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Browningia candelaris
(Meyen) Br* & R.
Graham Charles visits this unusual and rarely grown South American species in
habitat and details some interesting and previously unrecorded observations.
Photography by the author.
Briars Bank, Fosters Bridge, Ketton, Stamford, Lines PE9 3UU, UK
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.
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BCSJ Vol. 18 (I) U|
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Figure 4 The abrupt end to the spiny, Figure 5 The small fruit of plants near Figure 6 The large fruit of plants in the
lower part of the trunk on a plant near Tacna, at 2,670m in southern Peru. Tinajas Canyon near Lima, Peru.
the road from Arica to Putre, at 2,200m GC340.02 GC 1 57.02
in northern Chile. GC280.0 1
had observed in Tinajas Canyon (10cm long) near to According to Rauh, the propagation of this plant must
Lima in 1994 (Fig. 6), although both contained ripe be done by seeds since the flowering arms cannot be
seeds. Interestingly, Rauh referred to certain differ- rooted nor successfully grafted. This is an interesting
ences in the plants from the northern end of the dist- observation which suggests that there is something
ribution, including the fact that they occurred at lower physiologically different about these branches which
altitude. Ritter described these northern populations stops them rooting, a bit like trying to root just the
as a separate species, Browningia icaensis , stating that the cephalium of a Melocactus perhaps. Before reaching
two grew in the same valley where their distributions this conclusion, I think it would be necessary to exper-
overlapped and there they were separated by altitude imentally compare the rooting of Browningia branches
with a definite gap between them. In his description, with the mature limbs of other large cerei collected in
Ritter gives the fruit size of B. icaensis as 10cm, rather habitat, since I would guess that none of these large
larger than the 7cm quoted for the southern forms. diameter stems would be easy.
Browningia candelaris is rarely cultivated in Europe, part- In recent years, the desire to consolidate species into
ly due to seed being offered only occasionally and also fewer genera has resulted in further plants being added
because the seedlings are slow growing and not partic- to the genus Browningia. Species which once belonged
ularly attractive. An article in Kakteen und andere to Gymnocereus , Gymnanthocereus , Castellanosia , and
Sukkulenten (1967), the journal of the German Society, Azureocereus are now included, making a total of about
by Prof. W. Rauh, described how a 3 metre high ten in all. Although they have a number of botanical
mature specimen was collected near to Arequipa and features in common, none has the extraordinary form
of B. candelaris.
transported to the Heidelberg Botanical Garden where
it flowered in 1965, probably the first (and last?) flow- REFERENCES:
ering of this species in cultivation in Europe. When I BRITTON, N.L. & ROSE, J.N. (1920) The Cactaceae Vol. II: 63
visited Tinajas Canyon near Lima in 1994, my friend Carnegie Institute, Washington, USA.
Chris Pugh dislodged a fruit with an accurate throw of BUXBAUM, E (1965) Gattung Browningia in Krainz, H. u. F. Buxbaum
Die Kakteen, Stuttgart, Germany.
a stone. The fruit weighed over 200g (Fig. 6) and cont- RAUH, W. (1958) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Peruvianischen Kakteenvegetation
ained a large number of large black seeds which result- Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.
ed in many of the typical brown spined seedlings. RAUH, W. (1967) Eine blühende Browningia candelaris (Meyen) Br. & R.
in der Kultur. Kakt. und. and. Sukk. 18(3): 43.
After six years the biggest plants are about 12cm tall.
RITTER, F. (1981) Kakteen in Sudamerika Band 4: 1319. Self-published
My oldest plant is over 25 years old and still only SOHRENS, J. (1923-24) Cereus candelaris Meyen. Zeitschrift fur
about 25 cm tall so I am not optimistic about being the Sukkulentenkunde 1: 197. ^
first to flower a seedling in cultivation in Britain!
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