Cone Cactus or Golden Saguaro or Wax Cactus

Threatened by tourism

Totempole cacti can form true cactus forests. They can reach 12 m in height with a highly ribbed trunk and small yellowy spines. They can live up to 60 – 70 years whereupon the columnar trunk begins to branch. The genus is named after the Austrian botanist Franz Buxbaum but since a moss was already bore his name, the genus was named Neobuxbaumia; polylopha means ‘highly ribbed’.

The red flowers are borne along the columnar trunk, with their petals protruding slightly further than the spines. During the day when the flowers open, a mass of cream-white stamens can be seen. Pollination is brought about by birds, which land on the flower and search the nectar deep in the flower tube. The green fruits are edible and are consumed by birds, this way they become dispersed.

Ecology and habitat

This species only occurs in Mexico on fewer than 10 sites in an area smaller than 6 km². They grow out of the walls of limestone gorges where, together with other columnar cacti, form spiny woodland.

Threat

The habitat of the totempole cactus is threatened by, amongst other things, tourism. A natural threat comes from a bacteria that attacks this species. Although the population is stable, the number is small and their habitats are under pressure. For this reason the species has been added to the Red List.