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Useful Temperate Plants

Lophocereus schottii

(Engelm.) Britton & Rose

Cactaceae


Lophocereus schottii was transferred to Pachycereus (as Pachycereus schottii (Engelm.) D.R.Hunt) in 1987. However, a more recent study in 2009 by Arias &Terrazas [
1986
Title
Taxonomic Revision of Pachycereus (Cactaceae)
Publication
Systematic Botany, 34(1):68-83. 2009
Author
Arias S. & Terrazas T.
Website
http:// http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1600/036364409787602384
Publisher
 
Year
2009
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive paper, it also lists plant uses.
] has proposed returning this taxon to Lophocereus, a treatment we are following here.

+ Synonyms

Cereus mieckleyanus Weing.

Cereus palmeri F.A.C.Weber

Cereus sargentianus Orcutt

Cereus schottii Engelm.

Lemaireocereus mieckleyanus (Weing.) Borg

Lophocereus australis Britton & Rose

Lophocereus mieckleyanus (Weing.) Backeb.

Lophocereus sargentianus (Orcutt) Britton & Rose

Pachycereus schottii (Engelm.) D.R.Hunt

Pilocereus sargentianus Orcutt ex K.Schum.

Pilocereus schottii (Engelm.) Lem.

Common Name: Senita

No Image.

General Information

Lophocereus schottii is a very spiny, leafless, tree-like cactus, usually growing around 2 - 4 metres tall (occasionally to 7 metres) and usually branching only at the base. These basal branches often form roots, the plant thus spreading to form clonal colonies, sometimes with as many as 50 - 100 stems[
411
Title
Trees and Shrubs of Mexico
Publication
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol 23
Author
Standley P.C.
Publisher
Smithsonian Institution; Washington
Year
1926
ISBN
 
Description
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.
,
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The stems are highly esteemed in Mexico for medicinal purposes, especially stems with five ribs, and considerable quantities are harvested for personal and commercial purposes. The fresh as well as dried star-shaped cross-sections of the stems are widely sold in herbal shops in many parts of Mexico[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
]. The plant is grown as an ornamental in semi-arid regions.
Lophocereus schottii is widespread and abundant, with no evidence of marked systematic declines in spite of some localized threats. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
,
1987
Title
The Cactus Family
Publication
 
Author
Anderson E.F.
Publisher
Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
Year
2001
ISBN
0-88192-498-9
Description
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..

Range

Southwestern N.America - Arizone, northwest Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora)

Habitat

Dunes, stream shores, thin soil, rocky foothills and desert scrub; at elevations up to 800 metres[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Properties

Conservation StatusLeast Concern
Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height3.50 m
Growth RateSlow
PollinatorsMoths
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

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[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
]. 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[
423
Title
Desert Tropicals
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
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.
].
Requires a sunny position in a well-drained, circumneutral soil[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
The plant flowers for much of the year, the fruit ripening in as little as one month after flowering[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
].
The flowers usually open just after sunset and close before or soon after dawn[
1986
Title
Taxonomic Revision of Pachycereus (Cactaceae)
Publication
Systematic Botany, 34(1):68-83. 2009
Author
Arias S. & Terrazas T.
Website
http:// http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1600/036364409787602384
Publisher
 
Year
2009
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive paper, it also lists plant uses.
].
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[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
].
Seedling establishment among the northern populations of this species is a rare event and clonal propagation from the stems is a more common occurrence[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[
411
Title
Trees and Shrubs of Mexico
Publication
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol 23
Author
Standley P.C.
Publisher
Smithsonian Institution; Washington
Year
1926
ISBN
 
Description
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.
]. Tasty[
1987
Title
The Cactus Family
Publication
 
Author
Anderson E.F.
Publisher
Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
Year
2001
ISBN
0-88192-498-9
Description
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..
]. Eaten when fully ripe[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
]. A bright red, fleshy pulp[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
,
1987
Title
The Cactus Family
Publication
 
Author
Anderson E.F.
Publisher
Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
Year
2001
ISBN
0-88192-498-9
Description
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..
]. The red, ovoid to globose fruit is around 20 - 40mm in diameter, it occasionally has spines[
411
Title
Trees and Shrubs of Mexico
Publication
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol 23
Author
Standley P.C.
Publisher
Smithsonian Institution; Washington
Year
1926
ISBN
 
Description
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.
].

Medicinal

Lophocereus schottii is a popular herbal treatment in Mexico and is widely sold in herbal shops there. Five-ribbed stems, which are the sterile or juvenile growth, are preferred snce these are thicker, softer, (more flaccid and much juicier), and not as tough as the fertile parts of the stem that have a higher number of ribs.
Five-ribbed stems are used in remedies to treat a number of conditions including diabetes, TB, stomach ulcers, and cancer, and also as a remedy for falling hair (evita la caida pelo), as a tonic for blood circulation (circulación de la sangre)[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
,
1565
Title
Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
].
Applied externally, it is used to treat wounds and sores[
1565
Title
Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
].
As a common preparation, a cross section of the stem, about 20mm thick, is cooked in about one litre of water until it boils. This liquid is then drunk through the day as one would drink water)[
1556
Title
Flora of SW Arizona
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/content/flora-sw-arizona
Publisher
University of Arizona Herbarium
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent flora, published on-line in PDF format
]

Several medicinally active compounds have been isolated from the stems and the complete plant. These include the alkaloids isoquinoline, lofocerin and pilocerein; the triterpenes lofenol and lupeol; and the sterol scoenol[
1565
Title
Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
].

An ethanolic extract obtained from the plant has shown cytotoxic activity on human carcinoma cells 9KB and antitumor properties in mice with leukemia-P388 when administered intraperitoneally, thus supporting the traditional uses of the plant[
1565
Title
Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-10-14. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Lophocereus+schottii>

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