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Loxanthocereus sextonianus; photograph Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons CC BYHoward F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons

Loxanthocereus sextonianus Backeb.

Cactaceae · Peru · listed by its family as a cactus or succulent

English names not checked: Wikidata's common names were not read for this page.

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Loxanthocereus sextonianus, photograph Paúl Gonzáles, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsLoxanthocereus sextonianus, photograph CactiLegacy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 3 photographs ›
Habitat figuresfrom few records
Cold floor (1 night in 100)
11.5°C
Record low 9.6 °C in 44 years, at a typical spot in the range NASA POWER
Warmest month, mean daily high
23°C
Feb and Mar at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
51mm
No month of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
26–44DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in your months, northern hemisphere
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
45 mm of rain in the median year, under the rule's 120 mm, so no rainy season is read; the cooler six months are November to April (May to October at the habitat). rain and temperature rules, CHELSA
Northern hemisphere unless you set your site. The chart is in the habitat's months.

From few records: 10 records in 9 grid cells. The records.

Summary

Loxanthocereus sextonianus is a species of Loxanthocereus found in Peru.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Loxanthocereus sextonianus", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Grouped as a cactus or succulent, listed under the family Cactaceae in the archetype table, and Kew describes it as “succulent subshrub”.

Seasons

Rain at the habitat is 45 mm in the median year (across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Under 120 mm the rain rule reads no rainy season, and the growing-season rule infers nothing from it. The temperature rule reads the cooler six months as May to October. Months are the habitat's, southern hemisphere; shifted six months for a northern-hemisphere collection: November to April.

Rain

45 mm in the median year at the habitat. Wettest month July at 7 mm, driest month April at 1 mm; 8 months under 5 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 29 mm to 89 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 51 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 45 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, southern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 26 to 44 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 21, the highest 90th-percentile month 48).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range is 11.5 °C, the absolute minimum 9.6 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 26.3 °C. Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low 13.1 °C in August (across the grid cells of the range 11.9 °C to 13.7 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 22.8 °C in February (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: 11.5 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range (NASA POWER).

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 69 to 74% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. NASA POWER daily minima and maxima over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, lapse-corrected -27 m to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. The cold floor is the 1st-percentile night named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Group. Listed under the family Cactaceae in the archetype table, and Kew describes it as “succulent subshrub”. A group is taken only where Kew's description of the species agrees with the table's listing. The table gives no figure and no prose; the cold floor is the habitat's alone.

Climate across the habitat

From few records: this habitat climate is read from 10 records in 9 grid cells; a page says so under 12 records or 5 cells, and shows the figures as read.

Habitat months, southern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Loxanthocereus sextonianus through the yearWarmest months February and March, mean daily high 23 °C; coldest month August, mean nightly low 13.1 °C; 45 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA; the extremes at the edge from NASA POWER. Habitat months, southern hemisphere.5°10°15°20°25°30°26.3° 99th-percentile day, NASA POWER9.6° lowest night in 44 years, NASA POWER°C · day and nightcold quarter01020mm rainDLI 26–44RH 69–74%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 9 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low extremes over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, from NASA POWER, marked at the edge, in no month DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C22 / 21–2323 / 21–2423 / 21–2421 / 20–2220 / 19–2018 / 18–2018 / 17–1918 / 17–2019 / 18–2019 / 19–2020 / 20–2122 / 21–22
Night °C18 / 16–1918 / 16–2018 / 16–1917 / 15–1816 / 14–1614 / 13–1513 / 12–1413 / 12–1413 / 12–1414 / 13–1415 / 14–1617 / 15–17
Rain mm5 / 4–153 / 3–153 / 2–121 / 1–43 / 2–46 / 2–137 / 2–106 / 3–104 / 3–53 / 2–42 / 2–42 / 2–5
DLI37 / 33–4236 / 32–4235 / 32–4033 / 29–3730 / 25–3326 / 21–3027 / 21–3132 / 26–3638 / 32–4244 / 37–4644 / 38–4842 / 37–45
RH %73 / 69–7573 / 68–7573 / 68–7474 / 63–7572 / 57–7570 / 54–7570 / 53–7569 / 53–7469 / 54–7370 / 56–7272 / 60–7373 / 63–74
How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 9 grid cells holding the 10 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 2140:2164 (-17.025, -71.775). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 9.6 °C, 1st-percentile night 11.5 °C, 99th-percentile day 26.3 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 9 distinct grid cells holding 10 of the 10 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 2140:2164 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -17.00_-71.875, lapse-corrected -27 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 694 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.

