Xerophyte

Seeds

Black 1.5 mm long, 1.0 mm wide, 0.7 mm thick.

Description

Pilocereus juaruensis is a columnar cactus 1-1.5 m tall, branching from the bottom. It is distinguished for the branches that are blue-green, shining glaucous blue when young with yellow fine needle like spines.

Note

Pilocereus paraguayensis, described by F. Ritter in 1979, assuming it was a different species, is not sufficiently differentiated and is considered merely a local variant of Pilocereus juaruensis (from the nearby Brazil) which was described earlier by Buining & Bredero, in 1978 as Pseudopilocereus juaruensisSN|6760]]SN|6760]] Buining & Bredero. F. Ritter probably did not study the Brazilian populations, but they are the same, with only small local differences. The rule in the taxonomy is that the oldest name has priority, and the newest is the synonym.

Cephalium

The area where the flowers will grow is called a pseudo-cephalium, it is usually well defined, apical to lateral, involving several ribs covered with dense, 1.5-3 cm long tufts of dull but brighter woollen bristles.

Flowers

Nocturnal, slightly fragrant, 8 cm long and 5 cm wide.

Ribs

10-12, with dull, hardly notched 10-14 mm high.

Stem

Blue-green 5-8 cm thick.

Fruits

Globular, about 2 cm in diameter, pale grey-green, slightly wrinkled, with scales3 mm long, 5 mm wide, with white flesh and dried remnants of its flower.

Areoles

Round,2-3 mm in diameter, 4-7 mm apart with brownish or greyish felt and a bunch of white woolly hairs at the bottom areole.Spines. All fine acicular, straight, flexible, pale yellow to brown yellow from base to tip. Radial spines ca 12, spreading sideways to the areoles, 3-10 mm long. Central spines 3-5, hardly more, 7-40 mm long.