Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Pilosocereus | image = Pilosocereus_leucocephalus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Cereeae | genus = '''Pilosocereus''' | authority = Byles & Rowley (1957) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with additional morphological and molecular insights from Zappi (1994), Machado et al. (2006), and Bàrcenas et al. (2011). }} == Etymology == The name means "hairy Cereus", referring to the..."

2026-04-20T08:21:05Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Pilosocereus | image = Pilosocereus_leucocephalus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Cereeae | genus = '''Pilosocereus''' | authority = Byles & Rowley (1957) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with additional morphological and molecular insights from Zappi (1994), Machado et al. (2006), and Bàrcenas et al. (2011). }} == Etymology == The name means "hairy Cereus", referring to the..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Pilosocereus
| image = Pilosocereus_leucocephalus.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Cereeae]]
| genus = '''Pilosocereus'''
| authority = Byles & Rowley (1957)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with additional morphological and molecular insights from Zappi (1994), Machado et al. (2006), and Bàrcenas et al. (2011).
}}

== Etymology ==
The name means "hairy Cereus", referring to the abundant pilosity of the pseudocephalium characteristic of many species.

== Description ==
'''Pilosocereus''' is a genus of columnar, shrubby to tree-like cacti, often forming candelabra-like structures and reaching up to 10 m in height.

* '''Habit''': Columnar, often strongly branched; stems with mucilage.
* '''Epidermis''': Smooth, grey-green to bluish, often glaucous.
* '''Ribs''': 3–30, straight, often with a transverse groove below the areoles.
* '''Areoles''': Felted; strongly woolly in reproductive zones, sometimes forming pseudocephalia.
* '''Spines''': Variable; usually straight, acicular, sometimes translucent.
* '''Flowers''': Nocturnal, tubular to campanulate, white to pink; self-sterile.
* '''Pollination''': Primarily chiropterophilous (bats), but also by moths, bees, hummingbirds and other birds.
* '''Fruits''': Globose to flattened, thick-walled; irregularly dehiscent; pulp white to pink or purple.
* '''Seeds''': Shiny, dark brown to black, striate, broadly ovate to spoon-shaped.

== Habitat ==
Wide ecological amplitude:

* dry forests, thorn scrub, tropical valleys and mountainous regions
* rocky, sandy, limestone, sandstone, granitic and quartz substrates
* caatinga and campo rupestre ecosystems in Brazil

Altitude range: sea level to approximately 1900 m.

== Distribution ==
Very widely distributed:

* Caribbean islands
* Central America
* South America (especially Brazil)
* Mexico
* southern United States (Florida)

Countries include: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, USA, and many Caribbean nations.

== Taxonomy ==
The genus has a complex taxonomic history.

* ''Pilocereus'' (Lemaire, 1839) is illegitimate due to typification issues with ''Cephalocereus senilis''
* ''Pilosocereus'' was established by Byles & Rowley (1957) with ''P. leucocephalus'' as type species

Key insights:

* Zappi (1994): major morphological revision of Brazilian taxa
* Machado et al. (2006): suggested polyphyly among related genera
* Bàrcenas et al. (2011): recovered a monophyletic ''Pilosocereus'' (limited sampling)

The genus is currently accepted, but further molecular work is needed.

== Species ==
Following Joël Lodé (2015), including recognized subspecies.

* [[Pilosocereus albisummus]]
* [[Pilosocereus alensis]]
* [[Pilosocereus arrabidae]]
* [[Pilosocereus aureispinus]]
* [[Pilosocereus aurisetus]]
** [[Pilosocereus aurisetus subsp. aurilanatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus azulensis]]
* [[Pilosocereus bohlei]]
* [[Pilosocereus brasiliensis]]
** [[Pilosocereus brasiliensis subsp. ruschianus]]
* [[Pilosocereus catingicola]]
** [[Pilosocereus catingicola subsp. salvadorensis]]
* [[Pilosocereus chrysacanthus]]
* [[Pilosocereus chrysostele]]
* [[Pilosocereus collinsii]]
* [[Pilosocereus densiareolatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus densivillosus]]
* [[Pilosocereus diersianus]]
* [[Pilosocereus estevesii]]
* [[Pilosocereus flavipulvinatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus flexibilispinus]]
* [[Pilosocereus floccosus]]
** [[Pilosocereus floccosus subsp. quadricostatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus frewenii]]
* [[Pilosocereus fulvilanatus]]
** [[Pilosocereus fulvilanatus subsp. rosae]]
* [[Pilosocereus glaucochrous]]
* [[Pilosocereus goianus]]
* [[Pilosocereus gounellei]]
** [[Pilosocereus gounellei subsp. zehntneri]]
* [[Pilosocereus hermii]]
* [[Pilosocereus jauruensis]]
* [[Pilosocereus lanuginosus]]
** [[Pilosocereus lanuginosus subsp. colombianus]]
** [[Pilosocereus lanuginosus subsp. moritzianus]]
** [[Pilosocereus lanuginosus subsp. tillianus]]
* [[Pilosocereus leucocephalus]]
* [[Pilosocereus lindanus]]
* [[Pilosocereus machrisii]]
* [[Pilosocereus magnificus]]
* [[Pilosocereus mollispinus]]
* [[Pilosocereus multicostatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus occultiflorus]]
* [[Pilosocereus oligolepis]]
* [[Pilosocereus pachycladus]]
** [[Pilosocereus pachycladus subsp. pernambucoensis]]
* [[Pilosocereus panchesiorum]]
* [[Pilosocereus parvus]]
* [[Pilosocereus pentaedrophorus]]
** [[Pilosocereus pentaedrophorus subsp. robustus]]
* [[Pilosocereus piauhyensis]]
* [[Pilosocereus polygonus]]
* [[Pilosocereus pseudosuperfloccosus]]
* [[Pilosocereus purpusii]]
* [[Pilosocereus pusillibaccatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus quadricentralis]]
* [[Pilosocereus rizzoanus]]
* [[Pilosocereus royenii]]
* [[Pilosocereus splendidus]]
* [[Pilosocereus tillianus]]
* [[Pilosocereus tuberculatus]]
* [[Pilosocereus tuberculosus]]
* [[Pilosocereus ulei]]
* [[Pilosocereus vilaboensis]]

== Notes ==
* One of the most widely distributed cactus genera.
* High ecological adaptability across tropical and subtropical regions.
* Pollination syndromes are diverse (bats, insects, birds).
* Some subgeneric groups (e.g. ''Gounellea'') may be taxonomically separated in the future.
* Seed morphology and juvenile traits may help resolve taxonomic uncertainties.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Cereeae]]
[[Category:Pilosocereus]]

Pilosocereus - Revision history