''Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum'' (commonly known as hairbrush or Indian comb) is a columnar

cactus 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 ...

plant native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. They can grow up to high. The trunk of this species is 1.2 to 5.0 m tall and the fruits are large and burr-like. The specific name, ''pecten-aboriginum'', is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, and means "native combs". It was inspired by the use of the fruits as hair combs.

Distribution

''P. pecten-aboriginum'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Mexico.Arreola, H., et al. 2013
''Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum''.
In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. Downloaded on 26 August 2013. Its range extends throughout the western states from

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

. It grows in the Chihuahuan and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

s, the

thorn forest A thorn forest is a dense scrubland with vegetation characteristic of dry subtropical and warm temperate areas with a seasonal rainfall averaging . Regions Africa Is present in the southwest of Africa with smaller areas in other places of Africa. ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...

, and the southern Sonoran plains.

Habitat

''P. pecten-aboriginum'' is found on slopes and plains, and in valleys and

arroyo Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arroyo ...

s. Its habitat includes thornscrubs, tropical deciduous forests, and Sonoran desert scrub. It grows on flat land and hills and in canyons. It is abundant in the

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

scrub of southern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, particularly in the foothills and lower mountains.

Description

''P. pecten-aboriginum'' is a tree up to 15 m tall. The erect or ascending branches are up to in diameter. The immature stems are up to 22 cm wide with 10 or 11 ribs. Mature stems are up to 17.5 cm wide with 10 to 12 ribs. The

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cacti out of which grow clusters of spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cacti, and identify them as a family distinct from other succulent plants. Gordon Rowley - W ...

s bear rigid, sharp, white to gray spines, which may be curved on mature stems. The flower is white and about 5.0 to 7.5 cm long. It opens in the evening and closes by midday. The

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

is coated in velvety brown hairs. The floral

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s are linear with long-attenuated tips covering the development of flower buds. Flowering occurs January through March. The fruit is densely covered with long, golden yellow spines up to 6 cm long. It ripens by June and July. It

splits A split (commonly referred to as splits or the splits) is a physical position in which the legs are in line with each other and extended in opposite directions. Splits are commonly performed in various athletic activities, including dance, figu ...

at maturity to reveal a thin layer of firm, red, juicy pulp and shiny black seeds, each about 0.5 cm long.

Biology

''P. pecten-aboriginum'' is a

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

plant. Its floral biology differs across its range. In

Tehuacán "By faith and hope" , , image_map = , mapsize = 300 px , map_caption = Location of Tehuacán within the state of Puebla. , image_map1 = Puebla en México.svg , mapsize1 = 300 px , ma ...

, it is

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

at night by

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

-feeding

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s. In the Sonoran desert, the flowers stay open longer in the day to attract both nocturnal and diurnal pollinators.

Uses

Food

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, and can be made into a

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method ...

or jam. It has been used to make

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. The

Mayo people The Mayo or ''Yoreme'' are an indigenous group in Mexico, living in the northern states of southern Sonora, northern Sinaloa and small settlements in Durango. Mayo people originally lived near the Mayo River and Fuerte River valleys. The Mayo ...

made

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of Me ...

s from the ground seeds mixed with some

corn meal Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...

. This so-called etcho-seed flour was used in

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

foods such as

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...

Medicinal

The Mayo used the cactus as an herbal remedy. Pieces of the flesh were applied to wounds to inhibit

bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

. The cactus flesh was cooked in salted water and the solution was applied to infected wounds three times daily, followed by a sulfathiazole powder. The juice was consumed as an

herbal tonic In herbal medicine, an herbal tonic (also tonic herbs, tonic herbalism) is used to help restore, tone and invigorate systems in the body or to promote general health and well-being. An herbal tonic is a solution or other preparation made from a s ...

and to treat

sore throat Sore throat, also known as throat pain, is pain or irritation of the throat. Usually, causes of sore throat include * viral infections * group A streptococcal infection (GAS) bacterial infection * pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat) * tonsi ...

Grooming

The fruits were used as combs by indigenous peoples. To make a

hairbrush A hairbrush is a handle brush with rigid or soft spokes used in hair care for smoothing, styling, and detangling human hair, or for grooming an animal's fur. It can also be used for styling in combination with a curling iron or hair dryer. A fl ...

, the spines were removed from about two-thirds of the fruit, and the remaining spines were trimmed to about 1 cm in length.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q150206 Pachycereus Plants described in 1886 Endemic flora of Mexico