Chastudo

Description

Oreocereus varicolor is a species of plant in the genus Oreocereus in the cactus family (Cactaceae). A common Spanish name is "Chastudo". Oreocereus varicolor grows shrubby with branches branching from the base and forms dense groups. The columnar, erect, opaque green shoots are up to 2 meters long. There are twelve rounded ribs. The areoles on it are very large and clearly separated from each other. The thorns emerging from the areoles are colored differently. Their color varies from whitish to reddish. The four strong central spines are subulate and up to 4 centimeters long. The 15 variable radial spines are spreading. The tubular flowers are red and 6 centimeters long. The spherical fruits are greenish. Oreocereus varicolor is distributed in northern Chile and possibly southern Peru at altitudes of about 3000 meters. The first description was in 1951 by Curt Backeberg. Oreocereus is a genus of cacti (family Cactaceae), known only from high altitudes of the Andes. Its name means "mountain cereus", formed from the Greek prefix oreo- (ὀρεο-, mountain) and the New Latin cereus, meaning wax or torch. As they are covered with woolly white fuzz (modified spines), a few species in this genus are sometimes known as the old-man cactus, a generic name that also refers to Cephalocereus senilis or Espostoa lanata. More rarely, the old man of the mountain is also used for some species.