Cephalocereus senilis
Cephalocereus senilis is the white-haired columnar cactus of the limestone barrancas of Hidalgo and neighbouring states in east-central Mexico. In habitat it stands in full sun on steep, fast-draining rocky slopes with a warm, dry winter and a summer-autumn rainy season, so collectors should give it maximum light, a mineral mix and a dry, cooler winter.
Where it grows wild
Grows on steep limestone slopes and cliffs in dry scrub of deep river canyons, most records clustering in the Metztitlán area of Hidalgo. The long white hairs shade the stem from intense sun.
Records span 284–2730 m with a median near 1380 m; most plants sit in canyon scrub around 1200–1800 m, and the extreme values are probably outliers.
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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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.