Chamaecereus silvestrii

{{Short description|Species of cactus}}

{{Speciesbox

|genus=Chamaecereus

|species=silvestrii

|authority=(Speg.) Britton & Rose

|image=Echinopsis chamaecereus BlKakteenT168.jpg

|image_caption=

|synonyms=

{{Specieslist

|Cereus silvestrii|Speg.

|Echinopsis chamaecereus|H.Friedrich & Glaetzle

|Lobivia silvestrii|(Speg.) G.D.Rowley

}}

|synonyms_ref={{Cite POWO|title=Chamaecereus silvestrii (Speg.) Britton & Rose|id=54307-2|access-date=2023-09-28|mode=cs1}}

}}

Chamaecereus silvestrii is a species of cactus from northwestern Argentina and Bolivia. Synonyms include Echinopsis chamaecereus and Lobivia silvestrii. It has been called the peanut cactus.{{Citation |last=Anderson |first=Miles |year=1999 |title=Cacti and Succulents : Illustrated Encyclopedia |publication-place=Oxford |publisher=Sebastian Kelly |isbn=978-1-84081-253-4 }}, p. 67 This plant should not be confused with Echinopsis silvestrii, a synonym of Echinopsis albispinosa, a species with a very different appearance.

Chamaecereus silvestrii has long stems about {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on|1}} across. Orange flowers up to {{convert|4|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide appear in late spring. In cultivation, Ch. silvestrii is hardy to temperatures as low as {{convert|-7|C|F|abbr=on}} if kept dry.

Ch. silvestrii was first collected and described in 1896 as Cereus silvestrii by Italian-Argentinian botanist Carlo Luigi Spegazzini in the mountains between the provinces of Tucuman and Salta, Argentina.{{Cite book|last=Spegazzini|first=Carlo|title=Cactacearum Plantensium Tentamen|publisher=Juan A. Alsina|year=1905|location=Buenos Aires, Argentina|pages=51}} However, subsequent expeditions to the area failed to find the species Spegazzini had collected and it is unknown whether the species has gone extinct since the initial collection.{{Cite book|last=Lambert|first=Jacques G.|title=Cactus d'Argentine|publisher=Concordia-Roeselare|year=1992|pages=32}}

This plant is a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/31628/Echinopsis-chamaecereus/Details | title = Echinopsis chamaecereus | website = www.rhs.org | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 5 June 2020}}

File:Echinopsis Chamaecereus.JPG|Talcott Greenhouse

File:Echinopsis chamaecereus2.jpg| Flowers