Is Cephalocereus Senilis very rare?

[Hero878]

Just wondering is this is quite rare as I don't think I've seen it for sale before. It looks very similar to the more common type of old man of the Andes cacti out there like Espostoa etc.

[greenknight]

It's endangered in the wild, but still quite common in cultivation. Back when wild-collected seeds could legally be exported from Mexico, it was exceedingly common.

[DaveW]

It has coarser hair than Oreocereus. It was popular when I started collecting in the 1960's in England, but have not seen plants for sale for years. In British greenhouses, which are usually heated, taller growing Cerei are not that popular since they take up room and many are unlikely to flower in our life time using pot rather than open ground culture. Therefore most cacti grown for enthusiasts are those that flower in a reasonable time.

I gather that like many Cerei on tall old specimens only the topmost growth on C. senilis looks like young seedlings, therefore many prefer the seedlings to older plants anyway. There are two types of rarity. Species that are really rare, or those which few really want to grow. Therefore nurserymen do not bother propagating the latter. Many species are freely available when first introduced, but when the demand falls off since more attractive or floriferous species become available, they stop being propagated commercially.

Many species can be raised from seed if you want to take the time, since a far wider range of species are available in seed lists than plant lists. Simply because nurserymen only raise those they consider commercially valuable to propagate for the market.

[Aeonium2003]

It's one of those plants you can find at CVS, and other big box stores. That being said, I haven't seen them at CVS for a long time.

[Hero878]

Very interesting thanks for the replies. Glad I'm not alone in thinking this one is much less common.
I might have posted early as I just noticed one in my collection. Can anyone confirm if this is it please? If you click on the thumbnail it will enlarge.


I know for sure that this in the store below is authentic but since mines just a young plant it's harder to tell...I like the look of the one here much more as the hairs are longer and curly
https://www.cactusmania.it/boutique/cep ... nilis-89f/

Update just found this in a plant shop afterwork. Surely this is it and not another espostoa ir Dybowskii?

[DaveW]

Once you have seen it you will not mistake C. senilis. As said the hair like spines are thicker, coarser and stiffer. Not soft fluffy and cotton like. Not seen it for sale for years in the UK.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... t=0&sim=11

Had a quick look on the Web for C. senilis for sale in UK and most don't seem to be C. senilis to me, but probably Espostoa's or Oreocereus. The problem with pictures on the Web is there are so many wrongly named plants since anybody can post a picture with a wrong name on it and others then mislabel their similar looking plants.

[Hero878]

Once you have seen it you will not mistake C. senilis. As said the hair like spines are thicker, coarser and stiffer. Not soft fluffy and cotton like. Not seen it for sale for years in the UK.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... t=0&sim=11

Had a quick look on the Web for C. senilis for sale in UK and most don't seem to be C. senilis to me, but probably Espostoa's or Oreocereus. The problem with pictures on the Web is there are so many wrongly named plants since anybody can post a picture with a wrong name on it and others then mislabel their similar looking plants.

Thanks for confirming for Dave. So I guess it really is rare then. I'll try looking at some of the BCSS cactus marts at upcoming events. Hopefully someone is growing them. And will try my local cactus and succulent shop here in London...maybe they can source me one now that I know for sure that it isn't these lookalike fluffy ones. Found a listing on eBay from a U.K. seller but unfortunately it's just another mislabel.

[Tom in Tucson]

Here in the states Cephalocereus senilis is only available from 1-2 nurseries. They look like they are 3-4 years old. These may have been started from seed around the time that the Köhres seed was once again obtainable. Their seed sold out quickly. I bought 100 myself and the seedlings resembled the adults (long, stiff, and twisted spines) right after germination. So there isn't much room for confusion with other "Old Man" cacti.

[Hero878]

Here in the states Cephalocereus senilis is only available from 1-2 nurseries. They look like they are 3-4 years old. These may have been started from seed around the time that the Köhres seed was once again obtainable. Their seed sold out quickly. I bought 100 myself and the seedlings resembled the adults (long, stiff, and twisted spines) right after germination. So there isn't much room for confusion with other "Old Man" cacti.

Thanks that's very intersting to know. So I guess that is the key difference...long stuff and twisted spines. I saw some photos of seedlings and know exactly what you mean.
I might try to source some seeds. Found one seller in Mexico on eBay. It's pretty handy how even seedlings can be resemble the adults.