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Cactaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Lophocereus schottii

Lophocereus schottii

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Lophocereus schottii is a plant of arid and semi-arid regions of southwest N. America, growing where temperatures do not generally fall below 0°c[1]. In regions with dry or moderately dry winters some forms of this plant (especially those from Arizona) are known to tolerate short periods with temperatures falling as low as -9°c, though in general temperatures below -4°c are likely to cause severe damage or death[2]. Requires a sunny position in a well-drained, circumneutral soil[3]. The plant flowers for much of the year, the fruit ripening in as little as one month after flowering[1]. The flowers usually open just after sunset and close before or soon after dawn[4]. There is an obligate relationship between this cactus and a pyralid moth, Upiga virescens. The female moths collect pollen on specialized abdominal scales and actively deposit pollen on the stigma, and deposit a single egg in each pollinated flower. The larvae feed on the developing fruits, preventing seed set in individual fruits, but enough flowers escape predation to produce significant numbers of fruits and seeds[5]. Seedling establishment among the northern populations of this species is a rare event and clonal propagation from the stems is a more common occurrence[5].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Lophocereus+schottii>

Pollinators

Moths

References

  1. [1]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  2. [2]Desert Tropicals — http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ ↩︎The main focus of the site is succulent plants, but it also contains information on a wide range of other species. Usually at least one good photograph, plus basic information about the plant and its cultivation.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Taxonomic Revision of Pachycereus (Cactaceae) — Arias S. & Terrazas T. · 2009 · http:// http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1600/036364409787602384 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive paper, it also lists plant uses.
  5. [5]Flora of SW Arizona — University of Arizona Herbarium · https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona ↩︎An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
  6. [6]Trees and Shrubs of Mexico — Standley P.C. · Smithsonian Institution; Washington · 1926 ↩︎Although dated, it contains a wealth of information on the trees and shrubs of Mexico, including many of their uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  7. [7]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  8. [8]The Cactus Family — Anderson E.F. · Timber Press; Portland, Oregon · 2001 · ISBN 0-88192-498-9 ↩︎An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
  9. [9]Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana — http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php ↩︎A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico