Ritter 1980 (“translated”)
Friedrich Ritter
1980 Kakteen in Südamerika Volume 2: 563; fig. 443. “Trichocereus
scopulicola Ritt. “Cactus” April 1966”
(page
563)
Trichocereus
scopulicola
Ritt. “Cactus” April 1966
Body: upright dark green
columns, branching from the ground not at all or only slightly, 3-4 m tall,
8-10 cm thick.
Ribs: 4-6, usually 5, almost
indentationless, broad and blunt, somewhat arched on the flanks and up to 3-4
cm wide.
Furrow dividing the ribs is
straight & even.
Areoles are somewhat sunken,
slightly white felted, round or oval, 1-3 mm long, extended 1 mm, 15 until
almost 30 mm free distance;
Flowering areoles are round
and around 4-5 mm in diameter.
Spines on large plants are
either missing or 3-5. They are awl-like and only around 1 mm long.
Seedlings have 6-7 ribs,
areoles of 1-1.5 mm in diameter set 3-5 mm apart, with 7-13 needle-shaped,
whitish or brown spines, 2-5 mm long, 1-2 placed as centrals.
Flowers usually borne near
the top of the head, sometimes also lower, 16-20 cm long, fragrant, opening at
night, remaining open in the cooler hours of the morning.
Ovary is green, largely
divided into zones, podaria ca 1 cm in diameter., above running out into
greenish triangular scales 1-2 mm long, with white want hairs also black above
in addition.
Nectar chamber is
brownish-white, tubular, surrounding the style very closely, ca 2 cm long, with
nectar.
Receptacle is around that, funnel-shaped, 65-85 mm long, interior
and outside light green inside and out, the green scales increasing towards the
top until around 25 mm long and 15 mm wide; the transition into the calyx is
reddish-brown. Hairs are black with white and very frizzy-wooly.
Stamens are pale green below
and yellowish towards the top, 7-9 cm long, those of the hymen are 4-5 cm long;
they are inserted on a distance of around 4 cm.
Anthers are brownish.
Petals are white, 6-8 cm
long, 2.5-4 cm wide, with a narrow base, rounded end with or without points,
widest towards the tip,
Sepals are narrower with a
green mid-stripe.
Style is pale green, 14-18
cm long of which around 2 cm is the 12 light yellow spreading stigma lobes.
Fruit is green, 4-5 cm long
and wide, with a surface similar to that of the ovary, tasty.
Seeds are 1.8 mm long, 1.3
mm wide, 0.8 mm thick, almost kidney-shaped, shiny black, covered with little
humps, [Problematic passage: “Testa glänzend schwarz, etwas gehöckert “
neither “testa” nor “gehöckert” are in any of our available
dictionaries. The latter would mean “bearing humps”] Hilium is oval,
brownish and very sloping.
The type is related to TRICHOCEREUS BRIDGESII, yet more closely
with TR. CRASSICOSTATUS.
Habitat is rocky cliffs and talus [problematic passage; see link]
of mountainous forests of Depart. Tarija; around 1000 to 1500 m in elevation.
Holotype: Discovered by Ritter in 1959; Tapecua, Prov. O'
Connor, Bolivia.
This type is an excellent
grafting stock.
No. FR 991.
Fig. 443.