Stenocereus treleasei

Stenocereus treleasei is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to Oaxaca in Mexico.

Description
A shrubby, candelabriform cactus. Individuals can reach 15 m in height, with several branches emerging from a central trunk or base. Branches are dark to bluish green. Areoles are pale and circular, 2 cm to 2.5 cm apart, with more than ten radial spines. Spines are 0.4 cm to 1.3 cm in length and gray in color.

Flowers have pink or red tepals, with numerous, yellowish white stamens. Fruits are ellipsoid or spherical 3 cm to 5 cm in length, 2.5 cm to 4 cm in width, red peel and red, orange, yellow, or purple pulp, and black seeds.

Range
Distributed in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Habitat
A species characteristic of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. Found at elevations between approximately 1200 m and 2000 m. It forms part of the thorn-scrub and tropical dry forests in valleys and slopes in soils derived from volcanic rocks and limestones. In some areas, S. treleasei becomes the dominant component in the plant associations called pitayeras or tunillales by local people. There, it is commonly associated with several species of Bursera, Ceiba aesculifolia, Vachellia cochlyacantha, Vachellia acatlensis, Mimosa spp., Senna spp., Parkinsonia praecox, Ipomoea arborescens, Ipomoea murucoides, Agave americana, Agave potatorum, Agave karwinski, and several species of columnar cacti such as Lophocereus marginatus, Myrtillocactus geometrizans, and Myrtillocactus schenckii, among others.