Browningia pilleifera

A columnar to tree-like cactus of the hot, seasonally dry inter-Andean valleys of northern Peru, around the Marañón and its tributaries. Grow it hot, bright and dry-rooted, with a drier, slightly cooler winter rest; it is slow and tender to frost.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night A clear drop at nightTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Dry thorn scrub and seasonally dry forest on rocky slopes of deep inter-Andean valleys, where the cactus stands in open sun among shrubs. Habitat is inferred from the recorded valley sites and from the genus.

Recorded at roughly 350–970 m in the few records with an elevation; the measured sites reach up to about 1,950 m, so it probably spans the lower and middle valley slopes.

Peru

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC0 licence, unmodified.