This species has no GBIF key of its own. Its records are GBIF's under the key of the name Kew's World Checklist holds as this plant: 3947800 (Borzicactus sextonianus (Backeb.) Kimnach, 14 records). No name was matched to GBIF; the keys are read from Kew's synonymy. How.

NativePeru · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker-16.965, -72.049 · in the densest population, 10 records (83% of those in range)
Kew's description“succulent subshrub” · “desert or dry shrubland” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 12 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 10 of them placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 7 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 51 km away. Under a dozen records behind the climate. 2 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 3947800 (Borzicactus sextonianus (Backeb.) Kimnach): Kew's file holds it as Borzicactus sextonianus (Backeb.) Kimnach (synonym under Loxanthocereus sextonianus Backeb.); 14 records, from GBIF's download.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 12 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Loxanthocereus sextonianus, photograph 1did not loadLoxanthocereus sextonianus, photograph 2did not load

Photographs: Paúl Gonzáles, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; CactiLegacy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Nicotiana knightiana Nicotiana knightiana Solanaceae Photo: CC BY, Ben Lyle BedardHaageocereus decumbens Haageocereus decumbens Cactaceae Photo: CC BY, Jean Capcha RamosCroton chilensis Croton chilensis Euphorbiaceae Photo: CC BY, Nicolás LavanderoEriosyce paucicostata Eriosyce paucicostata Cactaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Nicolás Villaseca MerinoDicliptera paposana Dicliptera paposana Acanthaceae Photo: CC BY, Rodrigo Castillo TapiaNolana humifusa Nolana humifusa Trailing Chilean-bellflower Photo: CC BY, GREGORY ANTHONY PAUCA TANCO

Other Loxanthocereus 2 in the reference

Loxanthocereus acanthurus Loxanthocereus acanthurus Cactaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Aaron Fulkerson from San Diego, CA, USLoxanthocereus sulcifer Loxanthocereus sulcifer Cactaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Thibaud Aronson

Names & registers

Also known as Echinopsis sextoniana; Borzicactus sextonianus; Cleistocactus sextonianus; Erdisia sextoniana; Cereus sextonianus and 9 more. (WCVP, RBG Kew)

IPNIPOWOWikidataWikipedia

The record

Family
Cactaceae
Described by
Backeb.
Native to
Peru
Wild records
12 in range · 7 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
Kew's names (WCVP) kew.names answeredas of 2026-06-04Kew's entry Loxanthocereus sextonianus Backeb. (plant_name_id 2337429), read from Kew's names file
GBIF species record gbif.species not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredas of 2026-10-21this species has no GBIF key of its own; its records are read under GBIF's keys for the names Kew's file holds as this plant, never by a name matched; GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 14 records of GBIF's key 3947800, Borzicactus sextonianus (Backeb.) Kimnach (Kew's file holds it as Borzicactus sextonianus (Backeb.) Kimnach (synonym under Loxanthocereus sextonianus Backeb.)): the GBIF download
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -17.00_-71.875, lapse-corrected -27 m at 6.5 °C/km
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22found by Kew's IPNI identifier 144108-2, POWO 144108-2
Wikipedia wikipedia answeredasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
Wikimedia Commons commons answeredasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 3 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

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