Stenocereus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of columnar or tree-like cacti

Cactus

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...

 from the Baja California Peninsula

Baja California Peninsula

The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...

 and other parts of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and the ABC islands of the Dutch Caribbean

Dutch Caribbean

The term Dutch Caribbean refers to the islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean and their inhabitants, and in the past also to Dutch territory on the northern coast of South America....

. The genus has been enlarged by the addition of species from several other genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

. A close relative is the peculiar chinoa or chende cactus, Polaskia chende.

The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are mostly borne near the apex of the stems and mostly nocturnal. They are considered easy to grow and generally grow slowly.

Stenocereus thurberi (the organ pipe cactus) is a well-known member of this genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 and is widely distributed in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 and northern Mexico.

The fruit is similar to a dragon fruit. Those of Stenocereus gummosus, acidic and very refreshing, are highly favored by the Seris of northwestern Mexico who call the cactus ziix is ccapxl - "thing whose fruit is sour". It is commonly known in Spanish as pitahaya agria or pitaya agria, or by the English translation Sour Pitahaya. S. griseus

Stenocereus griseus

Stenocereus griseus, also known as the Mexican organ pipe, dagger cactus, and pitayo de mayois, is a species of cactus.-Distribution:...

 (Dagger Cactus) fruits, locally known as iguaraya, are relished by the Wayuu

Wayuu

Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...

 from the La Guajira Peninsula of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

.

Stenocereus are often used as ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

s in hot and arid regions, and as noted above, some species can double as a fruit crop.

The interior of Stenocereus trunks often grows to form tough, cane-like stakes suitable for certain kinds of construction. The Wayuu

Wayuu

Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...

 use those of Dagger Cactus for building wattle and daub

Wattle and daub

Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...

 walls, a technique they call yotojoro, after their name for the cactus wood "canes".

Selected species

• Stenocereus alamosensis
  Stenocereus alamosensis
  Stenocereus alamosensis is a species of cactus native to Mexico. It is viviparous , apparently an adaptation to living in coastal plains which are prone to flooding. The Seri people of Sonora call this cactus xasaacoj....
  
   – Octopus Cactus, cina
• Stenocereus aragonii
• Stenocereus beneckei
• Stenocereus eruca – Creeping Devil
  Creeping Devil
  Stenocereus eruca, commonly known as Creeping Devil, is a member of the family Cactaceae. It is one of the most distinctive cacti, a member of the relatively small genus Stenocereus...
  
  , Caterpillar Cactus
• Stenocereus griseus
  Stenocereus griseus
  Stenocereus griseus, also known as the Mexican organ pipe, dagger cactus, and pitayo de mayois, is a species of cactus.-Distribution:...
  
   – Dagger Cactus, yosú (Wayuunaiki
  Wayuu language
  The Wayuu language, or Goajiro , is spoken by 305,000 indigenous Wayuu people in northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela on the Guajira Peninsula....
  
  )
• Stenocereus gummosus – Sour Pitahaya, pitahaya agria, pitaya agria, ziix is ccapxl (Cmiique iitom
  Seri language
  Seri is a language isolate spoken by the Seri people by between 716 and 900 people in two villages on the coast of Sonora, Mexico.-Classification:...
  
  )
• Stenocereus hollianus
• Stenocereus montanus
• Stenocereus pruinosus
• Stenocereus queretaroensis
• Stenocereus stellatus – Baja Organ Pipe Cactus
• Stenocereus thurberi – Organ Pipe Cactus
  Organ Pipe Cactus
  The Organ Pipe Cactus is a species of cactus native to Mexico and the United States. The species is found in rocky desert. Two subspecies are recognized based on their distribution and height. The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is named for the species.It is locally known as pitahaya dulce,...