Kaiktas / Column Cactus
Cereus peruvianus
Also known as Hedge Cactus
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala & more
- Flowering
- August-September
How to identify Kaiktas
Identify Kaiktas by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-September.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Cactaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kaiktas.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cereus peruvianus
- Genus
- Cereus
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Gujarat, Delhi, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Haryana, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Punjab, Bihar, Chandigarh, Puducherry
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-September
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Cactaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded“The large, cream-colored, nocturnal flowers remain open for only one night and are of vital importance to pollinating bats.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kaiktas itself; the rest are typical of the Cactaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- कैक्टस kaiktas
- Kannada
- ಕಳ್ಳಿ ಗಿಡ
- Marathi
- निवडुंग
- Assamese
- কেক্টাছ
About Kaiktas
Column Cactus (Cereus peruvianus) is a shrub in the Cactaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and 26 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from August to September.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten, cut for timber and furniture and planted as an ornamental.
Cactaceae
Cactus family
Kaiktas belongs to the Cactaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Cactaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Kaiktas or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides