Espostoa

Morphological Summary

Genus of columnar cacti in the family Cactaceae, characterized by their dense covering of silky white hairs that gives them the appearance of the famous Peruvian "old man cactus". Native to the Andes of Peru and Ecuador, where they grow on arid slopes and ravines at medium altitude. They produce a lateral woolly pseudocephalium from which nocturnal flowers emerge. Named in honor of Peruvian botanist Nicolás E. Esposto.