trichocereus grandiflorus cactus

[Galka]

I got this cactus from Lowe's. It already had fruits and I noticed one flower bud on the other side, can't wait to see the flower. The fruits got yellow and split today. I wonder if they are edible.

[nullzero]

Trichocereus sp. fruits are fully edible, most cactus fruit is edible. You should try out the fruit, tell us how it is.

[Galka]

So, do you think it's fully ripe? Or I should wait a little longer?

[nullzero]

So, do you think it's fully ripe? Or I should wait a little longer?

Usually when the fruit splits it indicates that its fully ripe and ready for birds and other critters to eat its fruit and disperse seeds. So I would say its ripe, I would just wash the exposed areas off well or skin off the outer layers of exposed fruit. It looks like it has similar texture of a Cereus sp. fruit. I have heard that some Trichocereus sp. have excellent fruit which can be similar to Dragon Fruit in taste and flesh texture.

[Galka]

Thanks nullzero. Well, I had one today.  If I don't die by tomorrow morning, will post pictures of fruit inside. It is edible, somewhat like white flesh DF. The taste was mild with a hint of apple, not sweet but some sweetness in the split part.

[nullzero]

Thanks nullzero. Well, I had one today.  If I don't die by tomorrow morning, will post pictures of fruit inside. It is edible, somewhat like white flesh DF. The taste was mild with a hint of apple, not sweet but some sweetness in the split part.

Good to hear, I actually have some Trichocereus sp. I picked out for their fruit (have not tried yet, but the descriptions sounded good).

Here are some of the selections I have;

Trichocereus peruvianus “San Pedro Macho” “Pichu”
Cactaceae. An often confused species, after studying the plants in habitat we only offer here what fits the original Britton and Rose description for the species. Columnar cactus to 12'+, often sprawling or even prostrate. Glaucus blue-green, chunky stems to 6"+ diameter.  Large brown felted areoles widely spaced. Armored with stout spines 1/2" to 3"+ long. Fragrant white nocturnal flowers and large edible fruits with a sweet white pulp. This species seems to be restricted to the valleys of the western Andean slopes of central and southern Peru, occuring between 6,500–11,000'. We offer thick cuttings. Z9a

Trichocereus peruvianus ‘Los Gentiles’  “Pichu”
Fat blue frosted upright stems 4–6” in diameter. Large fuzzy areoles with 6+ short radial spines and 1 or more long stout central spines. New spines
originally blood red to yellow, fading to black and then dull gray or white with age. White flowers. Ripe fruits are considered a choice “Pitahaya”. Occurs
at 7,000– 10,000 feet in the central highlands of Peru near Matucana. Often grows in a acequia irrigated agricultural systems on rock wall borders of
andenes and milpa style gardens. A preferred species being harvested for the herbalist markets of Peru. Only seven ribbed stems are gathered and the
cactus is referred to as “Pichu”. Said to have been tended to for at least 3,800 years by the lineage of people known as “Los Gentiles”. Z9a

Trichocereus validus? NL52509a
Thick columnar plant with large stout spines and big 4” diameter sweet fruit. Collected by N. Logan at 7,600’, between the town of Puna and Belin, Potosi
Province, Bolivia. These large Trichocereus are in need of serious study to clarify the taxonomy. This plant falls into the T. validus/werdermannianus/
tacaquirensis/taquimbalensis/escayachensis complex. Z8b–9a

[starling1]

You're going to be pissed at me for this nullz, but there's actually really, really awesome pachycereus on ebay US right now and I was going to tell you to grab it....but I forgot the latter half of the name 

Very fine seeds, juicy pink flesh that is fine grained. Spiky as all hell but the fruit looks incredible.

[nullzero]

You're going to be pissed at me for this nullz, but there's actually really, really awesome pachycereus on ebay US right now and I was going to tell you to grab it....but I forgot the latter half of the name 

Very fine seeds, juicy pink flesh. Spiky as all hell but the fruit looks incredible.

That is ok I can't collect more desert adapted cacti atm until I move. I have limited space over in CA and Florida is hit or miss with survival of most cacti (due to humidity and disease pressures). Still collecting some more shade and humid tolerant cacti such as Dragon fruit, Epiphyllum sp., Pereskia sp. etc. Also have my eye on some more local Opuntia sp.

[stuartdaly88]

Can you also eat the fruits of Trichocereus macrogonus?(Im pretty sure you can since Iv heard talk this is more likely just a sub species of peruvianus but always good to check!)
Trichocereus bridgesii?
(do you know if Echinopsis or Trichocereus is the more recent genus name?

