Pachycereus

Pachycereus is a genus of large cacti native to Central America and Mexico.^[1] They form large shrubs or small trees up to 15 m tall, with stout stems up to 1 m in diameter. Pachycereus comes from the ancient Greek παχύς (pachys) meaning "thick" and the Latin cereus meaning "torch".

Pachycereus
Pachycereus pringlei in Baja California, Mexico
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Tribe:	Echinocereeae
Genus:	Pachycereus (A.Berger) Britton & Rose[1]
Type species
Pachycereus pringlei
Species
See text.
Synonyms[1]
Anisocereus Backeb. Tribularia M.Ocampo

Taxonomy

Species

As of February 2025^[update], Plants of the World Online accepted six species:^[1]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Pachycereus grandis Rose		Mexico (México State, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla)
	Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum (Engelm. ex S.Watson) Britton & Rose	Indian comb	Mexico
	Pachycereus pringlei (S.Watson) Britton & Rose	cardón cactus	states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora Mexico
	Pachycereus tepamo Gama & S.Arias		Mexico (Michoacán)
	Pachycereus weberi (J.M.Coult.) Backeb.		Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla)

P. pringlei is the tallest cactus species in the world, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m.^[2]

Synonymy

These genera have been brought into synonymy with Pachycereus by some sources,^{[citation needed]} although as of October 2023^[update], not by Plants of the World Online:^[1]

• Lemaireocereus Britton & Rose
• Marginatocereus (Backeb.) Backeb.

Species that may be placed in Pachycereus include:

• Pachycereus hollianus (F.A.C.Weber ex J.M.Coult.) Buxb. = Lemaireocereus hollianus^[3]
• Pachycereus lepidanthus (Eichlam) Britton & Rose = Lemaireocereus lepidanthus^[4]
• Pachycereus militaris (Audot) D.R.Hunt = Mitrocereus militaris^[5]