SWIM's BFC (Big Freakin' Cactus)

[bozefonce]

SWIM just moved into a house he's renting and there's a really, really tall, branching cactus growing on one side of it. I'm pretty certain it's a San Pedro or related sp. Six ribs, relatively short spines (1" or less). SWIM would appreciate any confirmation from the experts out there. The landlord is a friend of SWIM, and he has an agreement that SWIM is in charge of the landscaping. He already told landlord he's going to have to trim down a significant portion of this beast 'cause it's leaning on the awning above the window and getting very heavy, gonna bend the aluminum awning if he doesn't cut it back. It's literally taller than the eaves on the house right now, definitely over 9' tall. SWIM doesn't want to waste this stuff, does anybody have suggestions on the best method of preservation for such a large amount of cactus material? SWIM wants to try some, but it's like at least a year's supply for 3. The damn thing's almost as thick as most people's legs. Cuttings anyone? SWIM will trade for some interesting spores or growing equipment or anything else of interest.

[mondoharp]

Looks like a cereus peruvianus. Inactive. Are the ribs really flattened?
At any rate, they produce beautiful blooms.

[Irishlion]

Originally Posted by mondoharp

Looks like a cereus peruvianus. Inactive. Are the ribs really flattened?
At any rate, they produce beautiful blooms.

Cereus Peruvianus is a good guess but, the peruvianus has much larger spines, a cereus is it nonetheless so good job on that

Its diffently not a Trich cactus

It is How ever a stenocereus marginatus

[director of sound]

my mom has the same cactus and hers is quite large too. potted thouth its still over 7 feet. she had to trim it several times and i ate some of it (roughly 8 inches) and got nothing other than a stomach ache. no bitterness at all. i dont know what kind it is and neither does she. i guess she has had it along with a saguaro since a family trip to central america when she was 17 (shes now 63) the saguaro is only about 5 feet tall damn thats slow 1 foot per a decade!!

[bozefonce]

Cool, thanks a lot you guys, I appreciate the suggestions. Was hoping we had something here, but gotta admit it's an impressive specimen. It's starting to bud right now, I'll post pics when the blooms open up. SWIM's gonna wait for it to flower before trimming, but it has to be cut back before hurricane season starts.

[bozefonce]

Originally Posted by Irishlion

Cereus Peruvianus is a good guess but, the peruvianus has much larger spines, a cereus is it nonetheless so good job on that

Its diffently not a Trich cactus

It is How ever a stenocereus marginatus

Stenocereus marginatus seems to have white fluffy edges (thus marginatus? other marginatus cacti have a similar feature) and closely spaced spine clusters moreso than the cactus shown in my post. One article I found on Cereus Peruvianus says that it's a species that has in the past covered a wide range of different cacti, most of which have since been recategorized, and that C. Peruvianus is a sort of "slop" species to which many cacti are assigned simply because nobody has really taken the time to differentiate them. Sorry for the long sentences. Anyhow, I'm not convinced about your assessment, Irishlion (no disrespect meant, I appreciate the input tremendously), but it gave me the push to do a little more research. There is one cactus that seems closer, Cereus Repandus, also known as the "Peruvian Apple Cactus" having fruit similar to Dragonfruit. Since it's flowering about now, I'll wait and see what the blossoms look like, and any fruit it produces. I'll post new pics when that happens. Internet pics don't always seem to be consistent and variations on a single species seem to be pretty plentiful. We'll see.

[Irishlion]

Originally Posted by bozefonce

Stenocereus marginatus seems to have white fluffy edges (thus marginatus? other marginatus cacti have a similar feature) and closely spaced spine clusters moreso than the cactus shown in my post. One article I found on Cereus Peruvianus says that it's a species that has in the past covered a wide range of different cacti, most of which have since been recategorized, and that C. Peruvianus is a sort of "slop" species to which many cacti are assigned simply because nobody has really taken the time to differentiate them. Sorry for the long sentences. Anyhow, I'm not convinced about your assessment, Irishlion (no disrespect meant, I appreciate the input tremendously), but it gave me the push to do a little more research. There is one cactus that seems closer, Cereus Repandus, also known as the "Peruvian Apple Cactus" having fruit similar to Dragonfruit. Since it's flowering about now, I'll wait and see what the blossoms look like, and any fruit it produces. I'll post new pics when that happens. Internet pics don't always seem to be consistent and variations on a single species seem to be pretty plentiful. We'll see.

Ok cool, no disrespect taken brother, just didn't want you eating that thing LOL, also your pics, can you take some up close and of the rib and spines, would be a GREAT help in knowing what it is for sure and the Pervian pineapple does look very close to it, I would be willing to wager on it, Identifing cactus is a task to say the least, they can look so much alike, you another set of good pics taken in daylight and some of the spines and some of those beautiful flowers as well as that is still a beautiful specimen, active or not

[bozefonce]

Originally Posted by Irishlion

Ok cool, no disrespect taken brother, just didn't want you eating that thing LOL, also your pics, can you take some up close and of the rib and spines, would be a GREAT help in knowing what it is for sure and the Pervian pineapple does look very close to it, I would be willing to wager on it, Identifing cactus is a task to say the least, they can look so much alike, you another set of good pics taken in daylight and some of the spines and some of those beautiful flowers as well as that is still a beautiful specimen, active or not

Thanks, Irish, here are some better pics:

[Irishlion]

Originally Posted by bozefonce

Thanks, Irish, here are some better pics:

With those new pics I would say you are spot on with it being a Peruvian Pinaapple man. Thanks,

[tenjin]

Definitely a cool looking specimen active or inactive