Im surprised these are edible since the flesh has pretty toxic alkaloids in it!
Im glad though and it makes me really wonder is Lophophora williamsii fruit edible?
My little guy is pupping like mad from light benzylaminopurine applications and could flower in the next couple years:)

Are there any cactus with toxic fruits to watch out for or are the basically all Cactaceae edible to some degree even if the body is toxic?


Sorry for so many questions but do you know a good resource(book, website, forum, friendly expert) for identifying cactuses? especially columnar I find it so hard since growing conditions seem to change the form quite alot:(

[starling1]

Can you also eat the fruits of Trichocereus macrogonus?(Im pretty sure you can since Iv heard talk this is more likely just a sub species of peruvianus but always good to check!)
Trichocereus bridgesii?
(do you know if Echinopsis or Trichocereus is the more recent genus name?

Im surprised these are edible since the flesh has pretty toxic alkaloids in it!
Im glad though and it makes me really wonder is Lophophora williamsii fruit edible?
My little guy is pupping like mad from light benzylaminopurine applications and could flower in the next couple years:)

Are there any cactus with toxic fruits to watch out for or are the basically all Cactaceae edible to some degree even if the body is toxic?


Sorry for so many questions but do you know a good resource(book, website, forum, friendly expert) for identifying cactuses? especially columnar I find it so hard since growing conditions seem to change the form quite alot:(

I'm aware of one cactus that has a scoville rating of like 160 million. If you ate it, it would literally dissolve your tastebuds, and would probably kill you. I'll try and find the name.

If you go into the tropical fruit library, I posted a link today which will answer many of your questions.

[stuartdaly88]

Can you also eat the fruits of Trichocereus macrogonus?(Im pretty sure you can since Iv heard talk this is more likely just a sub species of peruvianus but always good to check!)
Trichocereus bridgesii?
(do you know if Echinopsis or Trichocereus is the more recent genus name?

Im surprised these are edible since the flesh has pretty toxic alkaloids in it!
Im glad though and it makes me really wonder is Lophophora williamsii fruit edible?
My little guy is pupping like mad from light benzylaminopurine applications and could flower in the next couple years:)

Are there any cactus with toxic fruits to watch out for or are the basically all Cactaceae edible to some degree even if the body is toxic?


Sorry for so many questions but do you know a good resource(book, website, forum, friendly expert) for identifying cactuses? especially columnar I find it so hard since growing conditions seem to change the form quite alot:(

I'm aware of one cactus that has a scoville rating of like 160 million. If you ate it, it would literally dissolve your tastebuds, and would probably kill you. I'll try and find the name.

If you go into the tropical fruit library, I posted a link today which will answer many of your questions.

160 million holy crap! that would be some insane hot sauce

Thanks Starling I will go peruse

[Tao2]

"I'm aware of one cactus that has a scoville rating of like 160 million. If you ate it, it would literally dissolve your tastebuds, and would probably kill you. I'll try and find the name."

I'd really like to know the name of it

Apart from the above then? - all cacti fruit are edible.

The trich (Echinopsis) family are best when the exposed white flesh starts to brown (oxidised?). The more days it is cracked open the sweeter it becomes - best to cover fruit with breathable fine mesh plastic/cotton bag, to prevent entry to birds.
Trippy alkaloids are not present in the fruit, the cacti wants birds/bats to eat it & disperse the seeds, they can't do that if they are intoxicated.
Trich fruit is good for temperate climates where cereus, stenocereus & dragon etc may not do well.

What colour flowers did your trichocereus grandiflorus have? (Always keen to exchange some seeds if interested (Echinopsis macrogona, syn. Trichocereus macrogonus seeds would be awesome too) 

[Galka]

Here are the pictures.

[Galka]

"I'm aware of one cactus that has a scoville rating of like 160 million. If you ate it, it would literally dissolve your tastebuds, and would probably kill you. I'll try and find the name."

I'd really like to know the name of it

Apart from the above then? - all cacti fruit are edible.

The trich (Echinopsis) family are best when the exposed white flesh starts to brown (oxidised?). The more days it is cracked open the sweeter it becomes - best to cover fruit with breathable fine mesh plastic/cotton bag, to prevent entry to birds.
Trippy alkaloids are not present in the fruit, the cacti wants birds/bats to eat it & disperse the seeds, they can't do that if they are intoxicated.
Trich fruit is good for temperate climates where cereus, stenocereus & dragon etc may not do well.

