Trichocereus glaucus
First description was in:
Friedrich Ritter 1981
"Kakteen in Südamerika" Band 4: 1328, 1553
Page 1553
Fig. 444. Trichocereus glaucus.
RItter's 1981 description:
page 1328
Trichocereus glaucus Ritt. K.u.a.S., 1962, H. 11, S. 180
Body: shrubs from 1 to more than 2 meters tall and often several meters in diameter, appearance of columns is largely stepped on the lower situated branches but less stepped above [[Unclear: from "sprossend haupsächlich unten von liegenden Trieben, weniger oben sprossend"]]
Branches 5-8 cm thick, upright, later prostrate in the lower parts, new growth blue green, later more grey green.
Ribs 7-9, very broad & blunt, 7.5-13 mm high, 15-25 mm wide, notched, with furrow along breadth but not extending to the divided furrows of the rib.
Areoles are filled with grey felt [Knize’s have brown on new areoles], ½-¾ cm diameter, set 1-2 cm apart, with humps stretching downward into the notches. [Unclear: from "von den Höckern in die Kerben hinabreichend."]]
Spines in the new growth black to brown, then fading, straight [or erect or upright], stiff [or rigid],
Radial spines 7-10, on the side of arranged, the lower and lateral 8-15 mm long, robustly needle shaped, somewhat flattened, the upper are stronger and not as sharp as the Centralspines.
Centralspines 3-6, very widely spreading, awlshaped, 2-8 cm long, the lowest usually flattened, the strongest sometimes in the middle, but usually closer to the upper edge and almost in the position of a radial spine, 1.5 mm thick at base.
Blossoms borne close to the top of the column, 13-19 cm long, smell sweet, opening in evenings but remaining open in the morning (Notes are from 4 blossoms of different specimens of the Type.)
Ovary green, with green scales, narrowly triangular, 2-5 mm long sharp scales and large elevated scale bases, with strong black or brown black wooly hairs, the divider against the nectar chamber is 3-4 mm thick. This tube, 13-23 mm long, set 1-2 mm wide around the Style, is brownish, almost open, with nectar.
Floral tube is nearly funnelshaped, 40-65 mm long, above 2-3 cm wide [oben 2-3 cm weit], interior is pale greenish,
[[Unclear portion: Insertionen are absent on the uppermost 2-3 cm of the tubes up to a ring on the seam;
From "Insertionen fehlen auf den obersten 2-3 cm der Röhre bis auf einen Ring auf dem Saum"]]
Anthers pale brown, [[Unclear portion: “about from because of Kronblatter-height standing” from: "etwa bei halber Kronblatter-höhe stehend".]]
Style is pale green, above white or pale brownish, 10-11 cm long, with 14-18 mm on the 13-16 spreading pale yellow stigma lobes between the anthers or above them.
Petals 5-8 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, above trains tip or blunt with a Spitzchen, at which basis extends less than 1/3 the width, in 2/3 until ¾ height at that, the external petals are longer, narrower and more spatulate, above [[Unclear "zugespitzt"]]; internal petals are white or slightly pink, much shorter, of below from [[Unclear "zugespitzt"]], pink until almost bloodred, passing into the scales.
[[From: Kronblatter 5-8 cm lang, 1-2 cm breit, oben zugespitzt oder stumpf mit einem Spitzchen, an der Basis weniger als 1/3 breit, bei 2/3 bis ¾ Höhe am breitesten, die äusseren die längeren und schmaleren und mehr spatelförmig, oben zugespitzt; innere weiss oder gering rosa, die äussersten kürzer, von unten ab zugespitzt, rosa bis fast blutrot, in die Schuppen übergehend. ]]
Fruit grass green, ca 4 cm long, 3 cm thick, at both ending bluntly, half almost entirely covered like the ovary, flesh is white, mature fruit bursts above.
Seed ca 1.2 mm long, 1.0 mm wide, 0.6 mm thick, at the apical end [[Unclear: ventralwärts vorgewölbt]]; Testa black, somewhat shining, with dimples; hilium at the [[Unclear: abgestutzten]] basal end, oval, very large, blackish.
Type collected in the mountains at the lower course of the TAMBO-river, Depart. Arequipa.
Grows also in the region of IlO.
Related to Trichocereus chalaensis.
Ritter discovered in 1954. Designated the collection as FR 270. Fig. 1194.