Borzicactus sepium
(Kunth) Britton & Rose
Cactaceae
Borzicactus aequatorialis Backeb.
Borzicactus jajoianus Backeb.
Borzicactus morleyanus Britton & Rose
Borzicactus ventimigliae Riccob.
Borzicactus websterianus Backeb.
Cactus sepium Kunth
Cereus chotaensis (Weber) Vaupel
Cereus jajoianus Backeb.
Cereus sepium (Kunth) DC.
Cereus ventimigliae (Riccob.) Vaupel
Cleistocactus chotaensis A.Weber
Cleistocactus sepium (Kunth) F.A.C.Weber
Echinocactus weberbaueri Vaupel
Loxanthocereus jajoianus (Backeb.) Backeb.
Loxanthocereus trujilloensis F. Ritter
Matucana weberbaueri (Vaupel) Backeb.
Common Name: Muyusa
General Information
Borzicactus sepium is a spiny, prostrate to ascending columnar cactus producing a stem up to 150cm tall and 4cm thick. The stem is unbranched, or with a few branches produced basally[
529- Title
- The Cactaceae
- Publication
-
- Author
- Britton N.L. & Rose J.N.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
- Publisher
- The Carnegie Institution of Washington; Washington.
- Year
- 1920
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An immense work in 4 volumes. Many of the botanical names are out of date, of course, but the book contains a wealth of information about the plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
,
1989- Title
- Taxonomic revision of the Opuntia humifusa complex (Opuntieae: Cactaceae) of the eastern United States
- Publication
- Phytotaxa 290 (1): 001-065
- Author
- Majure L.C., Judd W.S., Soltis P.S. & Soltis D.E.
- Website
- https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.290.1.1
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2017
- ISBN
- 1179-3155
- Description
-
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is sometimes grown as a living fence to mark out barriers.
Borzicactus sepium is widely distributed, locally abundant, occurs in protected areas, and there are no major threats affecting it. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
1987- Title
- The Cactus Family
- Publication
-
- Author
- Anderson E.F.
- Publisher
- Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
- Year
- 2001
- ISBN
- 0-88192-498-9
- Description
- An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
Range
Northern S. America - Ecuador, Colombia.
Habitat
Dry hills and valleys; at elevations from 1,500 - 3,500 metres[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
,
529- Title
- The Cactaceae
- Publication
-
- Author
- Britton N.L. & Rose J.N.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
- Publisher
- The Carnegie Institution of Washington; Washington.
- Year
- 1920
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An immense work in 4 volumes. Many of the botanical names are out of date, of course, but the book contains a wealth of information about the plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
Properties
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Evergreen Tree |
| Height | 1.50 m |
| Pollinators | Humming birds |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Borzicactus sepium is native to drier regions of the tropical Andes. It is found at elevations up to 3,700 metres.
Requires a sunny position in a well-drained, circumneutral soil and to be kept more or less dry in the dormant season[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
1438- Title
- Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North,
- Publication
-
- Author
- Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M.
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2014
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
]. A white flesh containing numerous small seeds[
529- Title
- The Cactaceae
- Publication
-
- Author
- Britton N.L. & Rose J.N.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
- Publisher
- The Carnegie Institution of Washington; Washington.
- Year
- 1920
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An immense work in 4 volumes. Many of the botanical names are out of date, of course, but the book contains a wealth of information about the plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. The globose, brownish green to yellowish green fruit is around 20mm in diameter[
529- Title
- The Cactaceae
- Publication
-
- Author
- Britton N.L. & Rose J.N.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
- Publisher
- The Carnegie Institution of Washington; Washington.
- Year
- 1920
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An immense work in 4 volumes. Many of the botanical names are out of date, of course, but the book contains a wealth of information about the plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
,
1987- Title
- The Cactus Family
- Publication
-
- Author
- Anderson E.F.
- Publisher
- Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
- Year
- 2001
- ISBN
- 0-88192-498-9
- Description
- An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
].
Medicinal
An infusion of the flowers is drunk as a treatment for bronchitis[
1783- Title
- Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador
- Publication
-
- Author
- de la Torre, L., Navarrete H., P. Muriel M., Macía M.J. & Ba
- Publisher
- Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontific
- Year
- 2008
- ISBN
- 978-9978-77-135-8
- Description
-
].
Agroforestry Uses:
The plant is sometimes grown as a living fence to mark out boundaries and act as a barrier[
1783- Title
- Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador
- Publication
-
- Author
- de la Torre, L., Navarrete H., P. Muriel M., Macía M.J. & Ba
- Publisher
- Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontific
- Year
- 2008
- ISBN
- 978-9978-77-135-8
- Description
-
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
