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Species library › Cephalocereus › Cephalocereus apicicephalium
Succulents Well documented

Cephalocereus apicicephalium

A columnar cactus from the hot Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, where mature stems carry a woolly flowering zone (cephalium) at the tip. It is a heat-loving, frost-tender lowland species that wants full sun, a wet summer and a dry winter.

Cephalocereus apicicephalium
Photo: Daniel Pineda Vera, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets 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

Rocky slopes and limestone outcrops in tropical deciduous forest and thorn scrub, standing above the leafless dry-season canopy.

Recorded from 25 to about 2,050 m, mostly 200-1,000 m (median about 510 m).

Mexico Southeast (Chiapas)Mexico Southwest (Oaxaca)

🔒 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

Grow Cephalocereus apicicephalium? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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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 CC BY 4.0 licence, unmodified.