Wilcoxia mariana
Current classification: Peniocereus marianus

Illustrator: Lucretia B. Hamilton
Pen and Ink

From the Richard Felger Collection at the
University of Arizona Herbarium

Left:   Stem with buds, enlargements of a spine, and a group of spines, enlarged cross-sections of spine, two stems

Right:  Young stem and root

Peniocereus marianus is a large, sprawling night-blooming cereus from the desert edge and thornscrub of southern Sonora, Mexico. The slender snaking stems seem to mimic those of the shrubs and small trees through which it often grows. Although this cactus can be cryptic, with careful searching in the right habitat it is often found to be surprisingly numerous although seldom common.