Home/Species/ Desert Night-blooming Cereus

Peniocereus greggii

(Engelm.) Britt. & Rose

Desert Night-blooming Cereus

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149459

Element CodePDCAC0V010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

IUCNLeast concern

CITESAppendix II

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderCaryophyllales

FamilyCactaceae

GenusPeniocereus

Synonyms

Cereus greggiiEngelm.

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Review Date2001-01-26

Change Date2001-01-31

Edition Date2001-01-26

Edition AuthorsLAMBERT, A (1988); rev. K. McConnell (2001)

Range Extent250-20,000 square km (about 100-8000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences21 - 80

Rank Reasons

Peniocereus greggii occupies a limited range in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico including southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas, and Chihuahua, Zacatecas, and Sonora, Mexico. Abundance varies throughout the range, though the species is considered rare in New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas and is probably declining in Arizona. This cactus is threatened by urban development and is increasingly being collected as a landscaping plant and possibly a medicinal plant in New Mexico and Arizona. It may also be vulnerable to over-grazing.

Range Extent Comments

Peniocereus greggii occupies a limited range in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico including southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas, and Chihuahua, Zacatecas, and Sonora, Mexico.

Occurrences Comments

Forty two EO's. (Benson 1982).

Threat Impact Comments

Information about impacts of threats on this species varied across its range. First of all, the species is generally inconspicuous, so perceptions about rarity and threats should be closely examined. The two varieties, Peniocereus greggii var greggii and Peniocereus greggii var transmontanus, appear to be relatively rare. For example, Peniocereus greggii var greggii is considered rare in parts of New Mexico. Reportedly, Peneocereus greggii var greggii is likely to be threatened by illegal collection in New Mexico (Ferguson 1999). The commercial demand for this species, if it exists at all, is small. Historically, this plant was used for food and medicine by indigenous groups (Benson 1982). Currently, Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, also concluded that there is "very limited" collection of this species for the herbal industry (pers. com. M. McGuffin, December 2000). Rather, individuals dig the plant to use in landscaping private property and to add to personal collections. Thus, over the last several years, spotting this inconspicuous cactus has become more difficult (pers. comm. Ferguson, December 2000). This species is difficult to propagate from cuttings and slow growing from seed.

Peniocereus greggii var greggii is also threatened by development of suitable habitat (Ferguson 1999). Populations in the Rio Grande valley in southern New Mexico and adjacent Texas, have declined due to land development. Also, there seems to be a correlation between heavily grazed land and low numbers of plants. One reason may be that cattle and goats have been known to eat these plants down until they die. Grazing animals also have been observed to affect this species by damaging the shrubs that Peniocereus depend on for protection from the sun and support. More research on the impact of soil compaction caused by animals on this species should be conducted to determine whether it affects recruitment (pers. comm. Ferguson, December 2000).

According to the Desert Botanical Garden (Phoeniz, AZ), Peniocereus greggii (treated as a full species) may be only slightly threatened by the collection of wild specimens. However, the native plants in this region are generally threatened due to habitat loss and development (pers. comm. T. Omar, December 2000).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Peniocereus greggii grows in desert flats and washes around 1200 - 1500 m or under creosote bushes in flats and washes at 300-1050 m, which further reduces visibility (Benson 1982).

Ecology

Peniocereus greggii is a slow growing plant with a large rhizome; roots typically range from 5-15 pounds, but have been known to grow as large as 87 pounds (Kearney and Peebles 1960). A majority of biomass is below ground, making the plant rather inconspicuous in the field when not flowering. This plant is found in association with nurse plants during early development. Nurse plants provide young plants with protection from the harsh desert envrionment.

Reproduction

Peniocereus greggii blooms for 4 to 12 nights each season, with most flowers opening synchronously at dusk and closing at dawn (Raguso et al. 2003). This species is also known to self-incompatible, so pollination by an insect, usually a hawk moth or honeybee, is required for successful fruit maturation (Raguso et al. 2003). Fruits are red, fleshy and ripe during the fall migration season and are dispersed by birds (Suzan et al. 1994).

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN3

Province	Rank	Native
Arizona	S3	Yes
New Mexico	S3	Yes
Texas	SNR	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (6)

Arizona (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Chiricahua	Coronado National Forest	76,876
Happy Valley	Coronado National Forest	7,972
Lime Creek	Tonto National Forest	42,568
Santa Rita	Coronado National Forest	6,078
Whetstone	Coronado National Forest	20,728

New Mexico (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Peloncillo (NM)	Coronado National Forest	43,339

References (9)

Benson, L. 1982. The Cacti of the United States and Canada. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 1044 pp.
Ferguson, D. L. 1999. Peniocereus greggii var. greggii. Inventory of the Rare and Endangered Plants of New Mexico: Third edition, New Mexico Forestry Division, Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Miscellaneous Publication No. 4. Available Online: http://nmrareplants.unm.edu/nmrptc/rarelist.htm.
Godinez-Alvarez, T. Valverde, and P. Ortega-Baes. 2003. Demographic trends in Cactaceae. The Botanical Review 69(2): 173-203.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
McGuffin, Michael. Personal communication. American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring MD
Omar, T., Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. Personal Communication.
Raguso, R. A., C. Henzel, S. L. Buchmann, and G. P. Nabhan. 2003a. Trumpet flowers of the Sonoran Desert: floral biology of Peniocereus cacti and Sacred Datura. International Journal of Plant Sciences 164(6): 877-892.
Suzan, H., G. P. Nabhan, and D. T. Patten. 1994a. Nurse plant and floral biology of a rare night-blooming Cereus, Peniocereus striatus (Brandegee) F. Buxbaum. Conservation Biology 8(2): 461-470.