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Cereus stenogonus
K. Schumann 1899
Photograph Cereus stenogonus in habitat

2008, Paraguay, Guairá

 

Surveys

2007, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Ruta 4, A&M 220 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
01-6907
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
02-6910
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
03-6912

 

2007, Paraguay, Paraguarì, P. N. Ybycuí, A&M 244 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
04-8013
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
05-8030
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
06-8027
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
07-8029

 

2008, Paraguay, Guairá, Colonia Indipendencia, A&M 250 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
08-9225
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
09-9228
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
10-9227

 

2008, Paraguay, Guairá, Colonia Indipendencia, A&M 251 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
11-9257
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
12-9259
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
13-9260

 

2011, Bolivia, Tarija, west of Palos Blancos, A&M 643 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
14-1100120
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
15-1100124
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
16-1100117
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
17-2
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
18-4
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
19-1

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Salinas, A&M 660 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
19-IM0079
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
20-IM0080
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
21-IM0081

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Ruta 4, A&M 668 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
22-1100416
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
23-1100417

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Ruta 4, A&M 682 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
24-1100744
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
25-1100746

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Valle del Rio Grande, A&M 685 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
26-1100837

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Ruta 4, A&M 683 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
27-1110182
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
28-1110175
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
29-1110178
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
30-1110179
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
31-1110173

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Ruta 4, A&M 694 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
32-1110188
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
33-1110193
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
34-1110195
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
35-1110197
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
36-1110199
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
37-1110205
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
38-1110207
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
39-1110208

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Puerto Suarez, A&M 713 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
40-1120424
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
41-1120427
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
42-1120429
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
43-1120431
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
44-1120435
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
45-1120438

 

2011, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Puerto Suarez, A&M 716 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
46-1120608
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
47-1120610
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
48-1120612
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
49-1120613
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
50-1120614
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
51-1120616

 

2011, Paraguay, Dept. Amambay, P. N. Cerro Corà, A&M 729 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
52-1130108
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
53-1130110

 

2011, Paraguay, Dept. Alto Paraguay, P. N. Defensores del Chaco, A&M 739 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
54-1130382
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
55-1130381
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
56-1130377

 

2011, Paraguay, Dept. Alto Paraguay, P. N. Defensores del Chaco, A&M 745 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
57-1130583
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
58-1130586
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
59-1130588
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
60-1130592

 

2011, Paraguay, Dept. Alto Paraguay, between the centerpark of the P. N. Defensores del Chaco and the junction for Cerro León, A&M 746 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
61-1130593
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
62-1130596
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
63-1130600

 

2011, Argentina, Misiones, San Ignacio, A&M 758 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
64-1150105
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
65-1150106
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
66-1150109

 

2011, Argentina, Misiones, San Ignacio, A&M 761 Show on map

Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
67- 1150207
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
68-1150209
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
69-1150211
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
70-1150215
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
71-1150224
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
72-1150236
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
73-1150229
Preview photo Cereus stenogonus
74-1150238

 

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Synonyms

Piptanthocereus stenogonus, Cereus argentinensis, Piptanthocereus colosseus, Cereus lamprospermus ssp. colosseus, Cereus dayami, Piptanthocereus dayami, Cereus lamprospermus, Cereus roseiflorus, Cereus tacuaralensis

Distribution

Argentina (Chaco, Corrientes, Misiones), Bolivia (Santa Cruz, Tarija), Paraguay, Uruguay

