Tr. bridgesii “Bruce” – Pups

Eileen History

BRUCE is a beautiful Trichocereus bridgesii aka Echinopsis lageniformis with very broad ribs and a funny spination. Just like many other, it is a Trichocereus hybrid of Australian origin. Because of the broad ribs, this plant tends to have relatively few ribs. Most plants I´ve seen had between 4 and 6 ribs. The mother plant goes back to the SAB member BLACKDRAGON, who had a giant monster of this amazing plant growing in his garden. He also managed to get it to flower and the flower was relatively typical for a Tr.bridgesii.

This clone is suspected to be somewhat related to the Tr. bridgesii clone EILEEN, that was growing in front of reshroomED´s house. Personally, I would not be surprised if both were grown from similar or the same seed lots. But that´s just speculation and I have yet to hear more detailed information on the background. The plant is also known to show a “melting” look from time to time, which indicates that this is (at least partially) mutated somehow. BRUCE comes from South Australia and is also very similar to the clone MBN95/ SUPER BRIDGE, which more or less lost as I do not know of anyone who has that plant with an intact label.

Steps For Rooting

Once the cut is received, place it around 1/2 inch to 1 inch in a pot of substrate. I use wooden kebab skewers to hold up the piece. Water lightly and you should start getting new root growth within a few weeks to a few months depending on conditions. Pups will start forming once the root system has established itself.

Locality

Trichocereus bridgesii are native to Bolivia (duh) and Argentina.

History

Tr. bridgesii was first introduced to the Western world by a German botanist Friedrich Ritter who studied various cactus species in South America. He then named the species after his close friend, the British consul in Bolivia, Alan Bridges.

They quickly gained popularity over the years and have become statement pieces in many homes across the world.

Synonyms

• Echinopsis lageniformis
• Bolivian Torch Cactus
• Cereus bridgesii var. lageniformis
• Trichocereus bridgesii var. lageniformis
• Wachuma Bolivia
• Achuma Bolivia