Argentine Saguaro
Leucostele terscheckii
Family: Cactaceae
This plant might be mistaken for a saguaro at first glance. These giants are native to Argentina and can get about 25’ tall. Though similar to a saguaro, you can usually tell by its spines and areoles which are more tannish/brown instead of the more silvery/gray spines of the saguaro. Also the flower is much larger, and more often blooming down the sides of the stems rather than the crown of stout flowers produced by the saguaro. The flowers are large, nocturnal, and fragrant. The fruits that follow are round or oblong and turn blue.
Plant in full to part sun. Low water is encouraged though a watering once or twice a month in summer is advised, especially when rain is lacking. This plant is remarkably hardy, to about 10°F. Though reputed to be “slow growing” they are fast growing compared to saguaros.
Plants are bat pollinated. Fruits are eaten by birds and other animals.
The genus, Leucostele, comes from the Greek leukos ‘white, bright’ + Greek stēlē ‘(boundary) post’—so meaning something like “white column”, probably for the bright white, bristly spines and the columnar habit. The specific epithet terscheckii honors the court gardener Carl Adolph Terscheck of Japanisches Palais in Dresden. There are 13 species of Leucostele native to Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.
This species is native to several provinces including Jujuy, Tucumán, La Rioja, San Juan, Catamarca and Salta provinces in northwestern Argentina, and is the eponymous cactus of Los Cardones National Park in Salta Province. Range continues to the western slopes of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia department of Tarija, and Ecuador. It is found growing on dry slopes of the Andean foothills.
There are parts of Argentina that almost look exactly like the Tucson basin, with saguaro-like cactus, mesquites, palo verde, and other similar species. Photo by lflovesnature on iNaturalist
One obvious difference between the Argentine saguaro, and our own, is the color of the spines, which are more tannish or brown. Saguaro spines are very gray or silver. Photo by Josh Vandermeulen, iNaturalist
The flowers are large, fragrant, and nocturnal. Photo by Analía Benavidez, iNaturalist