Myrtillocactus cochal
Myrtillocactus cochal, the candelabra cactus (a name it shares with other plants), is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to Baja California. Individuals can reach , and are hardy to USDA zone 9b. Description
Myrtillocactus cochal grows in the form of a shrub to a tree with richly branched, blue-green shoots, reaches a height of 1 to 3 meters and usually forms a short trunk. There are 6 to 8 ribs. The single, black central spine, which can occasionally be absent, is up to 2 centimeters long. The mostly 5 radial spines are greyish or blackish and 5 to 10 millimeters long. The light green to whitish flowers have a darker central stripe, are 2.5 centimeters long and have the same diameter. They are open both day and night. The spherical, red fruits are edible and have a diameter of 1.2 to 1.8 centimeters. Distribution
Myrtillocactus cochal is found on the edge of the Sonoran Desert in the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. Taxonomy
The first description as Cereus cochal was published in 1889 by Charles Russell Orcutt. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus Myrtillocactus in 1909. Nomenclature synonyms are Cereus geometrizans var. cochal (Orcutt) K.Brandegee (1900) and Myrtillocactus geometrizans var. cochal (Orcutt) W.T.Marshall (1941)

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cochal
Endemic flora of Mexico
Flora of Baja California
Plants described in 1909