About Cereus stenogonus K.Schum.
Cereus stenogonus K.Schum. is a tree-like cactus species that grows with sparsely to richly branched, upright shoots, reaching heights of up to 8 meters. It develops a distinct, heavily thorned trunk. Its cylindrical shoots are blue-green when young, later becoming lightly glaucous green, and measure 6 to 9 centimeters in diameter. The shoots have four to five high, deeply notched ribs. Areoles sit within the notches and are spaced far apart. Typically three to four spreading, conical thorns emerge from each areole; these thorns are thick to onion-shaped at their base, are yellow with black tips or entirely black, and grow up to 7 millimeters long. This species produces slightly pink flowers that are 20 to 22 centimeters long. Its egg-shaped fruits are red, grow up to 10 centimeters long, and contain red pulp.
Cereus stenogonus is distributed up to 500 meters above sea level across multiple regions: in Brazil, it occurs in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul; it is also found in Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, where it grows in the departments of Alto Paraguay, Caaguazú, Central, Concepción, Cordillera, Guairá, Paraguarí and Presidente Hayes; in Argentina, it is found in the provinces of Chaco, Corrientes and Misiones. It grows in sandy and clay soils in rocky areas, alongside the cactus species Stetsonia coryne, Quiabentia verticillata, Harrisia bonplandii, Harrisia martinii, and Opuntia sulphurea. The first formal description of this species was published in 1899 by Karl Moritz Schumann. It is currently listed as "Least Concern" (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
