ISI 2023-1. ×Chamaelobivia ‘El Gigante’

The popular cactus Chamaecereus silvestrii was originally described as Cereus silvestrii by Italian-born, Argentine botanist, Carlo Luigi Spegazzini, in 1905. In 1922, Britton & Rose chose to elevate the species as a monotypic member of the new genus Chamaecereus (chamae, Greek = low, plus cereus) in recognition of its distinctive, dwarf stature, especially relative to the large shrubby or tree-forming Cereus species. As with many dwarf species, the relative size of the flowers is conspicuous in comparison with their habit, explaining the broad popularity of this species. Flowers of the species are 7 cm (2.8 in) long trumpets of brilliant red-orange. Following taxonomic fashion, the species was lumped into Echinopsis in the 1980s as Echinopsis chamaecereus, though that name was never widely adopted by collectors. Nevertheless, hybridizers recognized the affinity to the broader Echinopsis clan and have made many attempts to cross the chihuahua and the great dane within the broader alliance, or merely to develop a wider range of flower colors on cacti of diminutive stature. ‘El Gigante’ is one of the products of such efforts with very attractive flowers of a rich, fuchsia pink. We have not been able to track down the originator of this cultivar but it came to us via Uhlig’s nursery in Germany which acquired it from a collector in Portugal. It appears to be a hybrid of Chamaecereus silvestrii, perhaps with Lobivia backebergiana, based on flower color and spination. HBG 127573, $8.