Kaiktas / Column Cactus
Cereus peruvianus
Also known as Hedge Cactus
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala & more
- Flowering
- August-September
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.
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