ID of some cacti & succulents

17 years ago

I've got a few plants, most of which I've had for a while and not been unable to fully identify, so I thought I should post some pictures and see if you have any ideas.

The first cactus I need ID for is this:

Here is another picture showing a cutting from the same plant:

At first I thought it would be a Trichocereus spachianus, but after reading a bit more about it it seems like this one may have more ribs (my cutting has 16) and may be a bit larger than the typical spachianus.

The second cactus I'm wondering about is this, which was labeled only with Trichocereus:

It's tiny for being a Trichocereus, only about 4" or so, but I don't know if it will grow any larger or if it's some sort of miniature hybrid.

Then, I've got this Agave. Is it a Parviflora, or something else, you think? I suspect that its yellowish color may be because it's been receiving too much sun or is unhappy about something else, rather than it being its natural color.

I haven't been able to identify this any closer than it being a Gasteria.

However, it surprised me by producing a massive amount of flower stalks. It ended up having quite a few more than what you can see in the picture below.

Finally, I'm wondering about this plant which I'm not even sure if it would qualify as a succulent, but I thought maybe somebody here would know anyway. I can't remember where right now, but I think the closest resemblance of it I've seen on pictures was some sort of Kalanchoe. When this picture was taken, it had stopped flowering, but you can still see one of its orange flowers below the center of the picture. At its prime, it had many dozens or maybe even hundreds of those, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture then.

Thanks for any information, and let me know if you have any questions or need more or better pictures.

Fredrik

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Comments (11)

shrubs_n_bulbs
17 years ago
Your Trichocereus looks like T.pachanoi. It will grow very quickly and very large, but may be restricted in that pot. Give it some root run and it will grow six inches a year, maybe more.
tjsangel
17 years ago
Hi,

The last pic is a commonly grown, and very cute, houseplant called Nematanthus gregarius, or Goldfish plant.

The Gasteria may be G. glomerata, but I'm not too sure about that one. Good luck getting the ID's!

Jen
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cactusdan19
17 years ago
Fredrik,
The first 2 are of Stenocereus (Lemaireocereus) thurberi (Engelm.) Buxb., The third is in a 2" pot? Looks like a Cereus sport or one of the Echinocereus, the rest I don't kow for sure. Hope this helps.
Dan
Lincoln, NE USDA 5
paracelsus
17 years ago
I agree with Dan. The first two pics are Stenocereus thurberi.

I think Shrubs is probably right about T. pachanoi.

The agave looks like a A. filifera having a tough time with too much sun/too little water. It needs some tlc. I would remove the pups and pot them up separately.

It's a gasteria allright ;)
desert_gardener
17 years ago
Nice looking plants you have there! I think the Agave is Agave toumeyana. HTH
Denise
17 years ago
I don't think the Gasteria is glomerata - the flowers are similar, but the plant itself isn't quite right. Looks like it could be a batesiana or hybrid thereof. I have two different clones of batesiana and there is some variation in the species. I'd welcome a third clone if you ever want to rid yourself of one of those pups! Have many things to offer in return... Very nice plants, BTW!

Denise in Omaha
elizium
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks everybody, much appreciated!

I think you are right about the first one being S. thurberi. The thought had occurred to me before, but the way it was branching didn't quite seem to match. However, I realize now that it's probably branching naturally only at the base, and that the branches further up were probably all caused by people taking cuttings. I think I read somewhere that thurberis rarely branch in cultivation, but I guess this one doesn't know.

Jen, thanks for the Goldfish plant ID - after looking it up I'm pretty sure you're right on that one.

Dan: yeah, in that picture I think the Trichocereus(?) is in a 2" or maybe 2.5" pot.

shrubs_n_bulbs: I already repotted it shortly after that picture was taken, so it's got some more room to grow now. For comparison, here is a new picture of it together with a larger Pachanoi (which, as you said, is a very quick grower):

{{gwi:470408}}

I'm still not 100% convinced that the small one is a pachanoi - I'm surprised that it's branching that much already, and that the spines are spaced so much closer to each other compared to the larger one in the picture. But, I don't know what young pachanois look like, so it's certainly possible.

Thanks for the info on the Agave, it probably is a filifera or toumeyana.

Denise, I may take you up on that offer. Maybe I'll have some time this weekend to separate the pups, or maybe I'll do it some time later and send you an email at that point. I have a batesiana hybrid myself too, but that one looks quite different from this and was much more modest when it flowered recently, with a single stalk (though it looks like there is another one on its way).

Again, thanks!

Fredrik
rjm710
17 years ago
Many Gasteria that are purchased are unnamed or untagged hybrids, but yours looks a lot like G. baylissiana. The site below has some excellent descriptions and pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gasteria.org species descriptions
pirate_girl
17 years ago
Hi,

Well I'll pass on the cacti, as I don't grow 'em, but I'll agree on the Nematanthus & the Gasteria.

Forgive how lame this name sounds, but I've seen Gasterias like that called "Little Warty", maybe you can search for that too. Lovely blooms, I like their pink.

I grow a few Gasterias & Haworthias in my succulent collection here in NYC, only a few Haws. blooms for me, my Gasterias have never tried (yet ;>))) )

Nice plants, all look happy & healthy!
sjv78736
17 years ago
rjm - i agree with your gasteria id and appreciate the link...i was gifted a plant and now know what it is. tyvm - jo
wazungy
17 years ago
At first I thought cactus #1 could be a spachianus. A large fat one. I ain't so sure anymore.

I agree cactus #2 (trichocereus?) does not look like a pachanoi.
Nor does it look like peruvians or werdermanius, or many of the other trichocerus I have seen.
If you think it is a trichoreceus you can try to find a match here:
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Cactaceae/Trichocereus.html

If you think it is a stenocereus just back up a little in the link and go to the "s" section.

You might find some hits at this columnar cactus site with lots of photos.

http://www.columnar-cacti.org/

Happy hunting.

Waz