Cleistocactus xylorhizus
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Cleistocactus xylorhizus faces severe population decline due to its extremely restricted range in the Bolivian Andes, where mining activities and agricultural expansion have destroyed much of its specialized habitat. The species' slow growth rate and limited reproductive capacity make recovery particularly challenging, while climate change threatens to shift the narrow altitudinal zone where this cactus can survive. Illegal collection for the horticultural trade has further reduced wild populations of this distinctive columnar cactus.
Habitat
This species inhabits dry inter-Andean valleys and rocky slopes at elevations between 2,000-3,000 meters in Bolivia. It grows in specialized xerophytic scrubland communities on steep, well-drained volcanic soils with sparse vegetation cover.