Conservation status

(3)   Least Concern, LC

Comments

Given that Cereus lamprospermus K. Schumann, is known only through the description by Schumann (1899, 166), and the additions made to it by Ritter (1979, 1: 259) which describes with the name Piptanthocereus lamprospermus (K. Schumann) F. Ritter, an arboreal form of Paraguay, and whereas Cereus lamprospermus ssp. colosseus (F. Ritter) P. J. Braun & Esteves, is known only thanks to one single specimen described by Ritter in Mairana (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) as Piptanthocereus colosseus F. Ritter (1980, 2: 554), the species lamprospermus must have a rather mysterious look. The only connection between the two taxa is given by the afore mentioned descriptions by Ritter that we have above, where the author points out a probable or possible relationship.
The problem in identifying the P. colosseus described by Ritter as Schumann’s C. lamprospermus is the Schumann description, that speaks about a plant with more ribs (6-8) and more spines (8-11, of which the longest <4 cm), compared to the specimen of Mairana, with 5-7 ribs and 5-8 spines in the Ritter‘s description, however the plant in that site shows on almost all branches to have the lowest number of ribs (5) and spines (5), and these spines, except in the few branches below, are much shorter. The plant also closely resembles Cereus stenogonus K. Schumann, an arboreal form, that bears a lower number of ribs (4 (-5)) and spines (2-3), of which the upper 2-5 mm and the lower 6-7 mm. This taxon is fairly widespread throughout the Argentine and Paraguayan Chaco, and found in the neighbouring department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as its most north-west area, as Taylor (2007, 22: 10) points out completing the distribution of C. stenogonus appeared in The New Cactus Lexicon (Hunt et al. 2006, text: 42). So we agree, when he states that C. lamprospermus ssp. colosseus is not distinct from C. stenogonus. (Quoted from Anceschi & Magli 2010, 30-31)


In the previous commentary dedicated to Cereus lamprospermus K. Schumann, we had already noted (2010, 30-31), as Taylor also mentions (2007, 22: 10) that Cereus lamprospermus ssp. colosseus, known for its giant specimen of Mairana (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) (Ritter 1980, 2: 554) was nothing but a specimen of Cereus stenogonus K. Schumann in one of the most northwesterly areas of its distribution range. In 2011 we travelled for almost three months, around various distribution areas of C. stenogonus between Bolivia (Tarija and Santa Cruz, up to the border with Mato Grosso do Sul, BR) Paraguay (Dpts. Amambay, Concepción and Alto Paraguay) and Argentina (Misiones). We were also looking for the mysterious C. lamprospermus taxon, which is supposed to be in Paraguay, in the Dpt. Alto Paraguay, between Fuerte Olimpo and Cerro León (Schumann 1899, 166; Ritter 1979, 1: 259). We thought that a columnar cactus of this size (a tree of 6-8 meters) could not have escaped our attention. Unfortunately, we have to start this update with bad news: in 2010 the famous specimen of Mairana made well-known by Ritter and documented in N=9]Anderson (2001, 147); Hunt et al. (2006, Atlas: 134), Anceschi & Magli (2010, A&M 220, photos 01-03) was cut down by the landowners. But the surveys in the zone between Samaipata and Mairana, and more precisely between Agua Clara and Yerba Buena, revealed that the specimen formed part of a population of C. stenogonus where several individuals reach large dimensions (A&M 683, photos 27-31). Proceeding with the research, first through the Bolivian Chaco and the neighbouring Andean mountains, and then through the Paraguayan Chaco, we documented the cacti populations of arboreal or columnar growth, which are summarized in the table. The only arboreal species of the genus Cereus P. Miller, which is encountered in this part of the Chaco Biome, (and which in Paraguay should include the distribution areas of C. lamprospermus), is the dominant C. stenogonus. We also observed in the characters of some specimens of this taxon, that they have measurements that would identify them as C. lamprospermus. For example, the specimen documented in Bolivia, Tarija west of Palos Blancos (A&M 643, photos 14-19), has branches with 7 ribs (6-8 in the description of C. lamprospermus), and the areoles on the branches with 1 central spine and (9) -10 radial spines (8-11 spines in C. lamprospermus). From the collected documentation, evidence has come to light that C. lamprospermus is not a species that exists, and that as C. lamprospermus ssp. colosseus must be considered a synonym of the dominant and widespread C. stenogonus, the dimensions of which are quite variable, and whose distribution areas cross the borders with the Chaco region into the Mata Atlantica Biome region. (Quoted from: Anceschi & Magli 2013b, 41-43)

Genus

Cereus

Other species

aethiops
bradei
crassisepalus
euchlorus
fernambucensis
forbesii
hildmannianus
jamacaru
laniflorus
lanosus
minensis
phatnospermus
saxicola
spegazzinii
stenogonus