Cephalocereus columna-trajani

Cephalocereus columna-trajani is a species of cactus from Mexico.

Cephalocereus columna-trajani
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Cephalocereus
Species:
C. columna-trajani
Binomial name
Cephalocereus columna-trajani
(F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum.) H.E.Moore
Synonyms
  • Cephalophorus columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Lem. 1838
  • Cereus columna-trajani Karw. 1837
  • Haseltonia columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Backeb. 1960
  • Mitrocereus columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) E.Y.Dawson 1948
  • Pachycereus columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Britton & Rose 1909
  • Pilocereus columna (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Lem. 1839
  • Cephalocereus columna (Walp.) K.Schum. 1894
  • Cephalocereus hoppenstedii (J.N.Haage & E.Schmidt) K.Schum. 1894
  • Cereus columna Walp. 1846
  • Cereus hoppenstedtii (J.N.Haage & E.Schmidt) Mottet 1898-1899
  • Cereus lateribarbatus Lem. 1862
  • Haseltonia hoppenstedtii (J.N.Haage & E.Schmidt) Backeb. 1951
  • Melocactus columna-trajani Pfeiff. 1837
  • Pilocereus hoppenstedtii J.N.Haage & E.Schmidt 1874
  • Pilocereus lateralis F.A.C.Weber 1898
  • Pilocereus lateribarbatus Pfeiff. 1885

Description edit

Cephalocereus columna-trajani grows with non-branching green shoots and reaches heights of 6 to 10 meters with diameters of up to 40 centimeters. There are 16 to 26 ribs, which are almost completely divided into cusps by transverse furrows. Abundant white, silky hairs emerge from the white areoles near the tip of the shoot. The 5 to 8 downward-facing, stiff central spines are grayish and up to 8 centimeters long. The 14 to 18 white marginal spines are up to 1 centimeter long. The clearly lateral, narrow, 2 to 3 meter long pseudocephalium extends to the top of the shoot and is usually directed north. It consists of yellowish, woolly hairs 4 to 6 centimeters long.

The tubular to bell-shaped flowers are white to light yellow and have a length of up to 7.5 centimeters and the same diameter.[2]

Distribution edit

Cephalocereus columna-trajani is widespread in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Puebla, where it forms dense forests.

Taxonomy edit

The first description as Cereus columna-trajani was published in 1837 by Ludwig Georg Karl Pfeiffer.[3] The specific epithet columna-trajani comes from Latin, means 'Trajan's Column' and refers to the stately nature of the species. Karl Moritz Schumann placed the species in the genus Cephalocereus in 1897.[4] Further nomenclature synonyms are Cephalophorus columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Lem. (1831), Pilocereus columnatrajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Lem. (1839), Cephalocereus columna (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) K.Schum. (1894), Pachycereus columnatrajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Britton & Rose (1909), Mitrocereus columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Backeb. ex E.Y.Dawson (1948) and Haseltonia columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) Backeb. (1960).

References edit

  1. ^ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  2. ^ Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 100. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
  3. ^ Pfeiffer, Ludwig Georg Karl (1837). Enumeratio diagnostica cactearum hucusque cognitarum /auctore Ludovico Pfeiffer. Berolini: L. Oehmigke. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15207.
  4. ^ Schumann, Karl Moritz; Hirscht, Karl. (1899). Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen (Monographia cactacearum) /von Karl Schumann. Neudamm [Dębno, Poland?]: J. Neumann. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.10394.

External links edit