Scopulicola
Trichocereus scopulicola, also known as Trichocereus scopulicolus or Echinopsis scopulicola is a columnar cactus from Bolivia and another species we consider to be "San Pedro."
Trichocereus scopulicola was discovered by Friedrich Ritter during one of his expeditions to Bolivia in 1959. The location of the type is Tarija, Bolivia. More precisely, Ritter gave Tapecua as the location and assigned the collection number FR991 and sold seed of his discovery through his legendary Winter Seed lists. Because of that, he helped spreading the plant all over the world, despite the fact that Trichocereus Scopulicola is rare in nature. The plant grows in Tarija in the province O Connor. Trichocereus scopulicola grows in the cactus forests around the Department Tarija at around 1000-1500 meters.
| Family: | Cactacea |
|---|---|
| Subfamily: | Cactoidea |
| Genus: | Trichocereus |
| Species: | Scopulicola |
- Echinopsis scopulicola
- Trichocereus scopulicolus
- San Pedro
Description
Trichocereus scopulicola grows columnar like a tree and pups from the base. But it's actually rare for this plant to produce numerous shoots and most plants don't have any side shoots. Trichocereus scopulicola can get up to 4 meters tall though most specimens are smaller. The columns are between 5-10 centimeters in diameter and have a nice, dark green epidermis.
Trichocereus scopulicola can have 4-6 ribs though most specimens have five. The areoles are furrowed. The areoles are sunk in and have very little white fluff/wool on top of them. The areoles are rounded or oval and are between 1-4 mm long and 1-2 mm broad, which is very small for a Trichocereus. The distance between the areoles is between 15 and 30 mm. Areoles that form flowers have 4-5 mm diameter. Large, adult plants often lack the spines, while very young seedlings look remarkably similar to a Trichocereus pachanoi and can only be differentiated by the weird rib shape of Trichocereus scopulicola. Adult plants have (if they have any) 3-6 spines that are very small and up to 1.5 mm long. Seedlings have 6-7 ribs, areoles up to 2 mm in diameter and 3-5 mm away from each other, 7-14 needle-like spines (2-3mm long), of which two are central spines.
Trichocereus scopulicola flowers from the apex but there are plants where the flowers come out from lower points on the plant. The flower is white and between 15-22 centimeters long. Trichocereus scopulicola is a night-flowering species but the flowers stay open until the late morning.
The fruit of Trichocereus scopulicola is green and can get up to 6 centimeters thick.
Friedrich Ritter considered this species to be very close to Trichocereus bridgesii, which is one of the plants that grow in the neighborhood of Trichocereus scopulicola. And it´s very likely that Tr. scopulicola is some kind of natural hybrid involving Trichocereus bridgesii or Trichocereus pachanoi.
In addition, Ritter wrote that Trichocereus riomizquensis is related to it, but not as closely related as Trichocereus crassicostatus is. These days, Trichocereus crassicostatus is generally seen as a synonym of Trichocereus scopulicola or Tr. pachanoi. So far, I´ve not been able to track a specimen down but they are certainly out there. If you grow one, let me know.
Taxonomy
T. Scopulicola has been classified to Echinopsis scopulicola. This site will continue to use Trichocereus scopulicola.
Resources
Identifying scopulicola:
Photo Gallery
*Sources: Trichocereus.net