Cephalocleistocactus chrysocephalus is an evergreen, perennial columnar cactus, with branching shoots reaching lengths of up to 2-5 meters with diameters of 3 to 5 centimeters with 14 ribs. The areoles on it are 5 to 8 mm apart. The 6 bright yellow central spine is up to 7-30 mm long. The 15 radial spines are yellowish and 7 mm long.
The diurnal, self sterile, straight, yellow to red flowers are 5 centimeters long. The fruits are greenish red, 2 x 3 centimeters. Seeds are smooth, black and 0.7 mm.[3][4]
Distribution
Plants are found in slopes of seasonally dry valleys in the Yungas at elevations between 1900 to 2500 meters. The plant is rarely seen in habitat.[3]
Taxonomy
This species was first collected in Inquisivi Province in the Department of La Paz, Bolivia and described in 1959 by Friedrich Ritter. The plant was named after the golden color of the cephalium. The plant was placed in the genus Cephalocleistocactus based on longer and wider nectar chambers than Cleistocactus and the presecence of cephalium. It was moved to the genus Cleistocactus by Mottram in 2002 but later moved back to Cephalocleistocactus.[3][5][6]
References
↑ Goettsch, Bárbara; Hilton-Taylor, Craig; Cruz-Piñón, Gabriela; Duffy, James P.; Frances, Anne; Hernández, Héctor M.; Inger, Richard; Pollock, Caroline; Schipper, Jan; Superina, Mariella; Taylor, Nigel P.; Tognelli, Marcelo; Abba, Agustín M.; Arias, Salvador; Arreola-Nava, Hilda J.; Baker, Marc A.; Bárcenas, Rolando T.; Barrios, Duniel; Braun, Pierre; Butterworth, Charles A.; Búrquez, Alberto; Caceres, Fátima; Chazaro-Basañez, Miguel; Corral-Díaz, Rafael; del Valle Perea, Mario; Demaio, Pablo H.; Duarte de Barros, Williams A.; Durán, Rafael; Yancas, Luis Faúndez; Felger, Richard S.; Fitz-Maurice, Betty; Fitz-Maurice, Walter A.; Gann, George; Gómez-Hinostrosa, Carlos; Gonzales-Torres, Luis R.; Patrick Griffith, M.; Guerrero, Pablo C.; Hammel, Barry; Heil, Kenneth D.; Hernández-Oria, José Guadalupe; Hoffmann, Michael; Ishihara, Mario Ishiki; Kiesling, Roberto; Larocca, João; León-de la Luz, José Luis; Loaiza S., Christian R.; Lowry, Martin; Machado, Marlon C.; Majure, Lucas C.; Ávalos, José Guadalupe Martínez; Martorell, Carlos; Maschinski, Joyce; Méndez, Eduardo; Mittermeier, Russell A.; Nassar, Jafet M.; Negrón-Ortiz, Vivian; Oakley, Luis J.; Ortega-Baes, Pablo; Ferreira, Ana Beatriz Pin; Pinkava, Donald J.; Porter, J. Mark; Puente-Martinez, Raul; Gamarra, José Roque; Pérez, Patricio Saldivia; Martínez, Emiliano Sánchez; Smith, Martin; Manuel Sotomayor M. del C., J.; Stuart, Simon N.; Muñoz, José Luis Tapia; Terrazas, Teresa; Terry, Martin; Trevisson, Marcelo; Valverde, Teresa; Van Devender, Thomas R.; Véliz-Pérez, Mario Esteban; Walter, Helmut E.; Wyatt, Sarah A.; Zappi, Daniela; Alejandro Zavala-Hurtado, J.; Gaston, Kevin J. (2015-10-05). "High proportion of cactus species threatened with extinction"(PDF). Nature Plants. 1 (10). doi:10.1038/nplants.2015.142. ISSN2055-0278. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
1 2 3 Lowry, Martin (2016). "A synopsis of the genusCleistocactusLemaire (Cactaceae)". Bradleya. 34 (34). British Cactus and Succulent Society: 148–186. doi:10.25223/brad.n34.2016.a6. ISSN0265-086X.
↑ Lodé, J. (2025). Taxonomy of the Cactaceae: The New Classification of Cacti Based on Molecular Research and Fully Explained (3-6ed.). Cactus-Aventure.
↑ de Vos, J.M.; Eggli, U.; Nyffeler, R.; Larridon, I.; McGinnie, C.; Epitawalage, N.; Maurin, O.; Forest, F.; Baker, W.J. (2025). "Phylogenomics and classification of Cactaceae based on hundreds of nuclear genes". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 311 (28): 1–53.
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