What colour flowers did your trichocereus grandiflorus have? (Always keen to exchange some seeds if interested (Echinopsis macrogona, syn. Trichocereus macrogonus seeds would be awesome too) 

If this question to me, as I said above I haven't seen the flower. But a new bud is forming, so hope to see it soon. And I can collect some seeds for exchange. There are two fruits ripening. I will let them stay longer on and report the taste and pics later.

[greenman62]

The hottest hot pepper is no match for the spicy heat of the resin spurge Euphorbia resinifera, a cactus-like plant native to Morocco. The resin spurge produces a chemical called resiniferatoxin or RTX, which is a thousand times hotter on the Scoville scale than pure capsaicin, the chemical that produces heat in hot peppers. Law enforcement-grade pepper spray and the hottest hot pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, both pack a punch of about 1.6 million Scoville heat units.

Pure capsaicin comes in at 16 million Scoville units, while pure resiniferatoxin has 16 billion Scoville heat units.

Both the capsaicin from hot peppers and the resiniferatoxin from the Euphorbia can give you chemical burns or even kill you. Resiniferatoxin makes the plasma membrane of sensory neurons permeable to cations, especially calcium. Initially exposure to resiniferatoxin acts as a strong irritant, followed by analgesia. Even though the chemicals may be painfully hot, both capsaicin and resiniferatoxin may be used for pain relief.

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2013/10/13/hottest-chemical-resiniferatoxin-is-a-thousand-times-hotter-than-capsaicin.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin

[From the sea]

The hottest hot pepper is no match for the spicy heat of the resin spurge Euphorbia resinifera, a cactus-like plant native to Morocco. The resin spurge produces a chemical called resiniferatoxin or RTX, which is a thousand times hotter on the Scoville scale than pure capsaicin, the chemical that produces heat in hot peppers. Law enforcement-grade pepper spray and the hottest hot pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, both pack a punch of about 1.6 million Scoville heat units.

Pure capsaicin comes in at 16 million Scoville units, while pure resiniferatoxin has 16 billion Scoville heat units.

Both the capsaicin from hot peppers and the resiniferatoxin from the Euphorbia can give you chemical burns or even kill you. Resiniferatoxin makes the plasma membrane of sensory neurons permeable to cations, especially calcium. Initially exposure to resiniferatoxin acts as a strong irritant, followed by analgesia. Even though the chemicals may be painfully hot, both capsaicin and resiniferatoxin may be used for pain relief.

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2013/10/13/hottest-chemical-resiniferatoxin-is-a-thousand-times-hotter-than-capsaicin.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin

Wow, that's crazy!

[mangomike]

Euphorbia is not a cactus - a different family altogether. Most euphobias contain highly toxic compounds

I have never seen anything in the literature about cactus fruits that are toxic, even though quite a number of species contain alkaloids and other compounds in the plants flesh. I have routinely sampled cactus fruit I have encountered both in habitat and in cactus collections; all were edible (although most were bland or tasteless. a few were excellent).

[Galka]

Another one is almost ready. This time I will wait a little longer. Noticed couple flower buds. 

[Ansarac]

I got partial information, to the effect that 'Drunkard's Dream" cactus may be spicy, and was being used in a salsa, but do not consider it reliable, without corroborating research.

[Galka]

Finally I got to see the flower.

[stuartdaly88]

Finally I got to see the flower.

Did it flower again straight after if finished fruiting Galka?

[Galka]

Yes. There is one more little flower bud.

[Luisport]

Hi! Anyone knows where i can find a list with edible fruit cactus species? There are so many varieties that i get confused... Thank's!

[raimeiken]

I'm researching this at the moment as well. I'm looking for ones that are small enough I can keep in pots. Most are quite big, but here's an awesome post I found.


http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1801124/what-cacti-produce-edible-fruit-or-are-edible

