Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata

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Since 4 Aug 2013

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata

Family: CACTACEAE

Accepted Scientific Name: Stenocereus eruca f. cristata

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli
The name Machaerocereus signifies dagger cereus with reference to the longest central spines that are knifelike flat and much wider than the others.

Synonyms:

Stenocereus eruca f. cristata

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata

See all synonyms of Stenocereus eruca

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Accepted name in llifle Database:
Stenocereus eruca (Brandegee) A.C.Gibson & K.E.Horak
Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 65(4): 1007 (1978 publ. 1979).
Synonymy: 5

Stenocereus eruca (Brandegee) A.C.Gibson & K.E.Horak

Cereus eruca Brandegee
Lemaireocereus eruca (Brandegee) Britton & Rose
Machaerocereus eruca (Brandegee) Britton & Rose
Rathbunia eruca (Brandegee) P.V.Heath

Accepted name in llifle Database:
Stenocereus eruca f. cristata
Synonymy: 2

Stenocereus eruca f. cristata

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata

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Common Names include:
ENGLISH: Crested Caterpillar Cactus, Creeping Devil Cactus
SPANISH (Español): Chirinole Forma Cristata

Description: The standard Macharocereus eruca is an odd wildly spined cactus with crawling prostrate stems except for their slightly raised tips. They grow about up to 3 m long ramifying further and eventually covering a huge area. The crested form is also very spiny and odd looking.
Areoles: Large, 2 cm apart.
Central spines: flat much wider than the others, 3 cm long.
Radial spines: Around 20 light grey or whitish of unequal length. Outer ones are short and subulate; inner ones are larger and flat.

Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Stenocereus eruca group

Stenocereus eruca (Brandegee) A.C.Gibson & K.E.Horak: The stems grow horizontally and root in the ground, making it seem to move across the desert like an enormous caterpillar.
Stenocereus eruca f. cristata: It is a very wild a crested form covered by sharp dagger-like spines.

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Cactus Art

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Cactus Art

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Cactus Art

Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata (Stenocereus eruca f. cristata) Photo by: Cactus Art

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Cultivation and Propagation: This plant, is seldom seen in cultivation, need full sun to light shade, in plants that are too shaded the spines turn out to be shorter and untypical.
Propagation: Almost allways by grafting, but it is also possible to root it placing a large crested piece on the soil surface without burying the plant base down in the soil.

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Cite this page: "Machaerocereus eruca f. cristata" Text available under a CC-BY-SA Creative Commons Attribution License. www.llifle.com 14 Nov. 2005. 15 Nov 2024. </Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/11578/Machaerocereus_eruca_f._cristata>