#borzicactus

Cleistocactus sepium

This short-columnar cactus makes a cluster of stems, and it produces flushes of spectacular flowers at intervals during the warm part of the year. As can be seen, the flowers have a hairy tubular lower part, with a flared red or pinkish-red mouth. It is native to Ecuador. While many classifiers have included this species in Cleistocactus, others have favored keeping that genus for the more southerly-occurring species that do not have flared mouths, while recognizing a separate genus Borzicactus for the northern ones such as the species shown here.

Borzicactus tenuiserpens

This slender cylindrical-stemmed cactus was received under a wrong name, but I think it is Borzicactus tenuiserpens (also known as Cleistocactus tenuiserpens). There is considerable debate as to whether Borzicactus and Cleistocactus should be treated as separate genera or included together in Cleistocactus, but in general the Borzicactus group comes from farther north (Peru and Ecuador) and has flowers that flare out at the mouth, while the Cleistocactus group (in the narrower sense) has narrow tubular flowers and comes from farther south in Bolivia and Argentina. In any case, they have wonderful hummingbird-pollinated flowers, as can be seen here.

Cleistocactus icosagonus

Cleistocactus is a South American genus with cylindrical stems and tubular flowers. The genus has a northern group (mostly from Peru and Ecuador) that is sometimes placed in the separate genus Borzicactus, and these generally have flowers that flare open at the mouth, as seen here with C. icosagonus. The southern group (mostly from Bolivia and Argentina) tend to have flowers with narrow mouths.

Cleistocactus samaipatanus

In David Hunt's book "The New Cacus Lexicon", this species is considered to belong in Cleistocactus, However, in Joel Lode's book "Taxonomy of the Cactaceae", he argues for keeping the northern species (generally with flowers having dramatically flared mouths) in the genus Borzicactus, while reserving Cleistocactus for the more southerly ones (generally with narrowly tubular flowers). In whichever genus it is placed, this plant is a standout!

Borzicactus sepium

This plant is a cactus, so it should come as no surprise that it has multiple names assigned to it! The Cactus Systematics Group favored putting all the Borzicactus species into Cleistocactus, so this species is listed that way in The New Cactus Lexicon. But Joel Lode took strong exception to this, and insisted that Borzicactus is a distinct group and should be retained. Under any name, it forms a clump of spiny cylindrical stems, adorned with stunning pinkish-red flowers. Native to Ecuador.

Cleistocactus sepium

Cleistocactus is a genus of slender-stemmed columnar cacti from South America, and their nectar-filled tubular flowers make them appealing to hummingbirds. Plants in Argentina and Bolivia (the southern group of species) generally have flowers with a narrow mouth (”cleistocactus” means “closed cactus”, in reference to this, since the petals don’t spread). But the northern group of species, in Peru and Ecuador, have flared mouths on their flowers, as is the case with Cleistocactus sepium, which comes from Ecuador. Some people prefer to classify these northern species as a separate genus: Borzicactus.

Cleistocactus icosagonus

This cactus species from southern Ecuador and northern Peru is placed in the genus Cleistocactus by cactus authority David Hunt, but is placed instead in Borzicactus by Joel Lode. In Lode’s view, the name Cleistocactus should properly be used for the more southerly group of species with flowers that do not flare widely at the mouth, like this one does. Whichever genus this plant is parked in, it is certainly a show-stopper with its reddish-gold spines and brilliant orange flowers.