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Greater Antillean Tree Cactus
Pilosocereus millspaughii
Pilosocereus millspaughii, commonly called the Key Largo tree cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to The Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It was also native to Florida, but is now locally extinct there due to sea level rise. It was first described by Nathaniel Lord Britton in 1909 as Cephalocereus millspaughii.
From the article Pilosocereus millspaughii on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Pilosocereus millspaughii is a shrubby to arborescent, branched succulent which can reach heights of up to 7 m (23 ft). The main stem is 20 cm (8 in) wide, and the branches are 15 cm (6 in) wide. The stems are grayish green with 8–13 ribs. The areoles have spines up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long that are yellow to brown when young. Flowering areoles have silky hairs up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long. These hairs are sparse or absent on non-flowering areoles. The flowers are 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long, with reddish green outer segments (tepals) and white inner segments. The fragrant flowers smell like garlic. The fruit is red.
Range & habitat
As of June 2025, Pilosocereus millspaughii is considered to be native to The Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands and to be extinct in Florida, although its identification outside The Bahamas has been considered "tentative".
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Pilosocereus millspaughii in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 925098.