Pilosocereus lanuginosus aka Blue Cactus

Pilosocereus lanuginosus is part of the cactus family. The name of this family is Cactaceae. Kew gives the Netherlands Antilles as its native range. It grows in a warm, tropical climate that has a dry season. The RHS says it is not native to Britain. The same is true of Ireland. These records place the plant in its native setting. They do not show how to grow it elsewhere. Its native climate alone does not fill that gap.

Kew calls this plant a succulent tree. This gives its broad growth form, but few other details. The supplied accounts give no height for a full-grown plant. They give no width, or spread, at that stage either. Nor do they describe stems across the whole species. The same gaps apply to its bark and leaves. So these accounts support calling it a succulent tree. They do not support a fuller account of its form. No mature size can be drawn from these sources.

The plant has had other names in the past. These include Cactus lanuginosus and Cephalocereus lanuginosus. LLIFLE lists Pilocereus consolei as another name for it. Some supplied accounts describe named groups within the species. These groups are called subspecies, not the whole species. Those accounts give spine counts, stem colours, and flower sizes. But these details apply to the groups they describe. They cannot serve as traits for every plant here. The supplied text thus leaves gaps in the species-wide picture. It does not show that all plants share those traits.

The evidence does not set out this plant’s garden needs. It gives no cold limits for the species as a whole. Nor does it give a time of year for flowers. It offers no pest guidance for this species either. The sources do not confirm which parts people can eat. They also do not confirm safety for people or pets. This lack of proof does not establish that it is safe. The detailed care notes cover Pilosocereus royenii instead. Notes about fruit that people can eat concern that plant too. It is a different species, so those notes do not apply here.