Cottonball Cactus
Espostoa lanata
Family: Cactaceae
This is a variable species with several subspecies. Columnar and branching from the base, in cultivation it usually only gets about 3’ high but in habitat many individuals reach large sizes, over 20’ tall. It very much resembles the Old Man Cactus (Cephalocereus senilis) but inside its woolly hair are stiff spines that differentiate this plant. On mature plants, a cephalium will develop, a thickened woolly patch of hair on the side of the upper stems, where the flowers emerge from. The flowers are nocturnal and white or purplish. The flowers are followed by small, purplish fruits.
Plant in full to part sun, low water (maybe once a month in summer). Plants are hardy to about 25°F. Container plants should be watered about once a week in summer, and seldom or not at all in winter.
Photo of plant in the wild in Peru by Ignacio Torres García on iNaturalist
This species is pollinated by bats and moths. Many birds may eat the fruits.
The genus, Espostoa is named for Nicolas Esposto, a Peruvian botanist. The species, lanata, means woolly. There are 11 species of Espostoa known from the Andes of southern Ecuador and Peru.
The native range of this cactus mainly on the west slopes of the Andes, from southern Ecuador to the northern Peru on the west slopes of the Andes mountains.