About Stenocereus stellatus (Pfeiff.) Riccob.
Stenocereus stellatus (Pfeiff.) Riccob. grows as either a tree or a shrub, with shoots that branch from the base and reach 2 to 4 meters in height. It forms a short trunk. Its upright shoots are dark green to bluish green, with a diameter of 7 to 10 centimeters. The shoots have eight to twelve blunt, rounded ribs, which are divided into cusps up to 2 centimeters high. It usually produces three gray central spines that measure 2 to 6 centimeters long; one spine points downward, while the other two point upward. It also has seven to nine gray radiating marginal spines, which have darker tips and are shorter than the central spines.
Light pink, tubular to narrow bell-shaped flowers grow near the tops of the shoots and open at night. The flowers are 4.5 to 9 centimeters long. The spherical fruits are green or red, and reach 5 to 6 centimeters in diameter. The fruit pulp can be red, white, orange, yellow, or purple, and contains black seeds.
Stenocereus stellatus is widely distributed in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla, and Oaxaca. It grows at altitudes between 500 and 2,200 meters, in limestone and sandstone soils within thorn-scrub and tropical dry forests. It grows alongside the species Ceiba aesculifolia, Parkinsonia praecox, Ipomoea arborescens, Ipomoea murucoides, Fouquieria formosa, Neltuma laevigata, Lippia origanoides, Lophocereus marginatus, Myrtillocactus geometrizans, Myrtillocactus schenckii, Polaskia chichipe, Polaskia chende, Stenocereus pruinosus, Escontria chiotilla, Pachycereus weberi, Lemaireocereus hollianus, Isolatocereus dumortieri, and Stenocereus treleasei. It is pollinated by multiple bat species including Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, L. nivalis, Choeronycteris mexicana, Glossophaga soricina, and Artibeus jamaicensis; several bee species including Xylocopa mexicanorum, Bombus pensylvanicus, and Plebeia mexicana; and multiple hummingbird species including Amazilia violiceps, Phaeoptila sordida, and Cynanthus latirostris.
