Mexican organ pipe

Description

Stenocereus griseus, also known as the Mexican organ pipe, dagger cactus, pitaya, and pitayo de mayo, is a species of cactus. This tree-like cactus can grow up to 9 m tall, with stems up to 12 cm in diameter. Depending on the cactus, the color of the fruit vary from white, yellow, red, and purple being the hardest to find. This species is found in Mexico in Oaxaca and Veracruz, coastal Venezuela, Guajira Peninsula of Colombia and the ABC islands of the Dutch Caribbean. It is found in scrub-lands. Observations of this species have also been reported in the dry scrub-lands at the base of the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes. However it has not been collected in this region. In the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, this cactus blooms and fruits profusely during the dry season. It is a critical resource for bats, birds and other animals. Its fruit is edible to humans and is considered good tasting. It is planted as an ornamental and as a living fence in warm regions. When used as a fence, it can be impervious to animals due to its spiny nature. The species is found in CITES Appendix II as a species of Least Concern. Its population is considered stable. Stenocereus (Gk. stenos, narrow, L. cereus, candle) is a genus of columnar or tree-like cacti from the Baja California Peninsula and other parts of Mexico, Arizona in the United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela and the ABC islands of the Dutch Caribbean. The genus has been enlarged by the addition of species from several other genera. A close relative is the peculiar chinoa or chende cactus, Polaskia chende. The flowers are mostly borne near the apex of the stems and mostly nocturnal. They are considered easy to grow and generally grow slowly. Stenocereus thurberi (the organ pipe cactus) is a well-known member of this genus and is widely distributed in Arizona and northern Mexico. The fruit is similar to a dragon fruit. Those of Stenocereus gummosus, acidic and very refreshing, are highly favored by the Seris of northwestern Mexico who call the cactus ziix is ccapxl - "thing whose fruit is sour". It is commonly known in Spanish as pitaya agria, or by the English translation Sour Pitaya. S. griseus (Dagger Cactus) fruits, locally known as iguaraya, are relished by the Wayuu from the La Guajira Peninsula of Colombia. Stenocereus are often used as ornamental plants in hot and arid regions, and as noted above, some species can double as a fruit crop.