Stetsonia coryne, the toothpick cactus, is the sole species in the cactus genus Stetsonia. Stetsonia coryne is native to arid regions of South America, where it grows to a height of 15 to 25 ft (4.6 to 7.6 m) tall. It contains mescaline and other alkaloids.[2]
Description
The plant is large, with tree-like growth, and can reach a height of 5 to 8 m up to 12 m. The trunk is thick and short, measuring about 40 cm in diameter, with numerous erect or somewhat bent branches. The blue-green shoots turn greenish-gray with age, are usually not jointed, and have a diameter of 9 to 10 cm. There are eight to nine blunt-edged, somewhat notched ribs that are 1 to 1.5 cm high. The spines are straight and stiff. The central spine grows 2–8 cm long and is thickened at the base, while the seven to nine spreading marginal spines grow to 3 cm long. Spines are black or yellowish-brown, although they eventually turn white with a dark tip.
The plant flowers from October to April with white, funnel-shaped flowers that grow up to 15 cm in diameter. They open at night and often remain open until the next day. The pericarp is covered with numerous roof-tile-like structures. The long corolla tube has scattered scales.
The plant fruits from January to May. The fruit is a fleshy berry 4 cm in diameter, ovoid, and scaled. Edible fruits are green to reddish and have a drooping floral remnant. The broadly oval, shiny blackish-brown seeds are 1.7 mm long and 1 mm wide. They are humped with a fine wrinkled pattern.[3][4]
Large plant growing in Oasis Park in La Lajita, Pájara, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
^AGURELL, S., BRUHN, J. G., LUNDSTROM, J., and SVENSSON, U., 1971, Cactaceae alkaloids. X.
Alkaloids of Trichocereus species and some other cactii, Lloydia 34: 183-187.
^Eggli, Urs; Newton, Leonard E. (2004-03-11). Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 55. ISBN3-540-00489-0.
^Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Ulmer. p. 607. ISBN3-8001-4573-1.
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