''Lophocereus schottii'', the senita cactus, is a species of

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 Gree ...

from southern Arizona and north-western Mexico, particularly

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 ...

and Sonora. Synonyms include ''Pilocereus schottii'' and ''Pachycereus schottii''., pp. 536–537 The senita cactus exhibits mutualism with the senita moth. The senita moth is the only

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

pollinator of the cactus, and the moth relies on the cactus as a host for reproduction.

References

Echinocereeae Cacti of the United States Cacti of Mexico Plants described in 1856 {{Cactus-stub