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Pachycereus pringlei
Also called Elephant Cactus, Mexican Giant Cactus, Mexican Giant Cardon
Pachycereus pringlei is a very large columnar cactus from northwestern Mexico, the tallest living cactus, and it is often grown as a striking specimen plant. Key to growing it is full sun, sharp drainage and very sparing water.
Pachycereus pringlei (also known as Mexican giant cardon or elephant cactus) is a species of large cactus native to northwestern Mexico, in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora. It is commonly known as cardón, a name derived from the Spanish word cardo, meaning "thistle"; additionally, it is often referred to as sabueso (or "bloodhound"), which is possibly an early Spanish colonialist interpretation of the Seri word for the plant, xaasj.
Large stands of this cactus still exist, but many have been destroyed as land has been cleared for cultivation in Sonora.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pachycereus pringlei by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
