The term ceroid cactus (or sometimes just cereus) is used to describe any of the species of

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

with very elongated bodies, including columnar growth cacti and

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

cacti. The name is from the Latin '' cēreus'', wax taper (slender candle), referring to the stiff, upright form of the columnar species. Some species of ceroid cacti were known as torch cactus or torch-thistle, supposedly due to their use as torches by Native Americans in the past.: "any of several columnar cacti of the genus ''Cereus'' whose stems were used by No. American Indians for torches." The genus '' Cereus'' was first genus for such cacti and one of the oldest cactus genera. Its circumscription varies depending on the authority. According to Cactiguide the word "cereus" was commonly and freely used to describe any tree-like cacti, although this general use of the word is regarded as misleading and the word ceroid or ceriform is preferred.

Taxonomy

The name ''cereus'' originates in a book by

Tabernaemontanus Jacobus Theodorus (Jacob Diether), called Tabernaemontanus (1525 – August 1590) was a physician and an early botanist and herbalist, one of the "fathers of German botany" whose illustrated ''Neuw Kreuterbuch'' (Frankfurt, 1588) was the result of ...

published in 1625 and refers to the candle-like form of species ''

Cereus hexagonus ''Cereus hexagonus'' or lady of the night cactus is a species of columnar cactus found in Ecuador and Venezuela. References External links * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1055079 hexagonus Taxa named by Philip Miller ...

''. Regularly having been described by

Philip Miller Philip Miller FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ''The Gardeners Dictio ...

in 1754, and included all known cacti with very elongated bodies.

Ludwig Pfeiffer K. Ludwig Pfeiffer is a German scholar in literary, media and cultural studies, born on February 23, 1944, in Neustadt an der Aisch, Middle Franconia, Germany. Besides his own publications, he is the editor and co-editor of 14 volumes in various r ...

in 1838 divided ''Cephalocereus'' (type ''Cephalocereus senilis''), the name is derived from the Greek κεφαλή (''kephalē''), head, thus headed cereus, referring to the hairy pseudocephalium.

Charles Lemaire Charles LeMaire (April 22, 1897 – June 8, 1985) was an American costume designer. He was born in Chicago. LeMaire's early career was as a vaudeville performer, but he became a costume designer for such Broadway productions as ''Ziegfeld Folli ...

described ''Pilocereus'' in 1839, now is renamed as ''Pilosocereus''. The name ''Pilocereus'' is derived from the Greek pilos, felted, hairy, thus hairy cereus, similar to the Latin pilosus, from which the name ''Pilosocereus'' was derived. Genus ''Echinocereus'' (type ''Echinocereus viridiflorus'') was described in 1848 by

George Engelmann George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, (2 February 1809 – 4 February 1884) was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora of the west of North America, then very poorly known to Europeans; he was particu ...

, the name is derived from the Greek echinos, hedgehog or sea urchin. Britton &

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

(1919-1923) and

Alwin Berger Alwin Berger (28 August 1871 – 20 April 1931) was a German botanist best known for his contribution to the nomenclature of succulent plants, particularly agaves and cacti. Born in Germany he worked at the botanical gardens in Dresden and Fran ...

(1929) continued to divide ''Cereus'' into many genera. In 1984 a new approach to cactus classification was begun. The International Organization for Succulent Plant Study (IOS) founded a working group called the International Cactaceae Systematics Group. The group has recruited specialists in morphology and anatomy and experts in botanical research as electron microscopy, pollen studies, chromosomes, chemistry, and DNA analysis. Specialists in various groups of cacti have been included, or their comments solicited. The results were presented by Anderson 2001.

Selected species

Smallest: ''Pygmaeocereus'', ''Echinopsis chamaecereus'' (synonymum ''Chamaecereus silvestrii''), ''Echinopsis (Seti-Echinopsis) mirabilis'', small species of ''Echinocereus: E. knippelianus, E. laui, E. ledingii, E. pulchellus, E. viridiflorus.''
Highest: ''Carnegia gigantea'' (18 –20 m, max. 24 m), ''Neobuxbaumia, Neoraimondia, Pachycereus'' (synonymum ''Mitrocereus'') (12 – 18 m).
Longest stem: epiphytic ''Hylocereus undatus'' (90 m). Edible fruits: ''Carnegia, Myrtillocactus geometrizans, Pachycereus pringlei, Pachycereus schottii,'' ''Echinocereus: E. fendleri, E. engelmannii'' and other species, C''orryocactus pulquiensis, Selenicereus setaceus, Peniocereus serpentinus'', ''Cereus repandus'' „cadushi“, ''Stenocereus: S. fricii, S. griseus, S. queretaroensis'', and ''S. stellatus'' also cultivated, ''S. pruinosus'' and ''S. thurberi'' wild.
Pitahaya: red pitahaya ''Hylocereus undatus'', yellow pitahaya ''H. triangularis.'' Widely cultivated.
''Peniocereus greggii'' develops a large subterranean root that may be baked, peeled, and eaten. Cactus fences: ''Pachycereus marginatus, Cereus repandus''. Firewood: ''Cereus repandus, Eulychnia'' sp. Fishhooks: ''Neoraimondia arequipensis''.
Fishing: ''Senocereus gummosus'' contains several toxic triterpenes. Indigenous people in northern Mexico crush the stems of the plant and throw the pieces into the water, stupefying the fish, which are then scooped out of the water by hand. Hairbrushes: Part of fruits ''Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum''. ''Neoraimondia arequipensis'' is a Peruvian cereus reported to be used as an ingredient in the psychoactive drink called cimora, drunk at various ceremonies and containing material of the San Pedro cactus as well.

References

Literature

*Anderson, Edward F.:'' The Cactus Family'', Timber Press, Oregon, 2001. {{ISBN, 0-88192-498-9

External links

CactiGuide
Cacti Plant common names