ORGAN-PIPE CACTUS

(species Lemairocereus, or Cereus, thurberi), plant belonging to the family Cactaceae, native to southern Arizona in the United States. Related species occur from Mexico to Venezuela and Peru and the West Indies. The name is also applied to a few other species of Cereus-like cacti that have several to many tall columns arising candelabra-like from the base or not far above it. L. thurberi is characteristic of warmer parts of the Sonoran Desert, in Arizona, Baja California, and Sonora, Mexico. It and most similar species are valued for their delicious fruit. Cuttings are often planted closely in rows for hedges or fences. Lemairocereus species vary from treelike thickets 12 m or more (40 feet or more) tall to shrubby thickets of 2 to 3 m (6.5 to about 10 feet).