Pilosocereus tillianus

Pilosocereus tillianusPilosocereus tillianus is a columar cactus composed of slender, tubular shaped branches up to several metres tall. Pilosocereus tillianus looks very attractive when young. Origin and habitat: is endemic to Lagunillas, Merida state, Venezuela. Several thousand individuals occur in habitat. It occurs in high densities. Habitat and ecology: This species occurs in flatlands and slopes within inter Andean dry valley. It is predominantly an out crossing

Pilosocereus tillianus is a columar cactus composed of slender, tubular shaped branches up to several metres tall. Pilosocereus tillianus looks very attractive when young.

Origin and habitat: is endemic to Lagunillas, Merida state, Venezuela. Several thousand individuals occur in habitat. It occurs in high densities.

Habitat and ecology: This species occurs in flatlands and slopes within inter-Andean dry valley. It is predominantly an out crossing species but partially self-compatible. It is bat-pollinated and bats and birds disperse the seeds. The inter-Andean dry valleys represent an important reservoir of plant and animal species adapted to xeric conditions. Given the current isolation of these dry enclaves, they may represent important areas of speciation and endemicity. It is very probable that each enclave contains populations undergoing the speciation process, and some of the columnar cacti could represent currently unrecognized endemics. This species is listed as endangered because it has a very restricted distribution (extent of occurrence is approximately 262 km2) and it is known from only one location which is under high pressure from urban and agricultural development.

Some of the information in this description has been found at desert-tropicals.com, llifle.com and cactus-art.biz