brazil
Pilosocereus quadricentralis (E.Y.Dawson) Backeb. Oaxaca and Chiapas
Pilosocereus robinii (Lem.) Byles & G.D.Rowley Florida and the Bahamas
Pilosocereus rosae P.J.Braun Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus samanensis Hoxey & Gdaniec Northeast Dominican Republic
Pilosocereus splendidus F.Ritter Bahia, Brazil
Pilosocereus × subsimilis Rizzini & A.Mattos Minas Gerais, Brazil
Pilosocereus tillianus R.Gruber & Schatzl Mérida, Venezuela
Pilosocereus vilaboensis (Diers & Esteves) P.J.Braun West-central Brazil
Pilosocereus zahrae P.J.Braun Bahia, Brazil

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Pilosocereus Byles & G.D.Rowley". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  2. ^ a b "Pilosocereus Byles & G.D.Rowley". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  3. ^ NRCS. "Pilosocereus". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Byles, R.S. & Rowley, G.D. (1955). "What is to become of the Pilocereus?". The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain. 17 (2): 32. JSTOR 45134083.
  5. ^ a b Lavor, Pâmela; Versieux, Leonardo M. & Calvente, Alice (2020). "Phylogenetic Relationships of Pilosocereus (Cactaceae) and Taxonomic Implications". PlantNow. 1 (2): 52–70. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.12895124.
  6. ^ a b Franck, Alan R.; Barrios, Duniel; Campbell, Keron C. St. E.; Lange, James; Peguero, Brígido; Santiago-Valentín, Eugenio; Rigerszki, Zoltán; Haakonsson, Jane; Gann, George D.; Cinea, William; Howe, Natalie M. M.; St. John, James; Moreno, Juan Sebastián & Clark, Cynthia A. (2019). "Revision of Pilosocereus (Cactaceae) in the Caribbean and northern Andean region". Phytotaxa. 411 (3): 129–182. Bibcode:2019Phytx.411..129F. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.411.3.1.
  7. ^ Schumann, Karl Moritz (1894). "2. Pilocereus Lem.". In Engler, A. & Prantl, K. (eds.). Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Vol. 3 (part 6a). Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann. pp. 179–182. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  8. ^ Byles, R.S. & Rowley, G.D. (1957). "Pilosocereus Byl. & Rowl. nom. gen. nov. (Cactaceae)". The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain. 19 (3): 66–67, 69. JSTOR 45475966.
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