ID Please

[Jkwinston]

Hello, what is this? Jkw

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[mcvansoest]

I think this may be some kind of Stenocereus, I cannot see enough detail on the stem/flower to get to more than that.

In habitat? If so, where?

[Jkwinston]

I think this may be some kind of Stenocereus, I cannot see enough detail on the stem/flower to get to more than that.

In habitat? If so, where?

Thanks Thijs. Not genuine habitat, but Mexico City University Botanical Garden, UNAM for short. There were two species on show, the other looked more like Echinopsis (looks different now). I will look for another photo. Yes, there was a different in width, although the flowers were somewhat similar. Jkw

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[mcvansoest]

Yeah that makes me doubt my sense of a Stenocereus some. There are a few with flowers that might fit, but unfortunately there are a whole bunch of them without good flower pictures.

It would seem that flowers are too small for some kind of Cereus, I'd almost say that of Echinopsis/Trichocereus as well. Echinopsis/Trichocereus plants of that size tend to have flowers that are way bigger than that.

Another thing that I thought of was a Polaskia, but I had never seen flowers of those. Just checked and there are some similarities with P. chende.

[Jkwinston]

Thanks Thijs, and I think you may be right about Polaskia chende. I grow pachanoi and peruvians, and they are straight up cactus form, and they do not sprawl the way these plants do. Also the flowers are more pure white, and larger. The only alternative is a hybrid, and since they were so many of them, I doubt it. I will have a deeper search on the internet. Thanks a lot. Jkw

[Paul S]

I visited UNAM a couple of years ago. Some unbelievably nice specimens there but, boy, are the labels bad! You would have hoped that the premier botanical institute in Mexico would be all over the correct names but they were a shambles.

[Jkwinston]

Thijs, I have just found some other photos which could point again to Polaskia, and there is even a label to confirm these. See if you think that they are similar to the other plants in the first post. These were taken in the same garden. Jkw

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[mcvansoest]

Winston,

I was going to say that that looked like its close relative Polaskia chichipe and then got to your picture of the sign confirming my sense. I have both these plants, but my Chende is still very small and these definitely look different when small compared to young. My Chichipe is starting to develop the mature look. No flowers on either yet. I think the flowers on the plant in the original picture with the green bases fits Chende better than any of the Stenocerei that I have found that have similar looking flowers, but for both Polaskias the overall look of the flowers resembles many of the Stenocerei's flowers closely.

I am not 100% sure, but I think P. chende is the most obvious choice for the ID of the plant in the OP.

[Jkwinston]

Thanks a lot Thijs, for all that work. As you must guess, these species are very new to me. Although those photos were taken years ago, I am only now trying to connect the dots. As it is garden that belongs to the UNAM's Botany Department, they are always short on labels, but I do love the surprise element of the place, Have a look at one of my favourites below. Thanks again Jkw

Fouquieria purpusii

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[Jkwinston]

I visited UNAM a couple of years ago. Some unbelievably nice specimens there but, boy, are the labels bad! You would have hoped that the premier botanical institute in Mexico would be all over the correct names but they were a shambles.

Paul, I always make the best of any bad situation. When I visit Mexico City, I do the tourist bit, and this was the best example of plants that I have ever come across in the city. Since I do not do the habitat tour, I can deal with it. Jkw

[Paul S]

Winston, I don't understand your post, sorry.

Here is a page of pics from when I visited 3 years ago.

http://www.oasisdesigns.co.uk/Mexicoweb14/15th.htm

Said to be one of the oldest universities in the world!

[Jkwinston]

Winston, I don't understand your post, sorry.

Here is a page of pics from when I visited 3 years ago.

http://www.oasisdesigns.co.uk/Mexicoweb14/15th.htm

Said to be one of the oldest universities in the world!

Have you ever visited their Art Gallery? If you did, you would be impressed because the Art Gallery is a prestige project icon created for Mexico City. The BG is not; it is just an extension of the Department of Botany. In any institution, there will always be a pecking order, which decides how they spend their money. Jkw

[Paul S]

Winston, you seem very defensive and I don't understand why. I made a criticism of the labeling at the botanical gardens, based upon what I saw there, but not of you or your observations.