Autor: Akers & Johnson
• ETYMOLOGY
” Blue Wax candle “, referring to the typical blue colour of the epidermis of the genus.
• DESCRIPTION
A genus of erect sturdy plants, usually sparsely branched, reaching up to 10 m high, glaucous, with a bluish epidermis (blue-green in A. viridis). First branches appearing from 1 m high. Ribs are tuberculate at the areoles, spines are strong, more numerous in the flowering area.
Flowers nocturnal, tubular, slightly curved and scaly, white, with a foul odour, pollinated by bats. Floral tube brown, bearing ciliate scales. Fruits dry when ripe. Seeds shiny, black.
• HABITAT
The genus Azureocereus grows endemically in Peru, growing In full sun, in valleys, on sandy plains or rocks, sometimes being a part of a woody shrub vegetation (A. viridis), between 1500 m and 2500 m in altitude.
• DISTRIBUTION
Peru (Apurimac, Ayacucho, Cuzco).
Currently, 3 recognised species:
– Azureocereus columnaris (Ritter) J.Lodé 2014
– Azureocereus hertlingianus* (Backeb.) Backeb. 1956
– Azureocereus viridis Rauh & Backeb. 1957
References: "TAXONOMY of the CACTACEAE" - ISBN 978-84-617-3723-9 (Vol. 1)