Species library › Pilosocereus › Pilosocereus brasiliensis
Succulents Well documented

Pilosocereus brasiliensis

A slender, often sprawling columnar cactus of coastal eastern Brazil, growing on sandy restinga and granite outcrops. It is a warm, humid-climate cactus, not a desert plant: give it heat, full sun and steady watering in summer.

Pilosocereus brasiliensis
Photo: Gilberto Santa Rosa from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Coastal sandy restinga scrub and exposed rocky outcrops in the Atlantic Forest region. Built from the measured sites and what is typical for the genus.

Recorded from near sea level to about 800 m, median around 170 m.

Brazil NortheastBrazil Southeast

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

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 2.0 licence, unmodified.