Stenocereus Species, Mehuele, Organ Pipe Cactus, Pitayo Dulce

Central Phoenix -- The Organ Pipe Cactus in my garden was planted as a single stem about 3 inches tall and is now, 20+ years later, about...Read More 6 feet tall with three stems. It nominally gets only precipitation, but is in a bed raised only three feet above areas that receive every-other-week flood irrigation from March-November, and now presumably taps into that extra water. It has not yet bloomed. When it was small I capped it with a Styrofoam cup in winter, but it now gets no protection and has never shown freeze damage, even into the low 20s F.

The basic story goes with the origin of the term "Organ Pipe" (and one can find the same info in just about every Stenocereus thurberi re...Read Moreference) is that the plant 'Looks Like' and 'Resembles in appearance to' what the pipes of an musical organ. This just happens to be the first one & certianly the most famous species that was named this.
Other "musical organ pipe-type looking" cacti, called columnars, are sometimes called organ pipes.
Other common names are: Mehuelé & Órgano Marismeña.

The 'thurberi' subspecies reaches a height of 26ft with 6 to 8 inch thick stems. The fruit is edible.
The 'littoralis' subspecies is much smaller only reaching 10 feet high with 2 to 3 inch thick stems. It occurs naturally only on the southern tip of Baja California Sur.

I've seen this growing in the wild on the 'El Camino Del Diablo Trail' (Devils' Highway) that runs between Ajo and Wellton, Arizona in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.

There has been some confustion here as to whether the bloom that I added is that of an organ pipe or an easter lily cactus. Let me assur...Read Moree all of you that the bloom is indeed that of a organ pipe which I grew from a pup in my back yard. The bloom does not look in any way like that of an easter lily cactus. For one thing the bloom was approx 6" to 7" across with a hint of pink on the edge.