Topic 2:

   As mentioned I have been referring to this as pachanoi PC for 'predominate cultivar' or perhaps the predominate clone since it does seem to be produced entirely vegetatively despite it freely flowering & readily hybridizing — or maybe it should stand for politically correct,  I don't know.
   Due to questions raised about the culturecentrism of this view as a basis for its designation, as it is not necessarily the predominate cultivar elsewhere in the world, this needs abandonment and replacement.
   As a result in this discussion it is jokingly referred to as Trichocereus pachanot
   This is the primary Western cultivar sold in the US under the names Trichocereus pachanoi, San Pedro and sometimes as Echinopsis peruviana in southern California.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger version.

This is that same bona fide pachanoi growing in a shaman's garden near Cuzco (Photo by Geneva Photography)


   Notice the details of the flowers and how smooth edged this plant is? Also how indented/sunken the areoles are and the planar relationship they have to the median of the rib? Take a closer look here or farther below. Now go back to Backeberg's pachanoi photo and compare this and then compare both to the pachanot.
   Spines here and in Backeberg's photo are shorter than on the pachanot but spine length is something that can almost be disregarded (within reason) for being a variable characteristic. When they have short spines, it is a common thing for the short expressions of the spination on pachanoi to be consistently much shorter than the already short spines of the pachanot.

Many of the trichs show ranges of characteristics rather than set characteristics so it is easy to become diverted from some important points concerning the predominate cultivar.
     a) It does not match the description of pachanoi as given by Rose & others in perhaps minor but very consistent ways.
     b) It is readily differentiable from the pachanoi that seems to be most common in Ecuador and Peru.
     c) Thus far it has NOT been encountered in the wild or in use among Peruvian shamans.
     d) It shows characteristics of flower and fruit, as well as intensely vigorous growth, that are suggestive of it being a selection derived from a hybrid.
        While a pachanoiXbridgesii is at least plausible, there are other possibilites.
        We may never know the answer with any degree of certainty – perhaps not even with a lot of work that is yet to be done.

   Below we will soon be seeing a series of typical pachanoi from South America compared to the pachanot that we most commonly have growing in the US.
(Once you've had a chance to get a good comparison, come back to this link and then compare them to some other cultivars)


   The first images below were shared by MS Smith who brought this subject to my attention in the first place. All of these images are said to be of Ecuadorian pachanoi.
   The one on the left is said to be a photo of a voucher collected in Ecuador by Timothy Plowman. The ones on the right were said to be taken in Ecuador as well.
   We do not know their photographers.




   These next two tips are both Ecuadorian pachanoi sold by Karel Knize in Lima, Peru and shipped to Texas.




   Now this is going to start to get interesting or perhaps just boringly repetitive. Feel free to skip ahead whenever that happens.
   On the left below is a pachanoi in Peru and on the right is a US horticultural pachanot.
   Pay particular attention to spination, areoles, flower buds, flowers, pericarpels, tubes, fruit and the contour of the ribs.




   Ecuadorian pachanoi from Knize (KK339) on the left and on the right pachanot




   Ecuadorian pachanoi from Knize (KK339) on the left and on the right pachanot




   bona fide pachanoi can sometimes be encountered in the US as is shown on the left (Photo by Anonymous) and on the right is our pachanot again.




   Peruvian pachanoi on the left (photograph by Grizzly) and on the right pachanot.




   Peruvian pachanoi from Matucana (photo from Kitzu) on the left and on the right pachanot.




   Ecuadorian pachanoi from Knize on the left and on the right pachanot.




   Ecuadorian pachanoi from Knize on the left and on the right pachanot.




   Ecuadorian pachanoi from Knize on the left and on the right pachanot.




   Flower buds
   Upper left image is from Peru: Photographer is unknown to us.
   The bottom left and the entire right column are pachanot.




   Flower buds
In Peru on left (Geneva Photography)/ On right is the pachanot




   A closer look
In Peru on left (Geneva Photography)/ On right is the pachanot




In Peru on left (Photographer?)/ On right is the pachanot




   Ovary & tube
In Peru on left (Geneva Photography)/ On right is the pachanot




   Flower tube
   Bona fide pachanoi growing in Oz is on left (photo by Zariat) and on right is typical US pachanot cultivar.




   Flowers
   pachanoi near Cuzco, Peru on left (Geneva photography) and pachanot in Oakland, California on right




Flowers & fruit:
   Peruvian pachanoi on left. The pachanot on right were all taken in California.




   The next image is all the US pachanot cv.
   For pachanoi the ovaries were described as being covered with black wool.
   While these typically do show very short black or dark brown hairs along the axils of the scales on the tube and similarly on the ovary/fruit they are generally obscured by white and/or light brown and/or greyish wool and can be absent. Compare this with the examples of similar locations on the floral tube, ovary and fruit on the Peruvian pachanoi shown above.




Fruit:
   Peruvian pachanoi on left. pachanot on right.




   If anyone wonders WHY this cultivar predominates the US market almost to uniformity consider that it shows intense vigor permitting commercial operations such as can be seen below.
   This shows but a small part of a single professional propagator's mother plants:
(Photos by Anonymous)






   The pachanot is much faster growing, more cold tolerant, more rot resistant and more water tolerant than a bona fide Trichocereus pachanoi. The simple mechanics of its vegetative propagation combined with its popularity as an ornamental obviously would favor it becoming the predominate horticultural offering over a fairly short period of time (in this case a few decades – <5?).
   We are still searching for confirmation that this is what actually occurred.
   It is now so prevalent in US horticulture that it is presently fairly rare to encounter anything else being produced commercially.

   If anyone has more information concerning this plant's origin, especially if you have facts to the contrary and/or if you can tell us its precise point of entry into US horticulture, please contact us at:

pachanot
@
keepertrout.net



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