john_p_marmaro(z10 Florida)
Hi there

Many cacti of varying sizes produce edible fruits, many more than just the Opuntias. One of the more commonly planted large cacti in Florida and California is Cereus repandus, which produces large red edible fruit. Several species of Hylocereus, especially H. undatus and H. triangularis, produce edible fruits that have been christened "Dragon Fruits" in SE Asia and China where they have become extremely popular. These cacti, though, are very cold-sensitive and can only be grown well in zone 10. Some very large cacti that produce edible fruit include the Saguaro, Carnegia gigantea, as well as the Cardon, Pachycereus pringlei. Two other species of Pachycereus, P. schottii and P. weberi, known respectively as Senita and Candelabro, also produce edible fruits, those of P. schottii being referred to as "tasty"; these four species are very large. The literature does not say how large the Pachycereus species must be before flowering, but the Saguaros usually have to be quite large and old, say, 30 years and 10 feet or so. The Arizona Queen of the Night, Peniocereus greggii, and some other species of Peniocereus, P. johnstonii and P.serpentinus, also produce edible fruit. Smaller related cacti of the genus Echinocereus are famous for their fruit, a number of species being known as "Strawberry Cactus" because of their strawberry (and sometimes raspberry) flavored red or green fruits. The most notable of these are E. engelmannii, E. bonkerae, E. boyce-thompsonii, E. enneacanthus, E. cincerascens, E. stramineus, E. dasyacanthus, E. fendleri, and E. fasciculatus, as well as lesser known ones like E. brandegeei, E. ledingii, and E. nicholii. E. engelmannii's flavor has been described as "strawberry and vanilla". Among the smaller cacti, a number of species of Mammillaria produce edible fruits known as "chilitos" (they look like tiny red chili peppers) and the species include M, applanata, M. meiacantha, M. macdougalii, M. lasiacantha, M. grahamii, M. oliviae, M. mainiae, M. microcarpa, M. thornberi, and many others; -- a related genus is Epithelantha, the fruit of all species of which is also said to be edible and quite like those of the Mammillarias. Similar too is that of Coryphantha robbinsorum and C. recurvata.

A commonly found cactus in many garden centers is Myrtillocactus geometrizans, which grows quite large; it produces edible berries known as "garambulos" which are said to be quite tasty, rather like less-acid cranberries. Another genus of large cacti is Stenocereus, almost all species of which produce fruits good to eat: They include S. fricii ("Pitayo de aguas"), S. griseus ("Pitayo de Mayo"), S. gummosus ("Pitahaya agria", said to be quite sweet but prone to ferment, hence the "agria" [="sour"]), S. pruinosus ("Pitayo de Octubre"), S. montanus ("Pitaya colorada"), S. queretaroensis ("Pitaya de Queretaro"), S. standleyi ("Pita Marismena"), S. stellatus ("Xoconostle"), S. thurberi "Organ Pipe Cactus", "Pitayo Dulce"), and S. treleasi ("Tunillo"). The genus Harrisia of Florida and the Caribbean also produces edible fruits known as "Prickly Apples", the endangered endemic Florida species H. aboriginum, H.simpsonii, H. adscendens, H fragrans, and H. eriophora standing out, though the fruits of most Harrisia species are edible, including the Argentinian H. balsanae. Some of the barrel cacti such as Ferocactus hamatacanthus, F. histrix ("borrachitos"), and F. latispinus ("pochas") also produce edible fruits, as well as edible flower buds. Many species of South American Corryocactus (also known as Erdisia) produce tasty berrylike fruits, including C. brevistylis, C. pulquiensis, and C. erectus. The large South American complex of Echiopsis/Trichocereus includes a few species with edible fruit also, such as E. (or T.) atacamensis, E./T. coquimbana and E./T. schickendanzii. Epiphyllum, the Orchid cactus, has one such species, E. anguliger (also called Phyllocactus darrahii), the fruits said to be like gooseberries. Also like gooseberries are those of the fairly well-known Pereskia aculeata (hence its common name "Barbados gooseberry"); another Pereskia (which are primitive cacti, and in fact, are leaf-bearing trees or shrubs), P. guamacho, also produces edible fruits.

There are probably many others as well, but these should be enough to go on with!

Sources, besides the net, include Cacti of the Southwest by W. Hubert Earle, and perhaps the finest available book on cacti, The Cactus Family by Edward F. Anderson.

Besides eBay, on which some of these species may be found from time to time, many commercial cactus nurseries carry some of them; most of them may be found at Mesa Garden, though they will be small plants. I have seen large Echinocereus engelmannii or E. stramineus on eBay, as well as large specimens of some of the columnar types listed above. Other recommended nurseries include Arizona Cactus Websales, High Country Gardens, Old Man Cactus, Miles2Go Succulents, Calplants, Cactus Limon and TeeDee Cacti.

Not a lot of info exists about climate zones and such-- pay attention to where the cacti grow naturally. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti by Innes & Glass include light and soil requirements as well as flowering periods, but only occasional references to tenderness.

Hope this is food for thought!

John P Marmaro