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Stetsonia coryne

Stetsonia coryne

(Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose
Cardón Moro

Family: Cactaceae
Order: Caryophyllales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

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Description


Stetsonia coryne, the toothpick cactus, is the sole species in the cactus genus Stetsonia. Stetsonia coryne is native to arid regions of South America, where it grows to a height of 15 to tall. It contains mescaline and other alkaloids.

 The plant is large, with tree-like growth, and can reach a height of 5 to 8 m up to 12 m. The trunk is thick and short, measuring about 40 cm in diameter, with numerous erect or somewhat bent branches. The blue-green shoots turn greenish-gray with age, are usually not jointed, and have a diameter of 9 to 10 cm. There are eight to nine blunt-edged, somewhat notched ribs that are 1 to 1.5 cm high. The spines are straight and stiff. The central spine grows 2–8 cm long and is thickened at the base, while the seven to nine spreading marginal spines grow to 3 cm long. Spines are black or yellowish-brown, although they eventually turn white with a dark tip.

The plant flowers from October to April with white, funnel-shaped flowers that grow up to 15 cm in diameter. They open at night and often remain open until the next day. The pericarp is covered with numerous roof-tile-like structures. The long corolla tube has scattered scales.

The plant fruits from January to May. The fruit is a fleshy berry 4 cm in diameter, ovoid, and scaled. Edible fruits are green to reddish and have a drooping floral remnant. The broadly oval, shiny blackish-brown seeds are 1.7 mm long and 1 mm wide. They are humped with a fine wrinkled pattern.

Taxonomy: The first description, as Cereus coryne, was made in 1850 by Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in their newly established monotypic genus Stetsonia in 1920. The genus was named to honor Francis Lynde Stetson, a New York attorney and plant lover. The genus was formerly placed in the subtribe Rebutiinae, but a 2023 molecular phylogenetic study found that it belonged to subtribe Cereinae.

Distribution and habitat: Stetsonia coryne is distributed in high-altitude arid regions, such as the deserts and dry forest (Gran Chaco) of northwestern Argentina, as well as in Bolivia, Paraguay, and the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Conservation: In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is listed as "Least Concern (LC)".

Source: Wikipedia, article Stetsonia coryne. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 17/07/2026.





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Species photographs

Count: 35

Foto
Photography ID: 673759
  Adult

Alunail@nds
La Rioja
Argentina
02/17/2026
Ramón Vera
Foto
Photography ID: 673758
  Adult

Alunail@nds
La Rioja
Argentina
02/17/2026
Ramón Vera
Foto
Photography ID: 672125
  Adult

Las Padercitas
La Rioja
Argentina
05/21/2022
Ramón Vera
Foto
Photography ID: 654393
  Adult

Patiño
Formosa
Argentina
09/18/2025
Hugo Alberto Valderrey
Foto
Photography ID: 652622
  Adult

Olta
La Rioja
Argentina
07/17/2019
Walter Bustamante
Foto
Photography ID: 646200
  Adult

La Saladilla
La Rioja
Argentina
07/31/2025
Carlos De Biagi
Foto
Photography ID: 643778
  Adult

Reserva Natural Urbana Taku
La Rioja
Argentina
07/15/2025
Carlos De Biagi
Foto
Photography ID: 631619
  Adult

Parque Nacional el Impenetrable
Chaco
Argentina
08/17/2023
Manuel Godoy
Foto
Photography ID: 623819
  Adult

Tulumba
Córdoba
Argentina
09/20/2009
Hugo Alberto Valderrey
Foto
Photography ID: 608405
  Adult

Las Padercitas
La Rioja
Argentina
11/13/2012
Ramón Vera
Foto
Photography ID: 608404
  Adult

Las Padercitas
La Rioja
Argentina
09/18/2012
Ramón Vera



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Species records

Count: 31



Page 1 of 4
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
250960907/08/2026ArgentinaCórdobaIschilin, Departamento IschilínHugo Alberto Valderrey
243578117/02/2026ArgentinaLa RiojaAlunail@nds, Alunail@ndsRamón Vera
236909718/09/2025ArgentinaFormosaLas Lomitas, PatiñoHugo Alberto Valderrey
233204531/07/2025ArgentinaLa RiojaLa SaladillaCarlos De Biagi
232400715/07/2025ArgentinaLa RiojaReserva Natural Urbana TakuCarlos De Biagi
193867802/01/2024ArgentinaCórdobaLucio V MansillaHugo Alberto Valderrey
227794917/08/2023ArgentinaChacoParque Nacional el ImpenetrableManuel Godoy
167654903/11/2022ArgentinaCórdobaEntre San José de las Salinas y L.mansilla, Salinas GrandesDaniel Osvaldo Fernández
163887910/09/2022ArgentinaCórdobaEstancia Pinas, Parque Nacional TraslasierraDaniel Oscar Serra
243028821/05/2022ArgentinaLa RiojaLas PadercitasRamón Vera
Page 1 of 4

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Stetsonia coryne – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 24/09/2026.