Pachycereus | |
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Baja California, Mexico | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Core eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Tribe: | Pachycereeae |
Genus: |
Pachycereus (A.Berger) Britton & Rose |
Species | |
See text |
See text
Pachycereus is a genus of 9–12 species of large cacti native to Mexico and just into southern Arizona, United States. They form large shrubs or small trees up to 15 m or more tall, with stout stems up to 1 m in diameter.
Pachycereus comes from the ancient Greek pakhus meaning "thick" and the Latin cereus meaning "torch".
P. pringlei is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m.
These genera have been brought into synonymy with Pachycereus: